ABSTRACT

On 7 November 1775, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe accepted the invitation of Carl August to join the cultural circle of the Weimar court. In Franz Schubert's settings of the Weimar lyrics, he follows the form of Goethe's verse, composing two strophic settings of 'Jagers Abendlied', while the nocturnal Lieder and 'Grenzen der Menschheit' are through-composed. In a review of the publication, Schubert's ability to capture Goethe's import was again discerned and this public acclaim was echoed in Schubert's private circle. In 'Rastlose Liebe' Goethe's experience of love is linked with nature. The movement of nature coalesces with the poet's impetuosity and through the language and imagery of stanza one, Goethe suggests how love is capable of overcoming the intractable elemental forces. Goethe's concluding metaphor of love as life's crowning joy comes from Fragment uber die Natur, where he writes of nature, 'Love is her crown.