"The Sorrows of Young Werther" is a novel by German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, first published in 1774. It is an epistolary novel, told through a series of letters written by the young protagonist, Werther, to his friend Wilhelm. The novel follows Werther's intense and ultimately tragic love for a young woman named Charlotte, who is already engaged to another man. Werther's passionate and obsessive nature leads him to despair and ultimately to suicide. The novel explores themes of love, identity, and the struggle between passion and reason. "The Sorrows of Young Werther" was a groundbreaking work in its time, establishing the literary movement of Sturm und Drang, and it continues to be widely read and admired for its psychological depth and emotional intensity.
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0fWyexTzoD8/maxresdefault.jpg)