Subscribe: by Email | in Reader

Sorrows of Werther -- William Makepeace Thackeray

       
(Poem #183) Sorrows of Werther
 Werther had a love for Charlotte
   Such as words could never utter;
 Would you know how first he met her?
   She was cutting bread and butter.

 Charlotte was a married lady,
   And a moral man was Werther,
 And, for all the wealth of Indies,
   Would do nothing for to hurt her.

 So he sighed and pined and ogled,
   And his passion boiled and bubbled,
 Till he blew his silly brains out,
   And no more was by it troubled.

 Charlotte, having seen his body
   Borne before her on a shutter,
 Like a well-conducted person,
   Went on cutting bread and butter.
-- William Makepeace Thackeray
As a poem, this doesn't really need much said about it. The reference is to
Goethe's 'The Sorrows of Young Werther', a work that apparently inspired a
lot of poems[1], though it's a pretty safe bet none of them took quite the
tone of Thackeray's piece.

[1] see <[broken link] http://www.engl.virginia.edu/~enec981/dictionary/16smithM1.html>
for example.

Note: I couldn't find a synopsis of 'The Sorrows of Young Werther' anywhere,
but the following is a synopsis of Massenet's opera based on the novel:
<[broken link] http://www.laopera.org/98-99/werthersynopsis.htm>. The poem is a nicer if
not as accurate summary, though <g>.

Biography:

Thackeray, William Makepeace

  b. July 18, 1811, Calcutta, India
  d. Dec. 24, 1863, London, Eng.

  English novelist whose reputation rests chiefly on Vanity Fair (1847-48),
  a novel of the Napoleonic period in England, and The History of Henry
  Esmond, Esq. (1852), set in the early 18th century.

  See <http://www.infoplease.com/ce5/CE051388.html> for a full biography.

Assessment:

  In his own time Thackeray was regarded as the only possible rival to
  Dickens. His pictures of contemporary life were obviously real and were
  accepted as such by the middle classes. A great professional, he provided
  novels, stories, essays, and verses for his audience, and he toured as a
  nationally known lecturer. He wrote to be read aloud in the long Victorian
  family evenings, and his prose has the lucidity, spontaneity, and pace of
  good reading material. Throughout his works, Thackeray analyzed and
  deplored snobbery and frequently gave his opinions on human behaviour and
  the shortcomings of society, though usually prompted by his narrative to
  do so. He examined such subjects as hypocrisy, secret emotions, the
  sorrows sometimes attendant on love, remembrance of things past, and the
  vanity of much of life--such moralizing being, in his opinion, an
  important function of the novelist. He had little time for such favourite
  devices of Victorian novelists as exaggerated characterization and
  melodramatic plots, preferring in his own work to be more true to life,
  subtly depicting various moods and plunging the reader into a stream of
  entertaining narrative, description, dialogue, and comment.

  Thackeray's high reputation as a novelist continued unchallenged to the
  end of the 19th century but then began to decline. Vanity Fair is still
  his most interesting and readable work and has retained its place among
  the great historical novels in the English language.

        -- EB

38 comments: ( or Leave a comment )

Abraham Thomas said...

Goethe's novel, of course, is the canonical example of 'Bildungsroman' -
literally, 'education novel' - a work which traces the moral and
psychological growth of the protagonist. And it's actually pretty good
(as such things go). That the sensitive and refined Werther would later
become the inspiration for countless effusions of Victorian
sentimentality is ironic in the extreme - Goethe himself was anything
but a Romantic :-).

Vince said...

Goethe was a romantic, and classical and whatever he wanted to be. There were several suicides inspired by Werther. I read the book (in English). The funniest thing in it was Charlotte and Werther, looking out of a window watching a storm gathering over the hills, sunset & clouds and lightening. Werther takes Charlotte's hand in his and says: "Klopstock"! ( referring to a Romantic poet).
Vince Butler

karimun jawa said...

very amazing post, I like It, Thank you for presenting a wide variety of information that is very interesting to see in this artikle, good job adnd succes For you


karimunjawa
and furniture jepara
or mebel jepara
and tenun

Unknown said...

“The Sorrows of Young Mike” recently published as a parody of “The Sorrows of Young Werther” by Goethe. I loved the aspects that were touched on in the updated version. John Zelazny, the writer of the parody, is in no way hiding from the original and makes this very clear. It is a marvelously done parody and takes on similar themes of class, religion and suicide. I love the way both books reflect on each other and think everyone interested in Werther should check out “The Sorrows of Young Mike.”

Toko Furniture said...

This is an amazing post actually provide valuable information, I will always wait for the next post, thank you.
Greetings from Jepara,
Jepara town is a small town located in Central Java, Indonesia.
From Jepara milestone has a very high historical value of cultural diversity, including Jepara furniture that has been known in Indonesia until Abroad, namely:
Mebel Jati Jepara
by Product Highlights: - Gazebo Pantai - Furniture Minimalis - Bufet Ukiran Jepara - Kreasi Jepara - Meja Kantor Ukir Jepara - Griya Mebel Jepara - Lemari Hias Kayu Jati - Bufet TV & Bufet Hias - Tempat Tidur - Interior Jati - Kursi Tamu Minimalis - Gebyok - Meja Aquarium Minimalis - Kitchen Set Jati - Kursi Makan Ukiran Jepara - Gazebo - Kichen Set Mewah - Kursi Makan - Mimbar Gereja - Furniture Murah - Mimbar Podium Jati Jepara - Kursi Tamu - Jam Hias
And the most interesting part of the cultural heritage of Jepara is Ancestor Indonesia in the manufacture of traditional fabrics, namely:
Tenun Troso Jepara
by Product Highlights:
- Kerajinan Rotan - Kerajinan Monel - Kaligrafi Kuningan - Kain Tenun Troso - Tenun Rang Rang - Tenun Bali - Tenun Baron - Terapi Ion Elektrik - Jamu Tradisional Jawa
Thanks.

Furniture Jepara said...

This is an amazing post actually provide valuable information, I will always be waiting for the next post, thank you.
Greetings from Jepara,
Jepara town is a small town located in Central Java Indonesia.
From the milestone Jepara has a very high historical value of cultural diversity, including Jepara furniture that is already known to foreign tourists, namely:
Mebel Jati Jepara
Toko Furniture
Furniture Jepara
Furniture Minimalis
Kreasi Jepara
Griya Mebel Jepara
Bufet TV & Bufet Hias
Interior Jati
Furniture Murah
And the most interesting part of Jepara is cultural heritage in the manufacture of Woven Traditional namely:
Tenun Troso Jepara
Tenun Rang-Rang
Tenun Baron
Thanks.

Unknown said...

This is an amazing post actually provide valuable information, I will always be waiting for the next post, thank you.
Greetings from Jepara,
Jepara town is a small town located in Central Java Indonesia.
From the milestone Jepara has a very high historical value of cultural diversity, including Jepara furniture that is already known to foreign tourists, namely:
Mebel Jati Jepara
by Product Highlights:
Jual Mebel Murah - Mimbar Masjid Jati - Toko Mebel Jepara - Jual Furniture - Interior Furniture Minimalis - Lemari Kristal - Set Tempat Tidur Anak Jati Tingkat - Mebel Kayu jati jepara - Meja Kantor Jati - Kursi Kantor Murah - Toko Mebel Jepara - Jam Hias Kubah Masjid - Furniture Jepara Murah - Furniture Kayu Jati - Kursi Makan Ukiran Jepara - Jual Furniture - Mebel Jepara - Gazebo Taman - Gazebo- Furniture Minimalis - Jual Mebel - Mebel Kayu Jati - Jual Furniture - Furniture Jati - Tempat Tidur Minimalis Lemari Pakaian Minimalis Jati - Furniture Minimalis Jakarta - Kreasi Jepara - Griya Mebel Jepara - Jual Mebel Murah - Interior Jati - Furniture Murah
the most interesting part of the cultural heritage of Jepara is Ancestor Indonesia in the manufacture of traditional fabrics, namely:
Tenun Troso Jepara - Kerajinan Rotan - Kerajinan Monel - Terapi Ion Elektrik 
Thanks.

Kursi Tamu Kayu said...

I think that ist very good, because its about love... Good Job Charlotte..
kursi tamu minimalis murah

uni syafi said...


selain itu kami juga menjual furniture furniture jepara jual furniture rotan
servis laptop semarang servis laptop
jual beli laptop bekas membeli laptop bekas

uni syafi said...

selain itu kami juga menjual furniture furniture jepara jual furniture rotan
servis laptop semarang servis laptop
jual beli laptop bekas membeli laptop bekas

Rotan Sholuna Furniture said...

Kami Rotan Sholuna Group adalah produsen/pengrajin furniture rotan asal jepara,Berbagai macam jenis kerajinan berbahan rotan alam dan sintetis.
dibuat langsung oleh team Pengrajin Rotan Berpengalaman dan profesional adalah mutu produk kualitas produk kami dan tentunya harga rumahan.
Diantara produk kita antara lain kursi rotan minimalis,kursi sudut,kursi tamu,
Kursi Rotan dan souvenir rotan merupakan salah satu barang dari sekian banyaknya kreasi kerajinan yang di hasilkan oleh para pengrajin dari Kota Jepara.
www.rotansholuna.com

body oils said...

We take pride in offering great packing & moving services at reasonable prices. All our employees are experienced, courteous and careful. We offer personalised service for any kind of relocation whether it is local, Domestic.body oils

hendrik said...

I like it.. kami menjual berbagai macam produk furniture jepara berkualitas

stevania said...

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous events. Do not fight a life that will only create sadness. Let reality become reality. Let it all flow naturally

togel online

bandar online

bandar togel

agen togel

Link alternatif Dewacinta

tayyab ali said...

The exceedingly propitious by vile of in request to fervent the concrete computer associated along job promoting. Retain pertaining to tell this share.4 types of trees on long island - tree removal long island

Legal Herbal Online said...

You should be grateful guys, all human beings who visit this site, because a lot of information that you can get for free and do not forget to thank the owners of this site.louer une voiture agadir

Post a Comment