Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749- 1832) is widely regarded as one of the greatest visionaries and creative geniuses that the world has ever produced. A man of multiple talents, Goethe was a poet, critic, painter, scientist, statesman, philosopher, and theatre-manager (Willoughby, p. 9). However, Goethe"s versatility of talent has not always been recognized. For, Goethe"s unconventional approach to the subjects he was interested in, has, at times, been beyond the comprehension of many a scholarly and ordinary mind. As a result, Goethe has always been better known for the literary genius that he displayed in his novels, essays, poems, and plays. This perception of Goethe, in fact, has changed only recently with contemporary scholars in science, human behavior, philosophy, and literature acknowledging Goethe"s visionary view of the universe and human nature. Thus, Goethe was a creative thinker who was far ahead of his times. .

             It is said that a more complete understanding of any literary work is often gained through an understanding of the person who wrote it. This maxim is certainly true in the case of Goethe. As Willoughby (p. 9-11) observes, the complexity and range of Goethe"s works can only be appreciated through an understanding of the varied pattern of Goethe"s life as it developed in accordance with the rhythmical growth of his own being. For, it is only such an understanding that can throw light on Goethe"s transitions from classicism to romanticism, and on his creation of whole new genres in thinking paradigms and literature. In fact, Goethe himself indicated as much in his autobiographical work Poetry and Truth. Describing the work as presenting a new perspective for the study of an artist, Kaufmann (p. 49) points out that Goethe"s message was that "life and work must be studied together as an organic unity and in terms of development." In a similar vein, Stelzig opines that Goethe wrote Poetry and Truth as a means to self-completion (Vincent, 2003).