The Sorrows of Young Werther (German LibriVox reading)

What it is

This is a volunteer audio reading in German of Goethe's novel Die Leiden des jungen Werther, recorded for LibriVox, which releases its recordings into the public domain. The reader is Rainer. The recording is a modern reading of Goethe's text, not Goethe's own voice. The novel is told only through letters, mostly from Werther to a friend named Wilhelm, about his unhappy love for a woman who is engaged and later married. The text opens with a letter dated 4 May 1771.

Why it matters

The novel shows how Goethe wrote about private feeling and inner conflict. Because it is made of letters, the reader sees events only through Werther's own view. Hearing the German sentences read aloud lets students notice rhythm and emphasis that a translation cannot fully carry. The work is one of the best-known examples of Goethe's writing.

Look closer

• Whose voice do you hear, and how does a reader's tone change how Werther sounds?
• Why might Goethe have chosen letters instead of a narrator for this story?
• What does the novel leave out about the other people in Werther's life?