The Sorrows of Young Werther is a 1774 epistolary novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, considered a key work of the German Sturm und Drang literary movement and influential on Romanticism. The story follows the emotionally sensitive artist Werther as he falls into unrequited love with the already-engaged Charlotte, leading to his despair and eventual suicide. The novel is presented as a collection of letters Werther writes to his friend Wilhelm, providing a deeply personal account of his tormented passion and struggles with society.