Wilhelm Meister is the main character in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's novels Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and its sequel Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years.
Wilhelm Meister's story concerns how he comes from a family of businessmen and desires to transcend bourgeois life. In Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, published in 1795âÂÂ1796, he tries to achieve this by joining a theatre troupe and a secret society. In Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years, published in 1821 and revised substantially in 1829, he travels widely without a permanent residence.
Goethe chose the name Wilhelm as a nod to William Shakespeare, whose works feature prominently in Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship. The last name Meister, meaning Master, reflects the character's capability and active role. A recurring motif throughout both novels is Meister's fascination with the painting The King's Sick Son by Antonio Bellucci.
Meister is portrayed in various adaptations of Goethe's novels, notably as a tenor in the 1866 opera Mignon composed by Ambroise Thomas. Rüdiger Vogler played a variation of Meister in Wim Wenders' 1975 film The Wrong Move, which is loosely based on Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship but takes place in post-war West Germany.