Faust: Part One, Vol. 1
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, David Constantine (Translator), David Constantine (Introduction), A. S. ByattBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
A classic of world literature, Goethe's Faust has been neglected by English-speaking readers of the twentieth century. One reason for this is that there has been no readable English version of Goethe's philosophical and poetic drama, one that captures its life, satire, irony, humor, and tragedy. Now an award-winning translator and critic has supplied such a translation; it will enchant and enlighten students and general readers alike. Martin Greenberg re-creates not only the varied meter and rhyme of Faust but also its diverse tones and styles - dramatic and lyrical, reflective and farcical, pathetic and coarse, colloquial and soaring. His rendition of Faust is the first faithful, readable, and elegantly written translation of Goethe's masterpiece available in English. Complete with preface and notes, it offers as does none other the range and power of the original in a modern idiom.A new translation, in rhymed verse, of Goethe's Faust - preserves the essence without resorting to an overly literal, archaic translation.
Synopsis
Goethe viewed the writing of poetry as essentially autobiographical, and the works selected in this volume represent more than sixty years in the life of the poet. In early poems such as “Prometheus,” he rails against religion in an almost ecstatic fervor, while “To the Moon” is an enigmatic meditation on the end of a love affair. The Roman Elegies show Goethe's use of Classical meters in an homage to ancient Rome and its poets, and “The Diary,” suppressed for more than a century, is a narrative poem whose eroticism is combined with its morality. In selections from Faust, arguably his greatest and most personal work, Goethe creates an exhilarating depiction of humankind's eternal search for truth.
“Faithful and felicitous, these verse translations . . . are an excellent introduction to [Goethe's] genius.”
—The Daily Telegraph (London)
Library Journal
This is a facsimile of the original 1833 English translation of Goethe's epic. For serious literature collections only.