Faust I & II (Goethe : The Collected Works, Vol 2)
Goethe's most complex and profound work, Faust was the effort of the great poet's entire lifetime. Written over 60 years, it can be read as a document of Goethe's moral and artistic development. Faust is made available to the English reader in a completely new translation that communicates both its poetic variety and its many levels of tone. The language is present-day English, and Goethe's formal and rhythmic variety is reproduced in all its richness.
Allegorical Masterwork of Humanity's Struggle!
Faust, Parts I and II, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) was written in stages across the span of nearly sixty years. Having read the work twice now, this time the Stuart Atkins translation, I concur with the wisdom of the ages that it is one of the greatest works of imaginative literature ever composed. Yet, while I think its relevance to a modern audience is as high as ever, this work is not likely to receive much attention, let alone deep study, in America today, in the age of the Oprah book club, admirable though that may be, and computer animated movies, reality television and of course, the World Wide Web.
In fact, the great Goethe himself is hardly known today in the English-speaking world outside of scholars and aesthetes (of which I am neither), yet he was a household name 150 years ago and easily ranks alongside Homer, Dante and Shakespeare. Indeed his body of work is even more vast and varied than each of those other greats, totaling sixty volumes in his lifetime and another score or so posthumously published. While Goethe penned masterpieces in nearly every genre over six decades, clearly the most canonical text is the massive, 18,000 line poetical drama, Faust.
Faust, stated boldly is 'about' the totality of the human struggle. The storyline chronicles the adventures and misadventures of an extraordinarily disaffected academic, Dr. Heinrich Faust, who in a moment of despair makes a wager with the Devil regarding the attainability of a moment of absolute fulfillment. Beneath this surface, however, it is really a metaphysical journey that illustrates on multiple levels, the duality of man's life. Faust seeks the meaning of life, he seeks access to the Absolute, the Ideal, and the Spiritual, yet he is constantly frustrated and dissatisfied by the apparent human limitations of attaining those goals. This frustrated titanic desire results in the other side of Faust's/Man's quest, which is his/our ceaseless and error-prone striving for the highest realms of knowledge and experience (both good and bad) that are attainable during one's earthly tenure.
The poem is a difficult read due in large part to significant translation challenges. In addition to an astonishing number of verse forms used, Faust also has a complex structure, many classical allusions and multiple fantastical situations. While a powerful enough read even on the surface, such a reading can never be altogether quite satisfying. Patient and careful readers who are willing to work through the difficulties, however, should be rewarded with a clear sense of its timelessness and its Universality. Interestingly, and perhaps not coincidental, the complexity of the work makes the sheer act of studying it an exercise, in part, of what the drama itself represents.
While most of the poetic impact is surely lost at the expense of gaining comprehension, I nevertheless still suggest that English language readers first approach the Stuart Atkins modern English translation published by Princeton University Press. I further highly recommend, as a near necessary companion, the 1957 book Goethe's Faust: An Interpretation by Alexander Gillies. Unfortunately this wonderful book is out of print, but may be available through internet search engines. It aided my understanding immeasurably and further increased my already significant admiration for Goethe and this particular work.
In summary, throughout the story of Faust we are able to observe the twin competing forces of instinctive Good and ever-present Evil as they play out their roles within man's life of needs and wants. Importantly, we see their roles in the uncertain endgame of salvation versus damnation. While nominally 'about' the fantastical adventures of a medieval scholar, Faust should really be read and recognized as the allegorical masterpiece that it is, that portrays both the glory and the tragedy of what it means to be fully human. --Reviewer: A reader from Fairfax, VA United States
Science and Work create all riches and bring salvation!
The first Faust is a marvellous romantic tragedy. Dr Faust sells his soul to the devil to be young forever and enjoy life. And he sure does. He seduces the young Gretchen and impregnates her, which is a crime for the woman in those days in Germany. She will be imprisoned because of her fornication and she will become crazy. She will refuse to elope with Dr Faust and she will die on the gallows. The play is extremely fascinating with some interludes that are devilish pageants with witches and wizards, and a direct allusion to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream that is shifted from an entertaining fairy-dream to a wicked and perverse diabolic Sabbath-night. This first Faust has been the model for many adaptations, particularly for the opera.
The second Faust is introduced by a long sequence of illusions and impersonifications of historical figures entertwined with tricks and antics performed by Dr Faust at the German Emperor's court. But this second Faust centers on Faust's love for Helen of Troy. A mystical and pure love. It turns sour when their son tries to fly like Icarus, falls to the ground and dies. He had internalized his father's dream to equal the Gods, to go against all rules of nature. This triggers the disappearance of Helen and Faust's fall. Yet Goethe redeems Faust by making him understand that his science must not be used for his sole pleasure but to govern and inspire the work of simple people and make them build up a rich country gained on the sea with dams and canals. When he thus understands that knowledge associated with work can create a real paradise on earth he is redeemed by God and accepted in Heaven after the intermission of three paternal patriarchal figures (the three judges of the old Greek mythology that greeted the dead to sort them out and send them to Hell or Heaven), the three penitent women that were at the foot of the Cross, the Holy Virgin herself, and Gretchen that had been deemed pure and innocent by God. Thus Faust announces the 19th century and the industrial revolution that will create riches from the association of science and work. --Reviewer: Jacques from France
