Faust: Part Two (Oxford World's Classics)

Rating:
Summary: The most faithful of the translations I've read
Review: Looking at some reviews by other reviewers, I realized that not everybody has heard of Faust or of Goethe, and I was pretty shocked.

The first part of what I'm saying is about this translation. As Luke so graphically showed in his "Translator's introduction", there are many things that pull at the translator's central agenda: rhyme, metre, primary meaning, nuance, and so on, and the translator has to achieve a balance. Among the translations I've read and from snippets of what I've seen of other translations, Luke's translation is the most accurate of the ones I've read, in many ways. In other words, the compromises that Luke himself details have been executed here with near-perfection.

It comes down to what you like. Luke's translation is the closest among all attempts so far to being dubbed a "universal" tranlslation. But just as we cannot have a universal programming language, we cannot have a translation that will please everybody.

The positive for this translation is of course the extraordinary faithfulness to the original while maintaining rhyme. The negatives are what one would expect; the translation does not read smoothly on the line level. To clarify, a line carries over to the next line in too many cases to make for a "smooth read". An example:

"Refreshment! It's your own soul that must pour / It through you, if it's to be anything."

This "pour it" example siuation occurs too often, and is jarring for those who "grew up" with Arndt's or Wayne's translations.

The second part of what I'm writing is about Faust itself, the Masterwork: as any German will tell you, Faust is one of the centrepieces of literature, and it is worthwhile learning German JUST to read Faust. Each person comes away from "Faust" having found that that he/she was looking for. Every person is reflected in Faust; "Faust" is the ultimate story of Man. What tempts us, what keeps us, what draws us on, what tears us, what defines us, what lies in store for us - it is all there. "Faust" is a journey everyone should undertake. There is nothing controversial here - no "God", no "Hellfire", nothing but Goethe's straightforward but not blunt, sensitive but not compromised, philosophical but not dreamy, analysis of the human situation. "Faust" is the Master thinker Goethe's sincere attempt at looking at it all; and it does not fall visibly short of the task.

Part I should be read by everyone; Part II is not strictly a sequel, but in many ways is, as Wayne shows in his Introduction. Part II requires some knowledge of Greek Mythology; and does in many ways "complete the story". Only, it goes way beyond that.

Rating:
Summary: Great work, great translation, and great notes
Review: The previous review is clear about the value of this translation. Knowing a bit of German, I can say that this translation does use shapes instead of forms for Gestalten. the real value of the work beyond the translation, however, especially for first time readers, is found in the notes made by David Luke. These notes are helpful for the historical context, allusions to Goethe's personal life and work, and allusions to philosophy, literature, and more ... all essential to understanding the work.