Rating: 
Summary: One of the greatest books ever written
Review: A lot of people (not only Germans) consider German literature as the finest in the world. Although I don't completely agree, I willingly admit it has its "stars" that could reach the level of World Literature. I offer just a few names of such novelists or playwrights: Grimmelshausen, Lessing, Schiller, Thomas Mann, Grass, Boll, and of course Johann Wolfgang Goethe with his famous play in two parts "Faust".The play is based on a true story of a medieval scientist (alchimist) whose methods of research were considered magic. The story was so much exagerated by every generation that in 1587, as the original "Faustus" book appeared, it maintained that its primary character Faust has established an alliance with the devil himself, that it was the absolute evil that helped him making his discoveries. The Englishman Christopher Marlowe was the first to write a play based on "The tragical History of Doctor Faustus". In the 18th century, the young Goethe picked up the subject of Faust and began transforming it into a play that would eventually become the flag of the entire German literature. "Faust 1" was published for the first time in 1805 with great success. In 1832, just after the author's death, the continuation of the tragedy appeared. Since "Faust 2" didn't have any dramatical plot, it was presumed as unplayable on the stage and was more or less forgotten. Since its publishing, particularly "Faust 1" has played an important role in German culture. Many proverbs frequently used in German language originate in this play. Before beginning his work, Goethe read the original story and made some artistic adjustments in the plot that should help him explain the themes he wanted to have explained. The first scene, Faust's famous monologue, is designed to make us think what really is valuable in our lives, what the price is you pay for knowledge, what the word "happiness" means and the importance of this word for our well-being. Then there is the devil himself, Mephisto, whose sarcastic and too human-like speaches made him one of the most intriguing character in the entire literature. He takes Faust on a trip to show the poor doctor how the world is really built. Faust, who doesn't believe in God (religion is another subject of the play), falls in love with a deeply religious girl called Gretchen. She is the pure personification of innocence, devinity and morale on Earth, without becoming a cliche. Faust, supported by Mephisto, seduces the poor girl. She can't live with her sins; as a result she kills her and Faust's child and is sentenced to death. Faust is desperate to save his lover, but Gretchen doesn't let him do it because she recognizes her guilt and is courageous enough to face her death. At the end, Gretchen is saved by God (! ) whereas Faust and Mephisto escape. The play, written in a really wonderful language (the translation isn't bad, either), is a kind of a tale for adults full of humour, interesting philosophical views and irony (have you ever seen a serious play in which both God and devil participate?). I haven't read "Faust 2" yet because it is more difficult to understand for laymen in Greek mythology. "Faust 1", on the other hand, is a book you MUST read if you are interested in literature. From my own experience, I know that not everybody likes "Faust", but give it a try. I, for my part, didn't regret a second spent on it.
Rating:
Summary: Great, near perfect
Review: A near perfect mix of great storytelling, philosophy and psychology. Witches, mysticism, deep thought, psychological insight and human motivation, greed . . . all the workings for a great work of lit. The latter day Godfather for you youngsters.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Bother
Review: I apologize for my ingorance if I'm wrong about this, but I don't believe anyone's translated Faust into English without trying to maintain a rhyme scheme. Readers of Homer will appreciate what I'm talking about when they consider Robert Fagles' wonderful new translations that are especially faithful and powerful because they don't compromise word-choice for what, in translation, can only be a synthetic kind of rhyme. I would much prefer a metrically unbalanced, blank verse extremely faithful word-for-word translation of Goethe than the forced-into-rhymed-verse Kaufmann has presented. I don't mean to belittle Kaufmann's abilities - for what his Faust is, it's great, possibly the best. But I feel like it's Kaufmann's Faust, not Goethe's. Some will argue that this is always the case with translation, but can't we come closer? Is the rhyme THAT important to us? I, for one, would gladly sacrifice it to authenticity.
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Actually, Stuart Atkins' translation is not force-rhymed, so that's probably the one to go with.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Read
Review: I have little to say about the play itself. Many consider Goethe the greatest German writer and Faust his masterwork. 300 years old and we are still reading and learning from it. It is an excellent read.
I am inspired to write this review because of Walter Kaufmann's excellent and (to read reviews) misunderstood translation. Kauffman's intentions are stated clearly in his introduction. Meter and rhyme are preserved as much as possible, and all the text that is translated (all of part one and sections of part two) is done exactingly without one line added or removed. Kaufmann's goal was to 1> re-create the rhythmic drive of Goethe's wit, 2> create a *readable* translation not just for the scholar but for the reader as well, 3> provide an exacting translation that avoids the embellishments of prior translations.
It should go without saying that any translation that doubles the length of a speech or replaces subtle humor with flowery speech is a poor one.
Kaufmann, unlike many other translators, has both the knowledge of German and an appreciation for cultural context to reach all of those goals. While this translation might not be the best for scholars (since much of Part Two is trimmed), it is the best translation for *readers*.
Rating:
Summary: Best translation I've read...
Review: I love Kaufman's translation of Faust for many reasons, but one of them is that it is normally printed facing the original German. Even a limited ability to read German reveals how close Kaufman has come to both the letter and the spirit of Goethe's words. It's easy to forget that German syntax is different from English, and the "backward" sentences Kaufman writes which look like forced poetic English are actually syntactically similar to the German lines. Kaufman also has a generous love for non-Latin English and characteristically chooses Anglo/Saxon words which makes this all the more like German.
A Goethe story -- as an old man, Goethe was reading a French translation of one of his own stories and did not recognize it. He was completely absorbed in it, found it beautiful, true and moving. When he finished, he mentioned this to Eckermann, his secretary who then told Goethe, "That's your own work!" Goethe had a good laugh. He found the new language gave his own work fresh life. He had long before written a poem saying something very similar... There are many enjoyable translations of Faust -- Randall Jarrell did a very interesting version. I think the best translations are those that allow us to enjoy a work, and Kaufman's is definitely enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Very good translation
Review: I thought the translation for this play was excellent. There is even a great introduction at the beginning. But I must point out that there were many typographical errors in the book and also a large portion of Part 2 was omitted. The play itself also was not so great. I did enjoy its humor, provided by Mephisto himself. It starts off very well but by the start of the second part, you lose yourself. Goethe even decided to change one of the characters names halfway through the first part (just for the heck of it!). The ending was also a bit disappointing. It seems like Goethe's skill began waning by the end of the first part (much like Conrad when he neared the end of Nostromo). But still since it's a classic, you probably should read it. Then again, some 'classics' are terrible and I hope should soon be forgotten (Dickens for one!).
Rating:
Summary: A Rival to Shakespeare
Review: I want to open up by saying that this particular translation is above all others. The penguin version is awful. Secondly, I will say that "Faust" is beautifully written, putting Goethe on par with Shakespeare. Goethe captures the phenomena of boredom and low capacity of freedom. The Doctor, Faust, has studied philosophy, science, literautre, and so on, but still feels empty and disatisfed. What would you do? Would you, as he does, take company with the Devil? There is humour, wit, eloquence of language, and detail. There has to be some reason why it is so praised by scholars today. Even Oscar Wilde, who wrote "The Picture of Dorian Gray," borrowed from it. Be aware, though, of how difficult the play is to read.
Rating:
Summary: A Rival to Shakespeare
Review: I want to open up by saying that this particular translation is above all others. The penguin version is awful. Secondly, I will say that "Faust" is beautifully written, putting Goethe on par with Shakespeare. Goethe captures the phenomena of boredom and low capacity of freedom. The Doctor, Faust, has studied philosophy, science, literautre, and so on, but still feels empty and disatisfed. What would you do? Would you, as he does, take company with the Devil? There is humour, wit, eloquence of language, and detail. There has to be some reason why it is so praised by scholars today. Even Oscar Wilde, who wrote "The Picture of Dorian Gray," borrowed from it. Be aware, though, of how difficult the play is to read.
Rating:
Summary: This is my favorite book
Review: I wanted to say that Goethe's "Faust" is the best I ever read but then I remembered Fontane's "Effi Briest" and some books that I read again and again because they are so marvellous. "Faust" begins with a bet and it's a often used story between the good and the evil. I read "Faust" at least ten times and at the beginning I really had some difficulties about the story. After seeing it in the theatre and watching the film with Gustaf Gründgens, I can now say that i understood most of "Faust" and my advice can only be: read it. From the first time of my lecture I was sure that this book is at least a good thing to read, even if one wouldn't understand it's content at all.
Rating:
Summary: beautiful book
Review: It is interesting that reviewers appear to be so critical of the translation, ignoring what Goethe himself did to the Faust legend. From the annoying homunculus to the exorbitant Walpurgis Night to the self-indulgent Gretchen 'Travesty,' this is a story that never should have been written, with parts that would have been useless to try to stage. Faust and Mephistopheles were used as tools in a story that Goethe wanted to tell, rather than him telling their story. It is an overwrought nightmare.
The only reason I give it one star is that the site does not permit zero.
Read Christopher Marlowe's version instead.
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