Faust: Part One (Oxford World's Classic)

Rating:
Summary: the very best of the english translations
Review: David Luke has given us an oustanding translation of this very important piece of literature. His Grimm Bros. translation is also excellent, as are his wonderful scholarly essays. For years, I've intended to write Luke to share my appreciation and gratitude for his always excellent work.

This is the best English version of Faust ever.

Rating:
Summary: the very best of the english translations
Review: David Luke has given us an oustanding translation of this very important piece of literature. His Grimm Bros. translation is also excellent, as are his wonderful scholarly essays. For years, I've intended to write Luke to share my appreciation and gratitude for his always excellent work.

This is the best English version of Faust ever.

Rating:
Summary: Readable Translation and helpful, extensive notes
Review: Hearing about Goethe's Faust for many years I thought it was about time I read it. Though I am glad I did the story was not as exciting or insightful as I thought it would be. Perhaps some of art to be found in the writing is lost in translation, and what would have been considered to be a tantalizing tale to a person living in the 18th or 19th centuries is not so exciting today.

The accompanying introduction and notes to the text, which are quite extensive, are helpful though the introduction could be organized better. David Luke undoubtedly is very knowledgeable about the text, but his long introduction is daunting, and seems to assume quite a bit of familiarity of the text by the reader. In fact the reader cannot understand a lot of what Luke writes in the introduction without having read the text already. If there is to be a new edition of this book Luke should edit the introduction making it much shorter, and more targeted to the general reader. The more specialized detail about the text, such as what part of 'Faust' was written at what point of Goethe's life, should go into an addendum at the back of the book.

Still David Luke produced a very readable translation of Goethe's 'Faust', and though one has to 'wade through' the introduction, the general reader will appreciate having ambiguous parts of the text well explained, and the student of German literature in general and of Goethe's writing in particular, will appreciate Luke's in-depth analysis of Goethe's work.


Rating:
Summary: Well Worth Reading - especially the extra notes!
Review: I am very glad to have been exposed to this classic and am definitely pleased to have read this particular translation of it. Though the rhythm was occasionally jarring (see review below), Luke's EXTENSIVE introduction (50 pages or so!) and explanatory notes helped me get so much out of this piece. I received glimpses of insight on German history, the Germanic culture, witchcraft, superstition, how 18th century "geniuses" viewed Shakespeare, traditional church customs, etc.

For those who don't know, the basic premise of this story is based on a German folk legend. In that legend from the 16th century, a learned man named Faust sold his soul to the Devil in order to gain more knowledge and understanding. As that legend grew and became incorporated in the Germanic culture, so did its appeal to many artists. There have been apparently many writers and such who have used this legend as a foundation for their works.

However, of all the Faust tales, Goethe's appears to be the preeminent one today. Why? Well, for one thing, he worked on this intermittantly from 1770 to 1808 with 3 main versions cited. Goethe became quite famous for many of his other works, and this one apparently gives great insight to his personal philosophies at different stages. Thus, many find it worth studying.

Also, as Goethe was a central figure in Germany's emergence from the Enlightenment era into the Romantic era, his work - and especially this piece - was celebrated by those trying to usher in a new way. While the number of submovements is slightly tricky to keep track of, the main thrust is that the young intellectuals idolized Goethe and championed his cause. His version of Faust became the source for many plays and even an opera which I think is still performed today.

But what about the tale itself? Goethe certainly has a genius and it blooms in a novel way in this piece. Though he left the Christian faith early on in life, he realized that the concepts of good, evil, sin, temptation, condemnation to hell, hedonism, etc. all had a dramatic weight to them that was irresistable to his as an artist. Thus, as he developed this piece, he leaned heavily on the faith, superstition and legends of his day in order to weave this tale. As such, you get a wonderful, power tale that gives you a great - though somewhat twisted - picture of the Germanic culture of his time.

HOWEVER, Goethe does some really odd things as well. For instance, as he added to this piece over the years, he often didn't change much of the former material. Therefore, in the piece there are many internal contradictions and dangling references. In addition, he tended to throw in verses he developed for other purposes - such as one of the prologues and the "Walpurgis Night Dream" scenario - which don't technically have anything to do with the storyline. Even his whole focus on Gretchen - while generally the focus of most plays and operas - actually wasn't a part of the original Faust legened. And yet, it all worked together somehow and was a delight to read.

All in all, I think reading this short, weighty classic was well worth the time. It helped add a piece of understanding about Euporean thought and culture 200 years ago as well as speak some to my own life.

Rating:
Summary: Well Worth Reading - especially the extra notes!
Review: I am very glad to have been exposed to this classic and am definitely pleased to have read this particular translation of it. Though the rhythm was occasionally jarring (see review below), Luke's EXTENSIVE introduction (50 pages or so!) and explanatory notes helped me get so much out of this piece. I received glimpses of insight on German history, the Germanic culture, witchcraft, superstition, how 18th century "geniuses" viewed Shakespeare, traditional church customs, etc.

For those who don't know, the basic premise of this story is based on a German folk legend. In that legend from the 16th century, a learned man named Faust sold his soul to the Devil in order to gain more knowledge and understanding. As that legend grew and became incorporated in the Germanic culture, so did its appeal to many artists. There have been apparently many writers and such who have used this legend as a foundation for their works.

However, of all the Faust tales, Goethe's appears to be the preeminent one today. Why? Well, for one thing, he worked on this intermittantly from 1770 to 1808 with 3 main versions cited. Goethe became quite famous for many of his other works, and this one apparently gives great insight to his personal philosophies at different stages. Thus, many find it worth studying.

Also, as Goethe was a central figure in Germany's emergence from the Enlightenment era into the Romantic era, his work - and especially this piece - was celebrated by those trying to usher in a new way. While the number of submovements is slightly tricky to keep track of, the main thrust is that the young intellectuals idolized Goethe and championed his cause. His version of Faust became the source for many plays and even an opera which I think is still performed today.

But what about the tale itself? Goethe certainly has a genius and it blooms in a novel way in this piece. Though he left the Christian faith early on in life, he realized that the concepts of good, evil, sin, temptation, condemnation to hell, hedonism, etc. all had a dramatic weight to them that was irresistable to his as an artist. Thus, as he developed this piece, he leaned heavily on the faith, superstition and legends of his day in order to weave this tale. As such, you get a wonderful, power tale that gives you a great - though somewhat twisted - picture of the Germanic culture of his time.

HOWEVER, Goethe does some really odd things as well. For instance, as he added to this piece over the years, he often didn't change much of the former material. Therefore, in the piece there are many internal contradictions and dangling references. In addition, he tended to throw in verses he developed for other purposes - such as one of the prologues and the "Walpurgis Night Dream" scenario - which don't technically have anything to do with the storyline. Even his whole focus on Gretchen - while generally the focus of most plays and operas - actually wasn't a part of the original Faust legened. And yet, it all worked together somehow and was a delight to read.

All in all, I think reading this short, weighty classic was well worth the time. It helped add a piece of understanding about Euporean thought and culture 200 years ago as well as speak some to my own life.

Rating:
Summary: The most accurate 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 positives for this translation are of course the extraordinary faithfulness to the original while maintaining rhyme. The negatives are of course 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: Well it's a classic
Review: The fact that it is a classic is one of the reason to read it, but it isn't one of those books that requires a great understanding of the time and era to appreciate. Not only is it, as some think, a book about what Goethe knew; it is aswell a book about everything he didn't know. And a review about it could go on forever.
Since Goethe did not only have a sharp brilliant understanding, he was (I'm sure this is mentioned in other reviews) also compelled to all sorts of superstition and truly obnoxious arrogant behaviour, stressing his own importance, which is why rational people such as J.S.Mill didn't care much about his works, while on the other hand some self-indulging people have made him their God. This play, that he wrote on 20 years or so, sums it all up pretty neat, If you don't want to read it to get your questions about the universe and everything answered or un-answered, at least it is interesting for its imagination alone.

My opinions on the book are probable to change as my life progresses, but anyhow this review shows, if nothing else, what a person *can* think of it, as everyone for sure has their own opinion about it.

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.