Faust - A Tragedy in Two Parts and the Urfaust (Wordsworth Classics of World Literature)

When a work has been translated so many times, it's a matter of justifying yet another edition with a new translation. There are a few criteria for choosing, so a good new edition is one that fills some niche that makes it attractive to some readers.This edition is as complete as it gets with one obvious exception, with both parts one and two, an unpublished scene, end notes, and an earlier version. The only thing missing is the German original, which is important to some readers. Of course if you want to see the German side by side with the English, this is not an acceptable edition.Another consideration is the translation. Since it's an aesthetic choice on the part of the reader, it's misleading to say that a translation is simply good or bad (unless it's clearly the latter). Translators have to make so many choices -- faithfulness to meaning, faithfulness to form, the quality and elegance of the translator's poetry, capturing idiosyncrasies with some sort of rough equivalent, various approaches to anachronism, accessibility (to the extent that the original was accessible to its readers), choice of dialect and register in the target language, and in a work such as this, avoiding plagiarizing other translators while acknowledging that they have already found may of the best ways to put things. For example, the use of "bodied forth" in the first stanza has been done before, but if it works... sometimes it's a matter of choosing from among the best past efforts.This translator's strategy is faithfulness to form (rhyme and meter). One of the most notable characteristics of the original is Goethe's stylistic scope: he uses a huge variety of metrical forms. So the translator chooses between trying to replicate that form in the target language, resulting in (often) rhymes and phrases that sound forced, made to fit the pattern, versus something that, to most, would sound more elegant or more modern. Nowadays we're used to blank verse and free verse, and rhyming may sound quaint. However, if we toss out rhyme and strict meter, it's no longer Goethe's Faust: it's just a "version" of the story. Thus it's impossible to satisfy all. Some of the older translations sound Elizabethan to me, perhaps in deference to Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, but it doesn't seem right for this book.Williams is up to the task of producing a translation that is faithful to form, usually faithful enough to meaning, and with some originality and elegance; just in the first stanza, he uses the alliteration "hold those phantom figures fast" which is not in the original "diesmal festzuhalten," but it works for me. Turning to the beginning of the Faust's Study scene, we read:...Than lead your students a fearful dance / Through a maze of error and ignorance, / And all this misery goes to show /There's nothing we can ever know. / Oh yes, you're brighter than all those relics, / Professors and Doctors, scribblers and clerics; / No doubts or scruples to trouble you, / Defying Hell, and the Devil too.There's more than just rhyme and meter here; there are things going on internally (maze-misery, scribblers-scruples, Defying-Devil), beside the more obvious rhyme and alliterations such as "worldly wealth." This translator's poetry compares favorably with the others I've seen (though I confess that I haven't come close to seeing all the other versions).All in all I think this edition accomplishes everything it set out to do, as a complete version and an excellent translation. On that basis, it could get five stars, but for me, if I want the German text side by side, and prefer translations that have some rhyme -- enough to get a taste of the original but without being chained to it -- it's not the perfect one for my ears. This is not to say that the perfect one exists or could ever exist.

Faust one of those books that one always means to read and never does because of the difficult translations. Well, this translation reads like a novel, one hard to put down. I bought the paper copy and now I am after the Kindle version so I can keep the book whenever I travel.

This is a very interesting (Though flawed) edition of Faust. Not only does it contain Faust Part 1 and 2 but it also has the lost cut scenes and the UrFaust.The translation is easy to follow but toward the end when Faust is transformed (while ascending in Heaven) it doesn't give the clarification that his name has now been changed. It tells you Gretchen's new name but I guess they figured Faust's new identity was obvious. This is the first edition of Faust I have ever seen to contain the missing scenes that could not be published in the eighteenth century.A painfully annoying flaw in this translation is that I think this man doesn't understand some of the occult / Pagan references in Faust and even deliberately glosses them over to make the story more Christian. Goethe was not Christian. He was Pagan at the end of his life. And to change the famed Grimoire The Key of Solomon into "a spell" called "Solomon's Key" is insulting. He also brutally re-wrote the red flying coat spell scene which is directly taken from a spell in the real Johann Georg Faustus's The Black Raven Grimoire. The scene in the original German is VERY different. Most know how to read between the lines to catch how the church won't hurt Mephisto but the Pentacle can obstruct him. Or how the female deity at the end could be both the Virgin Mary and the Triple Goddess.There are a few other issues such as the absence of the term Druid's foot (druidinfuss in German). It's just an old slang term for a pentagram. I'm not sure why this term is cut out. Also there are a few tidbits missing or altered here or there so be sure to have a literal direct translation of the text handy for comparison. This one does keep the rhymes in tact though.Other pretty annoying issues. "Tragedy in Greek." The term there should be "Greek Tragedy." Certain things shouldn't be altered just for rhyme. And also "Solomon's key is just the spell" No! The line is "The Key of Solomon is good for conjuring your half-Hellish brood." It's a Grimoire, a REAL spell book, NOT a singular spell! There's real occultism and Paganism addressed in this story as Goethe was Pagan and that part SHOULD be respected.The scene where Mephisto and Faust are supposed to fly out on a cloak, this translation makes it sound like their cloaks inflate like hot air balloons instead.Also a scene where Faust uses a wand in Part 2 is replaced with a staff. Why change that?!Original Plot:In Goethe's version of the story of Faust (last revised by him in 1829), Faust sold his soul for the ultimate life experience, that moment from which he would not want the moment to end and once he had that moment he would die. But he would live pretty much forever until he had that experience, that moment of ultimate sensation.Mephistopheles took him to a witch who restored his youth because ol Mephisto believed it would be hard to give an old man the ultimate life experience, figuring it would be something carnal or something else where youth would be helpful. Faust was a very old man at the start of the story. They then go on all sorts of adventures together through time.Now in Marlowe's version the deal was for a demon servant, mostly. But in Goethe's version (which has the happy redemption ending)the deal was really for was the ultimate experience (that moment he'd want to last forever).And yes, Faust fell in love in Goethe's version. He fell in love with a woman named Marguerite. She had the nickname Gretchen. Faust talks her into giving her mother a sleeping potion so they can have sex and the potion accidentally kills her mother. Then when Gretchen got pregnant her brother challenged Faust to a duel and her brother lost so Faust killed her brother.Finally Gretchen had what we'd call today a nervous break down. She drowned her own baby and was arrested and taken to prison. Faust, with the aide of his demon would-be master, Mephisto AKA Mephistopheles attempted to break Gretchen free from the dungeon where she awaited execution but she chose to stay because she felt she deserved punishment for what she did to her baby. The voices of angels assure Faust that Gretchen's soul is saved. That's the end of part one.Mephisto takes Faust to all sorts of places, trying to give him the ultimate experience. He even time travels with him to the Ancient world where Faust woos Helen of Troy while back in his home in the fifteenth century his former assistant / apprentice, Wagner creates a Homunculus that longs to be human.At the end of Faust: Part 2 it's Gretchen (now transformed into an Angel or Angel-like being) that pleads Faust's case before The Good Mother since Faust's ultimate experience was love and compassion, which allows him to go to Heaven. Mephisto is cheated because for Faust the ultimate life experience turned out to be caring about others and feeling love and wanting to act on that compassion even though he thought he was going to Hell anyway. Goodness and love for the sake of it instead for for the want of the reward of Heaven (which he thought he could never have at that point). It's a pretty little fable.As I said before this is an excellent edition, one of the best translations I have seen and it's a smooth, easy to follow read. A good musical accompaniment (if you like Power Metal) is the albums Epica and The Black Halo by Kamelot. When played back to back they tell the story of Faust by Goethe. On those albums just about the only thing changed is Faust's name is changed to Ariel and Gretchen's name is changed to Helena.I am a huge fan of Faust and feel that this is the best edition for anyone wanting to familiarize themselves with the classic, German story.Another review on here said that their copy was missing pages but mine was perfectly fine. I guess they got a dud.Again, this is an interesting edition of a fantastic story.

Well of wisdom....

Der Übersetzer hält sich zu oft nicht an die Vorlage. Das mag unausweichlich sein, tut aber dem deutschen Leser weh. Für Briten mag es ausreichen, denn sie kennen den viel schöneren und viel präziseren deutschen Text nicht.Entschuldigend für den Übersetzer kann man vortragen, dass die englische Sprache nicht in der Lage ist, so differnziert wie die deutsche zu formulieren. Es fehlen schlicht die Wörter, was man mit dem Zentimetermaß an der Dicke der deutsch-englischen und gleichartigen englisch-deutschen Lexika nachmessen kann.

I've read a few translations of Faust and find the Wordsworth edition, "Translated and with an Introduction and Notes by John R. Williams" to be a real delight to read. His translation isn't as "Literal" as some but I find that how he phrases things is a shear delight and still gives a close rendition to the original. This is my second copy, as I gave away the first to a German friend of mine hoping that Williams' way of writing will grab her the way it did me and she could improve her English through this rich piece of work.

I found this very entertaining to read. It is written aesthetically, (and this is maintained in the translation, not that I have read the original German), and is an engrossing story. I'm sure that there are many allusions and philosophical parables to be found in close study of the text, but I just found it an enjoyable read without having to take it too seriously. Mephistopheles is a brilliant comic character, but there are also subtle insights into the depth of his evil as well. The minimalism of the characters other than Mephistopheles and Faust is stylish and makes the story all the more memorable in retrospect. Reading this makes me feel that all stories should be written in verse, if only the authors were skillful enough. Even though I have only studied Shakespeare at the usual school level, I can see what might be Shakespearian influences or things that remind me of Shakespeare; perhaps this was in places done on purpose by Goethe as a tribute to Shakespeare.As far as I can tell, the translator has done a miraculous job. One of my favourite lines in the play is:"But write it all down, concentratingAs if it were the Holy Ghost dictating!"

I am so happy to have received this book along with 7 others today as I rebuilt my collection!Slainte! 💚🤍🧡