Goethe's Faust: Part One and Sections from Part Two

Even with my knuckledragging German I can appreciate that Goethe knows how to rhyme. And there's a fair few laughs here, like when Mephisto advises Faust to study medicine so he can get close to naked chicks. And the farting witches. But neither the plot nor the characters have the complexity, the subtlety, the verisimilitude of Shakespeare. It's basically didactic and, especially in Part II (of which translator Walter Kaufman mercifully spares us the majority) descends into daft allegory. Still, I at least had fun with this unlike the dreadful Young Werther.

There have been many writings of the Faust story; in this one, Goethe tries his hand at the fable. Faust sells his soul to the devil in return for some rather nebulous gains. The story is told in poetry rather than prose, and some of the poetry is a bit dense. There is also a lot more than is needed to tell the story, making this particular play impossible to present in this form on a modern American stage (of course, it might still work in Germany, where they don't have the same expectations). This translation includes the German original side by side with the translation; although I am not able to read German, it is interesting to see it in its original form, and for German readers, that gives them the ability to check the translation show more and see if they agree. The ending veered very close to a universalist view of heaven and hell; probably not too surprising from a freethinker like Goethe who tended to some rather heterodox opinions. show less

This is really quite good although the second-half isn't as good as first. Its a lot funnier than i expected, maybe its not supposed to be but i couldn't help laughing at how bad a demon Mephistopheles is. His power is incredibly limited, almost everything he does is through secondary means, he hires a witch, a water-spirit or some super-soldiers, he also can't access Greek hell or 'The Mothers'.
The Mothers is probably the best part of Faust being very Lovecraftian. The other best bit is near the start when Faust wants to meet the most beautiful woman in the world, i'm not going to say what happens other than demons are really sneaky ;) .
Overall theres a lot to like although it goes off the boil towards the end.

Yep, it's actually epic fantasy. Don't let the stage actors or the music and the poetry fool you. There's demons, vast battlefields, an epic battle for one's soul with TWO WHOLE HOSTS fighting, and, of course, there's that thing about the toothpick and getting Helen of Troy pregnant.

The original is in German. There MIGHT be something in that. An interesting story. Or perhaps Goethe was one hell of a weird artist.

Actually, scratch that, he was. Like an opium dream.

Breakdown: I loved the poetry and most of the translation. It was pretty neat. What there was of the original story was slightly convoluted and drawn out. The battle was pretty cool, too.

It's Faust. A classic tale. But you know what?

I LIKE MARLOWE'S BETTER.

So much has been written about this great work that I really have nothing to add to the conversation except the admittedly childish observation that when the characters narrate their sword fights it sounds hilariously sexual.

From page 349 of the Kaufman edition:

MEPHISTO: Unsheathe your toothpick, don’t delay;
Thrust out at him, and I shall parry.

VALENTINE: Then parry that!

MEPHISTO: Of course.

VALENTINE: And that.

MEPHISTO: All right.

VALENTINE: I think the Devil must be in this fight.
What could that be? My hand is getting lame.

MEPHISTO (to Faust): Thrust home!

VALENTINE (falls): Oh God!

My edition was the (purported) Coleridge translation. I'm not enough of a literary scholar to judge this work comprehensively, but I can say that I great enjoyed the play of language. At the same time, the characters and plots were deeply alien to my sensibilities. A fascinating and foundational work either way.

This is an abridged version of the massive play. This was abridged, cut, and translated into English for a BBC radio adaption in the 1940s.

The play itself is meant to be a closet drama - ie. its meant to be read and not exactly played and acted out on a stage in front of an audience.

It is a tremendous play and a massive and tremendous piece of work/literature. I have trouble though deciding on **** or ***1/2, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and go with ****. It's a bit deep with the satire, going into Greek mythologies (esp. in Part II) and it draws from a number of sources, some German, some classical Greek/Roman, some Shakespearean, and English. It's a hard play to wra your head around as the verse isn't aptly descriptive show more of the events and a large amount of 'reading between the lines' needs to be done. Overall it is a highly recommended work that should be read for no other reason than to at least acknowledge how Goethe is a great writer and to feel some sort of semblance of culture emanating from the work. show less