Although this was one of Goethe's earliest works, it is quite possibly his greatest. It allows the reader to experience the ups and downs of the irrational main character as he falls blindly and passionately in love with a married woman. Werther is the most passionate character ever created in literature, becoming possessed by nature, love, and himself. Although he sees his own destruction coming, he can and will do nothing to stop it. The first book is mostly autobiographical, based on Goethe's love for Charlotte Buff. Book two is a mor ebiographical account of one of Goethe's acquaintances. The story is truly captivating and emotionally draining. The language, in the English and even more so in the German, is powerful and fits perfectly to the overall mood of the story. There is beautiful imagery and the role of nature is carefully portrayed. This book should be read by all.

Faust is an epic poem penned by the incomparable Goethe. He, the German Shakespeare, writes brilliantly of the universal scheme including God, Satan, and all manner of other creatures. At the center, however, is the good Dr. Faust. Faust is the subject of a bet between God and Mephistopheles. The story is thus set and Faust and Mephistopheles take to the world on a journey which leads the doctor into lewd affairs, titanic conflicts, and, eventually, introspection and self-discovery. It is a tale which any can relate to and through Faust's journey the reader discovers much about himself. This is an excellent poem rivalling anything written by Shakespeare or even Dante.

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, Wayne's translation has the most smooth-flowing, elegant rhyme I've seen.

As positives for this translation: The elegance is unparallelled; the wit is sparkling; the metre is almost flawless; the deviation from Goethe is usually acceptable; and there is never, repeat, never, an obvious rhyme-holder word.

As negatives for this translation: There is in a few cases too much of deviation from the original; Wayne at times infuses his own interpretation and character into the work; and the English, though just perfect for, say, a 1950's speaker in England (and those of us used to that kind of word-flow), may be distracting for Americans in 2000.

An example of the latter: "What depth of chanting, whence the blissful tone / That lames my lifting of the fatal glass?" This is pretty representative: if "lames my lifting" does not sound pretentious or obscure, and if the elegance of it strikes you, Wayne's translation is the one for you. If on the other hand, "lames my lifting" sounds straight out of a mediaeval scroll (as I believe is the case with many Americans), then look elsewhere for a translation you will enjoy (read: Luke).

Another, more involved example is in the final lines of Faust II: Wayne translates "Das unbeschreibliche / Hier ists getan" as "Here the ineffable / Wins life through love". Now that, of course is hardly a translation; but it fits in with Wayne's scheme of things - and that IS the point; Wayne has his "scheme of things", which you may or may not like.

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.

Dealing with Faust as subject for painting without straying into a pictorial exegesis of its literary source, Nabil Kanso's paintings flow freely in expressing the characters vibrant intimacy, and their physical and spiritual torment.

Grappling with the intricate entanglement of human relations, the paintings carry their own vocabulary in tackling the sensuality and eroticism imbedded in various scenes of the human drama.

The vast range of works expressing the great intensity brought in the struggle between good and evil coalesce into a vigorous series in which each image relate its world and field of luminosity. The abundance of intermingling images appealing for both the eye and the mind offers a joy to the spirit and an exhilarating experience to the senses.

Those who love Goethe or love Italy or love traveling might have come across The Italian Journey, Goethe's late-in-life rendering of his experience "fleeing" Weimar and hopeless love to fulfill a lifelong dream of being in Italy. I can't say staying in Italy or visiting Italy or studying Italy because Goethe's quest was so much more profound and fundamental; in Italy Goethe hoped to BE. This diary and these letters, however, are Goethe's immediate impressions, un-editted and not reconsidered. These are his immediate considerations and his emotions expressed in the diary he wrote for Frau von Stein, the woman he loved more or less hopelessly for several years. I love both books, but this one, unlike Italian Journey, is not neatly refined and carved and considered from a mature viewpoint; this is full of the urgency and passion and longing that propelled Goethe across the Brenner and up the slopes of Vesuvius. It's just GREAT.

Collaboratively edited by Nicholas Boyle (Professor of German Literary and Intellectual History, and Head of the Department of German, Cambridge University) and John Guthrie (Fellow in German and Director of Studies in Modern Languages, New Hall, Cambridge), Goethe and the English-Speaking World: Essays for the Cambridge Symposium for His 250th Anniversary is an impressive compilation of informed and informative college-level essays and thoughts about Goethe's work, ranging from close readings of the well-known "Faust" and "Wilhelm Meister", to scrutiny of recent translations of his poetry, to a look at how Goethe's texts have affected Ireland literary culture in particular. Goethe And The English-Speaking World is strongly recommended reading for its deep, varied, and eclectic compilation of erudite contributions on the classic works of an immortal master writer.

A wonderful little book maybe to accompany the far more developed one by Henri Bortoft, "The Wholeness of Nature". It takes many excerpts from Goethe's approach to science and includes some of his major essays in the area. If you want a starter in this subject buy it if you want real understanding in depth get Bortoft's book.

The book considers many aspects such plant metamorphosis, colour theory, the concept of the archetype and even some of Goethe's own thoughts on the philosophy of science. There are even pieces which I've seen nowhere else such as the eras of science, merely pointed out but not elaborated upon. In this way the book grabs your attention and doesn't let go, it was my second introduction after Bortoft's having been recommended by him and it is well worth it.

It is not only recommended, but it is incumbent on anyone who wishes to read this book to read "The Sorrows Of Young Werther" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe first. Otherwise, this book will make no sense whatsoever.

Mann writes a hilarious tale of "what if?" the real life Charlotte Kestner & Goethe met up in Weimer 50 or so years after the publication of Werther. The result is a true masterpiece of writing. We get to meet Charlotte, as well as Arthur Schopenhaur's rather ditzy (at least in this novel, anyway) sister, Adele along with the almighty Goethe himself. The book centers around an interesting question: which is more real? The true life Charlotte? Or the fictional one of Werther? This is an intriguing question, as Mann furnishes the "real" Kestner (which is also a fictional one) with a "real" personality; something which was rather lacking in Goethe's story.

The book has everything one would want for fans of both Goethe and Mann. It articulates the "pressures" put on people who exist in reality who provide the inspiration for fictional characters in novels. Who, in fact, has it worse? The innocent individual who is inserted into fictional stories? Or the artist who feeds personal experiences into the machinery of his genius with the efficacy of producing great art? Who makes the greater sacrifice in the name of creativity?

This is a truly wonderful book. Although most of Mann's books have a distinctive humor to them, this one is much more lighthearted than any of his others. There is even a wonderful chapter in which we first meet Goethe....a stream-of-consciousness which asks the $60,000 question: what HAPPENS inside a mind as massive as Goethe's? It kind of reminded me of Hermann Broch's "The Death Of Virgil" which asked a similar question regarding the mental acumen of Virgil in a stream-of-consciousness way. In either case, who could ask for anything more?

Towards the end of the middle ages, monarchs and kings came to the realization that the transmutation of elements may not be physically possible. The creation of wealth via alchemical means therefore shifted to another sphere. Rather than employ chemists laboring to create gold from lead, rulers instead hired economists to create gold from paper. The symbolism and metaphor of the alchemical process carried over from chemical to economic terms is really quite enlightening.

The relationship to the Faust legend and the role of Goethe in the development of the early modern economy makes this book a very interesting read for anyone who may be baffled by the current system of value creation in our modern economy.

The real insight of this book lies in its illumination of humankind's quest to gain mastery over time and our own mortality. Here the author demonstrates how science is used to gain predictive control over time by use of the past (the evidence of scientific method). Economics is used to master time via control over the future (money as "value" stored for future use). And the arts overcome the constraints of time by stretching out the present (the transporting nature of the sublime). The alchemical means by which this is accomplished is demonstrated clearly. Magic turns out to be very real indeed.

The brilliant writtings of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, arguably the greatest writer in the German language, are the subject of intense and respectful study in Reading Goethe: A Critical Introduction To The Literary Work. Chapters thoroughly explore the creative and destructive energies in Goethe's poetry, narrative fiction, drama, discursive writings, and his perhaps best-known masterpiece, Faust. A superb collaboration by Martin Swales (Professor of German, University College) and Erika Swales (CollegeLecturer in German and Fellow at King's College, Cambridge) Reading Goethe is an invaluable companion reference that belongs on the true literati's bookshelf next to the works of Goethe himself.