Faust

Goethe is the most famous German author, and the poetic drama Faust, Part I (1808) is his best-known work, one that stands in the company of other leading canonical works of European literature such as Dante s Inferno and Shakespeare s Hamlet. This is the first new translation into English since David Constantine s 2005 version. Why another translation when there are several currently in print? To invoke Goethe s own authority when speaking of his favorite author, Shakespeare, Goethe asserts that so much has already been said about the poet-dramatist that it would seem there s nothing left to say, but adds, yet it is the peculiar attribute of the spirit that it constantly motivates the spirit. Goethe s great dramatic poem continues to speak to us in new ways as we and our world continually change, and thus a new or updated translation is always necessary to bring to light Faust s almost inexhaustible, mysterious, and enchanting poetic and cultural power. Eugene Stelzig s new translation renders the text of the play in clear and crisp English for a contemporary undergraduate audience while at the same time maintaining its leading poetic features, including the use of rhyme. Published by Bucknell University Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press.