Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe: Selected Poetry
Goethe viewed the writing of poetry as essentially autobiographical, and the works selected in this volume represent more than sixty years in the life of the poet. In early poems such as "Prometheus," he rails against religion in an almost ecstatic fervor, while "To the Moon" is an enigmatic meditation on the end of a love affair. The Roman Elegies show Goethe’s use of Classical meters in an homage to ancient Rome and its poets, and "The Diary," suppressed for more than a century, is a...
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Arranged chronologically, David Luke's verse translations are set alongside the German originals to give a picture of Goethe's poetic development. This edition also includes an introduction and notes placing the poems in the context of the poet's life and times.Times Literary SupplementOriginals and translations are presented en face, and the introduction gives a thoughtful summary of Goethe's fascinating and problematic life What Luke triumphantly does is not only to stay close to the original, but also to create a total structure that gives a convincing sense of the overall movement of the poem.
1May song32Welcome and parting53Gandymede74Prometheus115'Well, that's philosophy I've read'156'In life like a flood'177'There once was a king'198'My heart's so heavy'219'What are the joys of heaven'2310'Who killed me dead?'2511On the lake2712Restless love2913'Why was deep insight given to us'3114A Wanderer's night song I : 'messenger of heaven'3515A Wanderer's night song II : 'now stillness covers'3516aTo the moon (first version)3716bTo the moon (final version)3917The fisherman4118The elf king4319[The song of the fates]4720Human limitations4921Divinity5322'Oh do you know the land'5723'Only the lonely heart'5724'Who never wept to eat his bread'5925Anacreon's grave6126II. 'Speak to me, stones'6527III. 'More than I ever had hoped'6528VII. 'Now on classical soil I stand'6929XV. 'Eros was ever a rogue'7130XVII. 'You were two perilous serpents'7531XVIII. 'Caesar would hardly have got me'7732XXIII. 'Strength, and a bold and liberal'8133XXIV. 'once in the garden's far corner'83341. 'Pagan burial-urns and sarcophagi'87359. 'Give me, Priapus, another name for it!'873616. 'If I'd the husband I need'893721. 'Dear little shape that might have'893828. 'Show us the parts of the Lord!'893930. 'Goats, go and stand on my left!'914033. 'Oh, how intently I used to observe'914140. 'It is such joy to hug my beloved'9142"Why", asked beauty, "oh Zeus,"9343'True love is love that stays constant'9344'Whom shall you trust, honest friend?'9345'Strive towards wholeness'9346'Let us not all be the same'9347'Thus the men talked'9548'So together they walked'9949Dedication10750[Song of the archangels]10951'Ice thaws on the river'11152'In the beginning was the word'11353The God and the dancing-girl11554Permanence in change12155Nature and art12556Nocturne12757The diary12958Hegira14559Singing and shaping14760A phenomenon14961A past within the present14962Talismans15363Unbounded15564Suleika speaks15765The secret15766Engulfed15967'Love for love and hour for hour'16168'Beloved, let me show you'16169a'As I sailed on the Euphrates'16369b'This I'm happy to interpret!'16370Ginkgo biloba16571The night of the full moon16572'West wind, how I envy you'16773'King Behramgur, they say, invented'16974aSummer night17174b'Well, so at last I've learnt'17575Privileged animals17776Higher and highest matters17977Ecstatic longing18378Old age18579Advertisement18480'If a man's dead idle'18581'A man's a misfit'18582'The hero Napoleon came'18783[The death of a fly]18784At midnight18985Primal words. Orphic19186The Pariah : the Pariah's prayer193The Pariah : legend195The Pariah : the Pariah's thanksgiving20587A trilogy of passion : to Werther205A trilogy of passion : elegy209A trilogy of passion : reconcilement21988The bridegroom22189[On contemplating Schiller's skull]22390'Dusk has fallen'22591To the rising full moon22792[A legacy]22793'When a fragrance has descended'22994'How strong and pure the pulse'23195'So much admired and so much censured'23596'The jagged summits on its mountain'23797'We shall dwell amid this tremor'23998'A watchman by calling'24399'Woods, hitherwavering'245100'All that must disappear'247
\ Times Literary SupplementOriginals and translations are presented en face, and the introduction gives a thoughtful summary of Goethe's fascinating and problematic life…What Luke triumphantly does is not only to stay close to the original, but also to create a total structure that gives a convincing sense of the overall movement of the poem.\ \
