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One of the great classics of European literature, Faust is Goethe's most complex and profound work. To tell the dramatic and tragic story of one man's pact with the Devil in exchange for knowledge and power, Goethe drew from an immense variety of cultural and historical material, and a wealth of poetic and theatrical traditions. What results is a tour de force illustrating Goethe's own moral and artistic development, and a symbolic, cautionary tale of Western humanity striving restlessly and ruthlessly for progress.
Capturing the sense, poetic variety, and tonal range of the German original in present-day English, Stuart Atkins's translation presents the formal and rhythmic dexterity of Faust in all its richness and beauty, without recourse to archaisms or interpretive elaborations.
Featuring a new introduction by David Wellbery, this Princeton Classics edition of Faust is the definitive English version of a timeless masterpiece.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre-director, and critic. Celebrated as a polymath and often considered the most influential writer in the German language, Goethe produced a wide range of works including plays, poetry, aesthetic criticism, and treatises on anatomy, botany, and color. After the success of his first novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther, he immersed himself in an intellectual and cultural scene that would become the basis of Weimar Classicism. His most famous drama, Faust, built on and crystalized the "deal with the devil" trope that would remain a mainstay of popular dramatic fiction. In his time, he was treasured as a living classic, and many of his poems were set to music by the top composers of the era including Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert.
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