103 Great Poems

Generally considered Germany's greatest literary figure, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) produced a large body of fine literary work that includes novels, plays, stories, scientific treatises, travel accounts, and much other prose. Perhaps at his greatest as a poet, he was the author of numerous exceptionally fine lyric poems, ballads, and elegies.This convenient dual-language edition, spanning a wide range of styles, forms, and moods, allows readers to savor a rich selection of the poet's verse in the original German — from «An den Sclaf» («To Sleep»), written when he was 18, to his last great poem, «Vermächtnis» («Legacy»), written when he was 80. Several poems from the 1819 volume West-östlicher Divan (Occidental-Oriental Divan) are presented. Excellent line-for-line English translations on facing pages accompany such masterworks as «Prometheus,» typical of the Sturm and Drang (storm and stress) period; «Rastlose Liebe» («Restless Love») and «An den Mond» («To the Moon»), lyric pieces of intense beauty; and the narrative ballads «Der Fischer» («The Fisherman») and «Erlkönig» («Elf King»). Included among the 96 other works are these poems: «Auf dem See» («On the Lake»); «Zigeunerlied» («Gypsy Song»); «Jägers Abendlied» («Huntsman's Evening Song»); «Grenzen der Menschheit» («Limitations of Humanity»); «Der Zauberiehrling» («The Sorcerer's Apprentice»); and «An Werther» («To Werther»).For this edition, translator Stanley Appelbaum has provided an informative introduction and a commentary on each poem, which will prove invaluable to students, teachers, and general readers.