Reviews

Goethe's Faust is the masterpiece of German theater and widely regarded as the pinnacle of all of German literature. In its first part, the play tells the story of a man who strives to take advantage of everything life offers. This moral fable about the struggle between the self and transcendent ideals yields in the play's second part to highly allegorical, indeed hallucinatory sequences drawing widely on history, myth, and literature. Goethe worked on Faust for 60 years, from 1762 until his death in 1832, and incorporated every known literary style. This new, highly readable translation by Mueller (theater, UCLA), an accomplished translator of Greek tragedies and European plays, opts for unrhymed, modern English in the work's early scenes. For the second part, Mueller aptly captures Goethe's astounding use of classic meter. By taking wisely informed liberties throughout, this translation might assure the play a wider audience and more frequent productions in English. Recommended for larger public and all academic libraries.-Ulrich Baer, New York Univ. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.