Harvard Classics, Vol. 19: Goethe and Marlowe

by Charles William Eliot

The master of blank verse, Marlowe was the first to turn the Faustian myth into a morality play; it remains an apogee of Elizabethan drama. Goethe’s retelling of the classic Faust legend is the crowning achievement of his literary output. Perhaps best known from Beethoven’s overture, Goethe’s Egmont represents a classic work of Sturm und Drang literature. Count Egmont leads an ultimately tragic rebellion against Spanish rule in The Netherlands. Goethe’s “novelette in verse”, Hermann and Dorothea tells the story of a young girl who finds love after fleeing the chaos of the French Revolution. This work influenced many artists of the day, including Arthur Hugh Clough, whose The Bothie borrows heavily from this work.

Genres: Fiction, Classics

422 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1909

About the author

Charles William Eliot was an American academic who was selected as Harvard's president in 1869. He transformed the provincial college into the preeminent American research university. Eliot served the longest term as president in the university's history.

Reviews

[Pastor Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give this a four, not because I "like" everything in the book but because of it's historical value and importance, as well as it's content on a literary level.

"Faust" by Goethe and, "The Tragic Life And Death of Dr. Faustus," by Charles Marlowe were downright blasphemous and Satanic and are absolutely essential reading if you want to understand the explosion of Spiritism and the Occult in the 16th century to our modern day. Performances of these on stage put people into such a state of mind that they either really or delusionally claimed to see devils appear. Some reported that people occasionally "went mad" and never recovered.

Goethe (actually pronounced as "Gertuh" even though there is no "r" in the name) is one of the most celebrated German authors and the massive influence of these writings on the German culture explains, along with the influence of apostate Roman and Lutheran churches, the terrible turn that nation and people have taken since the early-19th century. Higher critics, apostate religion and influence like Goethe took produced a godless, war-bent people who eventually gave us World War I, the Nazi Party, World War II and will eventually play a major role in the government of Antichrist.

Thankfully, Goethe's two other works in this volume are "Egmont" and "Hermann and Dorothea." Egmont is a patriot standing against tyranny. "Hermann and Dorothea," is a love story. Much more enjoyable reading in my opinion, but I will not SPOIL things by going into any detail, in case you decide to read this volume for yourself.

Recommended to anyone who appreciates pre-20th century literature and, especially, translated works from German authors. Required reading for anyone desiring to read the Harvard five foot shelf, or anyone majoring or minoring on German or European studies.

[Avinash Chalasani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faust Part I, Goethe, translator Anna Swanwick:

Some of the most beautiful poetry ever. Will stay with me all my life and will revisit this work throughout my life. Planning on reading Part II in the near future.

Anna Swanwick’s translation is widely regarded as the greatest in English, the language is antiquated, but this is the necessary sacrifice for beauty. I have the Kaufman translation too, it is also great.

The work is all-encompassing, its themes contains everything about humanity: suffering, joy, art, religion, love, comedy, death, magic, animals, nature etc. What I loved the most is two things, how profoundly human this work is, and how profoundly philosophical it is.

Fausts monologues are beautiful, and I loved Mephistopheles’ character too. There are so many beautiful depictions of nature, my two favorite: The Prologue in Heaven, and the scene on Easter Day in the meadows.

I sense a strong similarity in Faust to The Divine Comedy of Dante. Instead of Dante and Virgil, it is Faust and Mephistopheles. Instead of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, we are on Earth. This is the German people’s Divine Comedy.

I will say however, that until I have learnt German and read this work then I have never truly done it justice.

[Ixby Wuff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compiled and Edited by Charles W. Eliot LL D in 1909, the Harvard Classics is a 51-volume Anthology of classic literature from throughout the history of western civilization. The set is sometimes called "Eliot's Five-Foot Shelf."

Volume 19 contains 4 works:

Faust, Part 1 by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Tragic History of Dr. Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe

Egmont by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Hermann and Dorothea by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

[Ace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read, though disappointed to learn that it only contains Part I of Goethe's "Faust." Will be rapidly in search of Part II in hopes that the tragic events can yet somehow be set to rights.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked Marlowe better than Goethe. Everything was verse, but Marlowe's story held together while Goethe seemed to disjointed.

[John Hayward]

Just read Marlowe's Doctor Faustus.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished reading Goethe's The Tragedy of Faust, Part I (Anna Swanwick translation) yesterday. I am still in the middle of digesting the play and what I think, but decided that I should write down some general thoughts as they strike me. So if you are reading, please consider this review to be something akin to a free-association exercise in writing.

Henry Faust is an intellectual who is suffocating in the safety of his comfortable setting and accomplishments. Like an explorer or warrior he longs for something greater than himself. Please let me explain before judging this comment as being a bit trite. I can only write from within my own context of living as a middle-class American who is insulated from the kinds of dangers and deprivations that commonly affect people in other parts of the world - harrowing experiences that chisel the individual and impart a desperate striving and appreciation for life in its most basic elements. Experiences that do not always let individuals escape with life intact.

Consider the refugee, by way of example, who escapes his war-torn homeland with nothing but has gained a sense of genuine meaning about life. Comfort and shelter keeps us safe, but do not, as a general rule, allow for these kinds of experiences. They lead to a longing for something greater, higher. We deal with it by either succumbing to things that numb our minds and anesthetize - hedonism in its various forms - or by seeking out something greater or more profound: religion, beauty, knowledge, love, etc. Henry Faust, I believe, falls neatly into the latter category. He has sought out knowledge and become learned but found no escape therein. He is unsatisfied and longs for fulfillment. Unlike most, he looks not to heaven for consolation, but to hell. Enter Mephistopheles. A challenge is made, a deal struck, a soul sold - under contingency, of course.

Mephistopheles, or the devil, is still a created thing as he himself makes clear on different occasions. He is, therefore, bound to this world. His offerings to Faust are those already mentioned above, but offered, of course, with characteristically subtle deceit to make them more alluring. Faust is exposed to the true underworld where the devil remains supreme, but in a way that is still connected to the temporal realm. He finds love, thanks to the charms of Mephistopheles, in the arms of Gretchen, but with a high price attached. Worse than death, his beloved faces damnation because of his actions. The first trace of meaning comes to Faust then, not because of his new experiences, but by the unbearable burden of responsibility for the life and soul of an innocent human being whom he loves.

This, I find, is the ultimate lesson the tale in its first part has to offer. What a lesson indeed in a culture where more and more people are isolated in a one-on-one relationship with their phones, computers and televisions absent genuine human contact and interaction. Perhaps the key to combating the record levels of depression, drug abuse, failing marriages and the like is to discover what Henry Faust did: true meaning cannot come without a genuine stake in the total welfare of another human being we truly love.

I have yet to read the second part of the tale. So my understanding of this play is somewhat limited. As to literary quality, I cannot comment. I am sure that it is great as everyone seems to agree, but I am unlearned in such things. I feel content that I can finally say, "Oh yes, I have read Goethe" and have some sort of basis for a discussion where his name comes up. Because, as we know, that happens all the time.

[David Redden · Rating 5 out of 5]

J.W. Von Goethe, Faust (1808, sort of) - 4 of 5. Gothe's Faust, which is loosely based on an old German folk-tale, is about an academic who, dissatisfied with knowing all there is to know about everything, eschews suicide and instead sells his soul to the devil to learn and experience more. This translation by noted 19th century author and feminist Anna Swanwick is challenging. So challenging, in fact, that I gave up and switched to the more recent David Luke translation. But then, once I understood what was going on, I came back to the Swanwick translation and enjoyed it. Each was clever in its own way.

Thomas Marlowe, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus (1604, sort of) - 4 of 5. A much older telling of the Faust story. This one reads like a Shakespeare play. Very enjoyable.

Goethe, Egmont (1788) - 5 of 5. A very inspiring story about Count Egmont, a Netherlandic nobleman who was brave in none face of tyranny, and whose execution by the Spanish led to a popular uprising and, ultimately, the Netherlands' independence from Spain. Also a Swanwick translation, but much much easier to follow than the Faust translation.

Goethe, Hermann and Dorothea (about 1797) - 5 of 5. An exceedingly cute story about the love that bind nations, towns, families and couples together in times of war and tragedy. I had to laugh when the dad, who had only moments before announced his distaste of "womanish weeping" had to hide his tears of joy. Also a very pleasurable Swanwick translation.