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, "Verm chtnis" ("Legacy"), written when he was 80. Several poems from the 1819 volume West- stlicher 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 "Erlk nig" ("Elf King"). Included among the 96 other works are these poems: "Auf dem See" ("On the Lake"); "Zigeunerlied" ("Gypsy Song"); "J gers 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.