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.

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