
Reading Goethe
A Critical Introduction to the Literary Work
Camden House Inc (Publisher)
Published on 1. August 2007
Book
Paperback/Softback
212 pages
978-1-57113-358-8 (ISBN)
Description
At last an engaging and highly readable guide to the works and significance of Goethe.
The year 1999 saw the 250th anniversary of the birth of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Germany's greatest writer. Appropriately, literary scholars within Germany and beyond paid tribute to this remarkable talent. But a number of commentators also noted that Goethe is often revered rather than read, known of rather than known. This study remedies this state of affairs by offering an introduction to Goethe and his works for the English-speaking reader -- now inpaperback and with all quotations. The authors concentrate on the literary work and offer analyses that represent an impassioned, but by no means uncritical, advocacy -- one that seeks to persuade both academic critics and general readers alike that Goethe is one of the key figures of European modernity. To an extent that is virtually unique in modern literature, Goethe was active in a whole number of literary genres. He was a superb poet, unrivaled in the variety of his expressive modes, and in his ability to combine intellectual sophistication withexperiential immediacy. He also wrote short stories and novels throughout his life, ranging from the The Sorrows of Young Werther, to The Elective Affinities. He was also a highly skilled dramatist, both in the historical mode and in the classical verse-drama. Above all else, Goethe is the author of Faust: a work that attempts -- and achieves -- more than any other modern European drama.
Martin Swales is Professor of German at University College London. Erika Swales is College Lecturer and Fellow of King's College, Cambridge.
The year 1999 saw the 250th anniversary of the birth of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Germany's greatest writer. Appropriately, literary scholars within Germany and beyond paid tribute to this remarkable talent. But a number of commentators also noted that Goethe is often revered rather than read, known of rather than known. This study remedies this state of affairs by offering an introduction to Goethe and his works for the English-speaking reader -- now inpaperback and with all quotations. The authors concentrate on the literary work and offer analyses that represent an impassioned, but by no means uncritical, advocacy -- one that seeks to persuade both academic critics and general readers alike that Goethe is one of the key figures of European modernity. To an extent that is virtually unique in modern literature, Goethe was active in a whole number of literary genres. He was a superb poet, unrivaled in the variety of his expressive modes, and in his ability to combine intellectual sophistication withexperiential immediacy. He also wrote short stories and novels throughout his life, ranging from the The Sorrows of Young Werther, to The Elective Affinities. He was also a highly skilled dramatist, both in the historical mode and in the classical verse-drama. Above all else, Goethe is the author of Faust: a work that attempts -- and achieves -- more than any other modern European drama.
Martin Swales is Professor of German at University College London. Erika Swales is College Lecturer and Fellow of King's College, Cambridge.
Reviews / Votes
Recipient of CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award, 2002 * . * Presents a judicious corrective, not only to the tradition of uncritical adulation of Goethe as a cultural monument, but also to some twentieth-century caricatures of Goethe as an escapist poet of untroubled serenity and comforting affirmation. -- John R. Williams, University of St. Andrews An invaluable companion reference. * LIBRARY BOOKWATCH * [I]mmense in scale, succinct in its explicit and elaborate readings of Goethe texts, and profound in its assessments of Goethe's accomplishments as a writer. * GERMAN QUARTERLY * An example of excellent scholarship, sensitivity, and attention to the * . * The authors pack in an astonishing number of stimulating suggestions ... For this reader, the close readings of selected poems were outstanding, as were the discussions of 'Goetz,' 'Egmont,' 'Iphigenie,' and 'Tasso,' which put forward concentrated and arresting arguments about each play. * BRITISH JOURNAL OF 18TH-c. STUDIES * ...a very good and often thought-provoking read...Mature, experienced, and considered opinions on important works of Goethe. * GERMAN STUDIES REVIEW *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Columbia, MD
United States
Publishing group
Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
355 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-57113-358-8 (9781571133588)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
11/2001
Camden House Inc
€88.09
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E-Book
11/2001
1st Edition
De Gruyter
€48.99
Available for download
Persons
Martin Swales, Erika Swales
Content
Preface
Introduction
Poetry
Narrative Fiction
Drama
Faust
Goethe's Discursive Writings
Conclusion
Notes
Works Consulted and Works for Further Reading
Index
Introduction
Poetry
Narrative Fiction
Drama
Faust
Goethe's Discursive Writings
Conclusion
Notes
Works Consulted and Works for Further Reading
Index