Whats up with goethe's faust part 2

whats up with goethe's faust part 2

on goodreads way more people have read part 1 than 2 and some translations only cover part 1

is part 2 like an unecessary sequel? should i read both?

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They're pretty different in approach and were written decades apart iirc. I think preferred part 2, but if you read 1 you should probably read 2 as well.

There are about 40 years between the publication of both. The second part was published after his death.

The second part came out of Goethe taking the "start with the Greeks" meme very, very seriously, to the point that it's a hard read when you don't know the allusions, so most people skip it. The first part works fine on its own.

ah okay. i know the basics of the faust myth, is that covered in its entirety in part 1?

is part 1 a more or less complete narrative?

From what I recall yea, the fundament of the Faust myth is contained in part 1, and it can stand on it's own.

cheers. guess i'll just read part 1 for the time being

going to check what they've got at my library, is there any best english translation ?

Lol I just selected the sole translation my library had in stock. I don't remember who translated it but I do recall being impressed with the language and rhyme scheme.

Faust Part 1 has had a better shelf life because it has a salient romance plot, and is vastly more naturalistic in tone than Part 2, which is turbid by any standard.

Part 2 is fine, but is thematically harder to grapple with, because it represents the culmination of an entire life of study, and reflects Goethe's personal interests concerning rarer humanities (he tried to unify the mythologies of Greece and his own background) and science, as well as the revolutionary era he was part of, and veils it all in a shifting metaphysical narrative. It could be considered indulgent. Goethe actually admitted that Part 2 needed revision, but alas he died. Fortunately, as it is, the two parts form a complete work with a satisfactory conclusion.

I do think that Part 1 is a complete story in itself, but it doesn't address Faust's personal salvation, or occult nuance concerning alchemical transmutation, artificial life in bottles, personified deadly sins, or preserving a little brother's life in a suit of armor. So Part 2 is completely worth reading, if you're up to the challenge.

The David Luke translation is the modern standard for Faust. It has the best balance of natural sounding English and scholastically sophisticated tone. I started with Arndt, but I personally dislike his translation, as his word choice is turgid, and so recommend reading the Norton Faust only for the supplementary material. Arndt is a case where being more sophisticated resulted in a weaker overall performance.

This great post runs down a wider list of translations, so credits to him:
warosu.org/lit/thread/S8155372#p8157860

What's part 3 about then?

Part 2 is for patricians only.

>tfw still no one has comprehended the realm of the mothers yet except for you