Faust Part One
While I unfortunately cannot speak or read German, I was lucky enough to stumble upon a truly beautiful translation of Faust by David Luke. Though translation is notoriously difficult and even more so when it comes to poetry, David Luke manages to capture the essence of Goethe’s poetic masterpiece.
Faust is a poetic adaptation of an old German tragedy, where the faithful Dr. Faust sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and magical powers. The devil, Mephistopheles, sets to work corrupting men and preying on Faust’s hunger for power and knowledge beyond mortal means. The play deals in love, faith, temptation, and avarice, following the once good Dr. Faust as he embarks on a new journey exploring his own greedy indulgence under the seduction of the devil.
While I have an inescapable soft spot for fantasy stories concerning deals with the devil, what I found truly captivating about Faust was the poetry itself. The prose is enchanting and I personally found it more straightforward than the likes of Shakespeare. If you’re looking for a poetic play overflowing with beautiful prose and are willing to endure a few read throughs before fully grasping its meaning, Faust is something really quite special.
“And then let pleasure and distress,
Disappointment and success,
Succeed each other as they will;
Man cannot act if he is standing still.”
