Faust: A Poem

Nürnberger, Woldemar, 1818-1869Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 177K words
Chapters: 18

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Faust: Ein Gedicht by Woldemar NürnbergerAuthor: Nürnberger, Woldemar, 1818-1869,Language: German, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: May 15, 2017

Editor's review

This is a long poem by Woldemar Nürnberger on the Faust legend, released by Project Gutenberg in the original German. Compared with Goethe's famous work of the same name, it is almost unknown in the Chinese-speaking world, and precisely for that reason it helps fill a gap in the study of how the Faust motif evolved in nineteenth-century German literature. The verse form means readers are not facing a tightly plotted novel but narrative and lyrical passages that move to the rhythm of rhyme, and its treatment of temptation, the pursuit of knowledge, and redemption bears a clear mark of its era. The greatest gain from reading a public-domain ebook of this kind is often not the story itself but observing how an old motif is repeatedly rewritten by different authors. It is best read alongside Goethe's Faust, noting how the two differ in character motivation and the arrangement of the ending. Because there is no modern annotated edition, readers must supply the background themselves; read slowly, and mark allusions to look up later.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Researchers of German literature interested in the many nineteenth-century rewrites of the Faust motif
Advanced readers who have read Goethe's Faust and want a comparative perspective
Literature lovers with German reading ability and an interest in verse narrative
Scholars studying the literary adaptation of folklore who need primary texts as case studies

Not a good fit for

General readers without German who expect a Chinese translation; the original is a high barrier
Beginners new to the Faust theme who want to start with the classic masterpiece
Readers who prefer fast-paced plotted novels and lack patience for verse narrative

Reading tips

Learn the basic outline of the Faust legend first to reduce interruptions caused by allusions
Read alongside Goethe's Faust and note how the two authors handle the pact and redemption differently
Read the German aloud paragraph by paragraph to feel the rhythm of the verse; it is easier than silent reading for entering a long poem
Prepare a list of characters and allusions and fill it in as you read, so that missing background does not make you give up

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this the same work as Goethe's Faust?

No. The author is Woldemar Nürnberger, a nineteenth-century German poet, and the title is Faust: Ein Gedicht, meaning "Faust: A Poem." It borrows the same legendary motif, but the text and structure are entirely different from Goethe's great work; it can be regarded as another version of the same subject.

Can I read this book without knowing German?

The original is in German verse, and direct reading without German is very difficult. The Project Gutenberg edition has no Chinese parallel text. It is advisable first to find a Chinese or English version to learn the Faust legend, then work through the German paragraph by paragraph with a dictionary; if you have no intention of learning German, give priority to a Chinese translation of Goethe's work.

Why is this book so rarely mentioned in the Chinese-speaking world?

The Faust theme has long been transmitted mainly through Goethe's work, and Nürnberger's long poem has not entered the common translation canon; it is a niche text. Its value lies more in motif studies and in filling gaps in German literary history than in general reading.

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About the author

Nürnberger, Woldemar, 1818-1869 Author

Woldemar Nürnberger (1818–1869) is a German-language author about whom relatively little biographical information is available. What can be confirmed is that he wrote the poetic work Faust: Ein Gedicht, which takes up the classic Faust theme of German literature. On the available evidence, he treats the Faust story in verse, placing his work within the nineteenth-century German literary tradition of Faust writing. Because public information is limited, details of his education, career, nationality, and the publication and reception of his work cannot be reliably established, so assessments of him and his writing should remain cautious. The safer approach is to read his Faust poem as part of the continuation of German Faust writing after Goethe, one of many reworkings of the theme rather than the work of a widely influential classic author.