Faust (Part Two)

Name: Faust (Part Two)
ISBN: 9787100203715

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe / 谷裕The Commercial Press · ChinaSep 2022

4.5

Word count: 244K words
Chapters: 33
ISBN: 9787100203715

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Summary

Part Two of Faust was written mainly between 1825 and 1831, during Goethe's 76th to 82nd years. It distils his lifelong practice and thought. Part Two stages the "great world", the public sphere, and ranges widely: forms of government, economy and finance, academic life, historical change, military campaigns, land reclamation from the sea, overseas plunder are all brought onto the stage, encompassing the major events of Germany and Europe in Goethe's age and throughout modern history.

The panorama of human society is set in analogy with contemporary natural science: revolution compared to plutonism, earthquakes and geological principles; an artificial human made by mingling the old alchemy with inorganic chemistry; the classification of clouds in meteorology mirrored in the ascent through successive heavens. The flourishing humanistic discourse, technological means and archaeological discoveries of ancient Greece in Goethe's time are all contained within it. The translator's notes are chiefly informational, divided into marginal notes and footnotes; a brief "note" precedes each act as a thematic introduction with a short account of its composition history, plot and verse-dramatic form; after most acts a "brief commentary" summarizes and adds remarks on the issues involved.

Editor's review

Goethe's Faust, Part Two is the crowning work of his life's labours, and its intellectual depth and artistic achievement have often been called one of the most complex and profound texts in the history of Western literature. Whereas Part One centres on the tragedy of personal desire and knowledge, Part Two suddenly broadens its horizon, placing Faust's quest within a grand framework of history, politics, aesthetics and cosmic order. The reader follows Faust through the enchanted world of classical antiquity, into the power struggles of the Empire, and finally, in the creative labour of reclaiming land from the sea, arrives at the ultimate truth that "he only earns his freedom and existence who daily conquers them anew". The translation is by a seasoned scholar who strives for a balance between verse rhythm and intellectual fidelity, with detailed notes that provide Chinese readers a reliable bridge to this "unreadable book". To read it is not only to take up the challenge of a literary classic but to enter a profound speculation on the human spirit, the nature of creation and ultimate value.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Deep readers with a strong interest in Western classical literature and philosophy
Literary scholars seeking to understand Goethe's thought as a whole and the complete architecture of Faust
Readers undaunted by complex symbolism and grand narrative who enjoy an intellectual challenge
Those eager to explore the cultural spirit of Europe from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment

Not a good fit for

Casual readers seeking light entertainment or simple storytelling
Beginners with little patience for verse drama and a dense array of historical and cultural allusions

Reading tips

Read Part One through first to grasp the characters and the basic conflict before entering Part Two.
Make full use of the notes and introduction; they are essential for understanding the mythological allusions, historical background and philosophical metaphors.
Do not insist on understanding everything at once; treat it as a treasury of thought to be reopened, each time focusing on a different thematic layer, such as politics, aesthetics or ethics.

About the publisher

The Commercial Press China · Founded in 1897

The Commercial Press is a publisher known for classic works and academic publishing, with titles spanning Eastern philosophy, foreign literature, world history, social culture, and applied psychology. Its list includes classical commentaries such as Zhu Xi's Collected Commentaries on the Analects and Wang Bi's Commentary on the Zhouyi, as well as modern annotated translations like Zhuangzi with Modern Notes and Translation. In foreign literature it offers War and Peace and Crime and Punishment, while in world history it carries Braudel's The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II. Applied psychology is represented by Irvin D. Yalom's Existential Psychotherapy, and ethical texts include a Greek-Chinese-English edition of the Nicomachean Ethics. Its authors and translators include Zhu Xi, Wang Bi, Yalom, Braudel, and translators such as Huang Zheng, Zhang Yiling, Shen Dongyu, and Tang Jialong, balancing the editing of original texts with academic translation.

版权信息
译者序
第一幕
风光旖旎之地
皇帝的行宫
宽敞的大厅，并若干偏室
林苑
幽暗的回廊
灯火通明的过厅
骑士厅
第二幕
高拱顶、狭窄的哥特式书斋
实验室
古典的瓦尔普吉斯之夜
第三幕
斯巴达墨涅拉斯王宫前
城堡内庭
阿卡迪亚
第四幕
高山
山麓观战
伪帝的营帐，宝座
第五幕
开阔的地带
宫殿
深夜
子夜
宫殿前宽阔的庭院
埋葬
山涧，丛林，岩石，旷野
附录一《浮士德》注释版，第八版序言
附录二编本说明
附录三参考文献

FAQ

What is the main difference between Faust, Part Two and Part One?

Part One is more a personal tragedy, centred on the "study" and "love", and relatively compact in style. Part Two turns to an exploration of social history and cosmic order, with grand scenes and a complex symbolic system, touching on politics, art, science and many other themes, and a more monumental, allegorical structure.

What are the features of this translation?

This translation is chiefly in verse, balancing the rhythm of the original with the idioms of Chinese, and is accompanied by extensive scholarly notes that help readers understand the cultural background, the sources of allusions and the finer points of Goethe's thought; it is a reliable edition for academic study and deep reading.

What should I do when I meet mythological symbols I find hard to understand?

This is normal. Read the book alongside reference works or introductions to Greco-Roman myth, Christian symbolism and Renaissance culture. Understanding the key symbols (such as the "Mothers" and Homunculus, the artificial man) is the key to entering the world of Part Two.

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About the author

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Author · Germany · 1749–1832

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) was a German thinker, writer and scientist, and the most celebrated representative of Weimar Classicism. Born in Frankfurt am Main, he rose to fame in 1774 with The Sorrows of Young Werther, an epistolary novel whose heartfelt emotional portrayal moved many readers of the time. Over the following decades he continued to write; his masterpiece, the verse drama Faust, took many years to complete and explores striving, temptation and redemption, exerting a profound influence. The library holds 40 of his works, including several versions of Faust, Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and the four-volume Collected Translations of Feng Zhi, spanning literature, foreign literature, classics, world masterpieces, essays and modern poetry. His writing combines philosophical reflection with lyricism across many genres, and holds an important place in German and world literature.

谷裕 Author

Gu Yu is an author about whom little public information is available. The library holds two works under this name, both Chinese translations of Goethe's Faust, covering respectively the first and second parts of the verse drama. The existing categories place these works under literature and foreign literature, indicating that the translator's focus lies in rendering German literary classics into Chinese. Together the two volumes trace the full arc of Faust, from his scholarly striving and his pact with the devil to his pursuit of classical beauty and of a life of deeds, a text whose verse form, philosophical dialogue and shifting monologue demand both linguistic skill and literary sensitivity from the translator. Gu Yu's versions offer Chinese readers accessible texts through which to approach Goethe's original, and hold some reference value in the field of translated foreign literature. Owing to limited sources, details of the translator's life, education and research interests cannot be confirmed.