Goethe's Faust
Encyclopedia
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
's Faust is a tragic
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
in two parts: (translated as: Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy) and (Faust: The Second Part of the Tragedy). Although written as a closet drama
Closet drama
A closet drama is a play that is not intended to be performed onstage, but read by a solitary reader or, sometimes, out loud in a small group. A related form, the "closet screenplay," developed during the 20th century.-Form:...
, it is the play with the largest audience numbers on German-language stages. Faust is Goethe's most famous work and considered by many to be one of the greatest works of German literature.
Goethe completed a preliminary version of Part One in 1806. The 1808 publication was followed by the revised 1828–29 edition, which was the last to be edited by Goethe himself. Prior to these appeared a partial printing in 1790 of Faust, a Fragment. The earliest forms of the work, known as the Urfaust, were developed between 1772 and 1775; however, the details of that development are no longer entirely clear.
Goethe finished writing Faust Part Two in 1832, the year of his death. In contrast to Faust Part One, the focus here is no longer on the soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
of Faust, which has been sold to the devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
, but rather on social phenomena such as psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, in addition to mystical and philosophical topics. The second part formed the principal occupation of Goethe's last years. It was completed and sealed in 1831 and appeared only posthumously in 1832.
The First Part of the Tragedy
The principal characters of Faust Part One include:
- Heinrich Faust, a scholar, sometimes said to be based on the real life of Johann Georg FaustJohann Georg FaustDr. Johann Georg Faust , also known in English as John Faustus , was an itinerant alchemist, astrologer, and magician of the German Renaissance...
, or on Jacob BidermannJacob BidermannJacob Bidermann was born in the Austrian village of Ehingen, about 30 miles southwest of Ulm. He was a Jesuit priest and professor of theology, but is remembered mostly for his plays....
's dramatized account of the Legend of the Doctor of Paris, CenodoxusCenodoxusCenodoxus is one of several medieval miracle plays by Jacob Bidermann, an early 17th century German Jesuit and prolific playwright. Jacob Bidermann's treatment of the Legend of the Doctor of Paris is generally regarded as one of the inspirations for Goethe's Faust.-Performance history:Published in... - MephistophelesMephistophelesMephistopheles is a demon featured in German folklore...
, a DevilDevilThe Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly... - Gretchen, Faust's love (short for Margarete; Goethe uses both forms)
- Marthe, Gretchen's neighbour
- Valentin, Gretchen's brother
- Wagner, Faust's famulus
Faust Part One is a complex story. It takes place in multiple settings, the first of which is heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
. Mephistopheles makes a bet with God: he says that he can defect God's favourite human being (Faust), who is striving to learn everything that can be known, away from righteous pursuits. The next scene takes place in Faust's study where Faust, despairing at the vanity of scientific, humanitarian and religious learning, turns to magic for the showering of infinite knowledge. He suspects, however, that his attempts are failing. Frustrated, he ponders suicide, but rejects it as he hears the echo of nearby Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
celebrations begin. He goes for a walk with his assistant Wagner and is followed home by a stray poodle
Poodle
The Poodle is a breed of dog. The poodle breed is found officially in toy, miniature, and standard sizes, with many coat colors. Originally bred as a type of water dog, the poodle is highly intelligent and skillful in many dog sports, including agility, obedience, tracking, and even herding...
(the term then meant a medium-to-big-size dog, similar to a sheep dog).
In Faust's study, the poodle transforms into the devil (Mephistopheles). Faust makes an arrangement with the devil: the devil will do everything that Faust wants while he is here on Earth, and in exchange Faust will serve the devil in Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
. Faust's arrangement is that if during the time while Mephistopheles is serving Faust, Faust is so pleased with anything the devil gives him that he wants to stay in that moment forever, he will die in that instant.
When the devil tells Faust to sign the pact with blood, Faust complains that the devil does not trust Faust's word of honor. In the end, Mephistopheles wins the argument and Faust signs the contract with a drop of his own blood. Faust has a few excursions and then meets Margaret (also known as Gretchen). He is attracted to her and with jewellery and help from a neighbor, Martha, the devil draws Gretchen into Faust's arms. With influence from the devil, Faust seduces Gretchen. Gretchen's mother dies from a sleeping potion
Potion
A potion is a consumable medicine or poison.In mythology and literature, a potion is usually made by a magician, sorcerer, dragon, fairy or witch and has magical properties. It might be used to heal, bewitch or poison people...
, administered by Gretchen to obtain privacy so that Faust could visit her. Gretchen discovers she is pregnant. Gretchen's brother condemns Faust, challenges him and falls dead at the hands of Faust and Mephistopheles
Mephistopheles
Mephistopheles is a demon featured in German folklore...
. Gretchen drowns her illegitimate child and is convicted of the murder
Filicide
Filicide is the deliberate act of a parent killing his or her own son or daughter. The word filicide derives from the Latin words filius meaning "son" or filia meaning daughter and the suffix -cide meaning to kill, murder, or cause death...
. Faust tries to save Gretchen from death by attempting to free her from prison. Finding that she refuses to escape, Faust and the devil flee the dungeon, while voices from Heaven announce that Gretchen shall be saved.
The Second Part of the Tragedy
Rich in classical allusion, in Part Two the romantic story of the first Faust is forgotten, and Faust wakes in a field of fairies to initiate a new cycle of adventures and purpose. The piece consists of five acts (relatively isolated episodes) each representing a different theme. Ultimately, Faust goes to heaven, for he loses only half of the bet. Angels, who arrive as messengers of divine mercy, declare at the end of Act V: "He who strives on and lives to strive/ Can earn redemption still" (V, 11936–7).
Relationship between the parts
Throughout Part One, Faust remains unsatisfied; the ultimate conclusion of the tragedy and the outcome of the wagers are only revealed in Faust Part Two. The first part represents the "small world" and takes place in Faust's own local, temporal milieu. In contrast, Part Two takes place in the "wide world" or macrocosmos.Basic themes
1. Faust does not seek power through knowledge, but access to transcendentTranscendence (religion)
In religion transcendence refers to the aspect of God's nature which is wholly independent of the physical universe. This is contrasted with immanence where God is fully present in the physical world and thus accessible to creatures in various ways...
knowledge denied to the rational mind. Here Goethe's mysticism asserts itself clearly.
2. The play, Faust, is an attempt to show that the German language is as capable of a broad range of lyrical, narrative, acoustical, and semantic effects as any other vernacular poetry.
Influence
The story of FaustFaust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
inspired a great deal of literature, music and illustration.
Although today many of the classical and Central European themes may be hard for the modern reader to grasp, the work remains a resonant parable on scientific learning and religion, passion and seduction, independence and love, as well as other subjects. In poetic terms, Goethe places science and power in the context of a morally interested metaphysics. Faust is a scientific empiricist who is forced to confront questions of good and evil, God and the devil, sexuality and mortality.
In the fourth book of his main work, Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher known for his pessimism and philosophical clarity. At age 25, he published his doctoral dissertation, On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason, which examined the four separate manifestations of reason in the phenomenal...
praised Goethe's portrayal of Gretchen and her suffering. In Schopenhauer's consideration of salvation from suffering, he cited this section of Faust as exemplifying one of the ways to sanctity.
The German language has itself been influenced by Goethe's Faust, particularly by the first part. One example of this is the phrase "des Pudels Kern", which means the real nature or deeper meaning of something (that was not evident before). The literal translation of "des Pudels Kern" is "the core of the poodle", and it originates from Faust's exclamation upon seeing the poodle (which followed him home) turn into Mephistopheles. Another instance originates in the scene wherein Gretchen asks Faust if he is religious. In German, the word "Gretchenfrage" (literally "Gretchen question") refers to a question aiming at the core of the issue, often forcing the answering person to make a confession or a difficult decision.
On his deathbed, the mathematician John von Neumann
John von Neumann
John von Neumann was a Hungarian-American mathematician and polymath who made major contributions to a vast number of fields, including set theory, functional analysis, quantum mechanics, ergodic theory, geometry, fluid dynamics, economics and game theory, computer science, numerical analysis,...
entertained his brother with a word for word memory of Goethe's Faust.
Translations
In 1821, a partial English verse translation of Faust (Part One) was published anonymously by the London publisher Thomas Boosey and Sons, with illustrations by the German engraver Moritz Retzsch. This translation was attributed to the English poet Samuel Taylor ColeridgeSamuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
by Frederick Burwick and James C. McKusick in their 2007 Oxford University Press edition, Faustus: From the German of Goethe, Translated by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In a letter dated 4 September 1820, Goethe wrote to his son August that Coleridge was translating Faust. However, this attribution is controversial.
In 1828, at the age of twenty, Gérard de Nerval
Gérard de Nerval
Gérard de Nerval was the nom-de-plume of the French poet, essayist and translator Gérard Labrunie, one of the most essentially Romantic French poets.- Biography :...
published a French translation of J.W. von Goethe's Faust, which given his young age and the complexity of the text is regarded as a remarkable feat, all the more so considering the praise it received from the German author himself.
In 1870–71, Bayard Taylor published an English translation in the original metres.
In 1887 the Irish dramatist William Gorman Wills
William Gorman Wills
William Gorman Wills , was an Irish dramatist and painter.-Biography:The son of James Wills , author of Lives of Illustrious and Distinguished Irishmen, William was born in Dublin and educated at Waterford Grammar School and Trinity College, Dublin.After publishing his novel Old Times in an Irish...
loosely adapted the first part of Faust for a production starring Henry Irving
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
as Mephistopheles at the Lyceum Theatre, London.
Philosopher Walter Kaufmann
Walter Kaufmann
Walter Arnold Kaufmann was a German-American philosopher, translator, and poet. A prolific author, he wrote extensively on a broad range of subjects, such as authenticity and death, moral philosophy and existentialism, theism and atheism, Christianity and Judaism, as well as philosophy and...
was also known for an English translation of Faust.
In August 1950, Boris Pasternak
Boris Pasternak
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak was a Russian language poet, novelist, and literary translator. In his native Russia, Pasternak's anthology My Sister Life, is one of the most influential collections ever published in the Russian language...
's Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
translation of the first part led him to be attacked in the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
literary journal Novy Mir
Novy Mir
Novy Mir is a Russian language literary magazine that has been published in Moscow since January 1925. It was supposed to be modelled on the popular pre-Soviet literary magazine Mir Bozhy , which was published from 1892 to 1906, and its follow-up, Sovremenny Mir , which was published 1906-1917...
. The attack read in part,
"... the translator clearly distorts Goethe's ideas... in order to defend the reactionaryReactionaryThe term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
theory of 'pure art' ... he introduces an aesthetic and individualist flavor into the text... attributes a reactionary idea to Goethe... distorts the social and philosophical meaning..."
In response, Pasternak wrote to the exiled daughter of Marina Tsvetayeva,
"There has been much concern over an article in Novy Mir denouncing my Faust on the grounds that the gods, angels, witches, spirits, the madness of poor Gretchen, and everything 'irrational' has been rendered much too well, while Goethe's 'progressiveProgressivismProgressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
' ideas (what are they?) have been glossed over. But I have a contract to do the second part as well! I don't know how it will all end. Fortunately, it seems that the article won't have any practical effect."
Part one
- May 24, 1819: Premiere of selected scenes. Castle MonbijouMonbijou PalaceMonbijou Palace was a Rococo palace in central Berlin located in the present-day Monbijou Park on the north bank of the Spree river across from today's Bode Museum and within sight of the Hohenzollern city palace. Heavily damaged in World War II, the ruins were finally razed in 1959...
, Berlin - January 29, 1829: Premiere of the complete Part One. BraunschweigBraunschweigBraunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
- 1960: Deutsches SchauspielhausDeutsches SchauspielhausThe Deutsches Schauspielhaus is a theatre in the St. Georg quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany. With a capacity for 1192 spectators, it places it as Germany's largest theatre...
, Hamburg: Directed by Peter Gorski, and produced by Gustaf GründgensGustaf GründgensGustaf Gründgens , born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, intendant and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg...
(who also played Mephistopheles), with Will QuadfliegWill QuadfliegFriedrich Wilhelm "Will" Quadflieg was a German actor from Oberhausen. He was the father of actor Christian Quadflieg. He is considered one of Germany's best post-war actors. One of his most widely recognized roles was in the title role in the 1960 film Faust. He also starred in a number of other...
(Faust), Ella Büchi (Gretchen), Elisabeth FlickenschildtElisabeth FlickenschildtElisabeth Ida Marie Flickenschildt was a German actress, producer and author. She appeared in dozens of German language films and television productions from 1935 to 1976...
(Martha), Max Eckard (Valentin), Eduard Marks (Wagner), Uwe Friedrichsen (Student). The filmFaust (1960 film)Faust is a 1960 West German fantasy film directed by Peter Gorski. It is based on Goethe's Faust and adapted from the theater production at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg...
of this performance was very successful. - October 26, 2006: Teatro Comunale ModenaTeatro Comunale ModenaThe Teatro Comunale di Modena is an opera house in the town of Modena, , Italy...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
: Directed by Eimuntas NekrošiusEimuntas NekrošiusEimuntas Nekrošius is one of the most renowned theatre directors in Lithuania.- Career :...
; complete playing length (with intervals): 4½ hours - 1989: fragments from 1st part. Piccolo Teatro di Milano: Director Giorgio StrehlerGiorgio StrehlerGiorgio Strehler was an Italian opera and theatre director.-Biography:Strehler was born in Barcola, Trieste to an Austrian father and a Franco-Slovene mother; he grew up speaking Italian but spoke French well and his German was passable. He became suddenly fatherless at the age of three, his...
, scenographer Josef SvobodaJosef SvobodaJosef Svoboda was a Czech artist and scenic designer.Svoboda was born in Čáslav, Czechoslovakia . He began his training as an architect at the Central School of Housing in Prague. At the end of World War II he became interested in theatre and design...
Part two
- 2003 of Ingmar Thilo; with Antonios Safralis (Faust), Raphaela Zick (Mephisto), Ulrike Dostal (Helena), Max Friedmann (Lynceus), and others
- 2005 Michael Thalheimer at Deutsches TheaterDeutsches TheaterThe Deutsches Theater in Berlin is a well-known German theatre. It was built in 1850 as Friedrich-Wilhelm-Städtisches Theater, after Frederick William IV of Prussia. Located on Schumann Street , the Deutsches Theater consists of two adjoining stages that share a common, classical facade...
, Berlin, with a.o. Ingo Hülsmann, Sven Lehmann, Nina Hoss and Inge Keller - 1990: fragments from 2nd part. Piccolo Teatro di Milano: Director Giorgio Strehler, scenographer Josef Svoboda
Entire piece
- 1938: World premiere of both parts, unabridged, at the GoetheanumGoetheanumThe Goetheanum, located in Dornach , Switzerland, is the world center for the anthroposophical movement. Named after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the center includes two performance halls , gallery and lecture spaces, a library, a bookstore, and administrative spaces for the Anthroposophical...
in DornachDornachDornach is a municipality in the district of Dorneck in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland.-History:Dornach is first mentioned in 1223 as de Tornacho. In 1307 it was mentioned as zu Dornach...
, Switzerland - July 22–23, 2000: The Expo 2000Expo 2000Expo 2000 was a World's Fair held in Hanover, Germany from Thursday, June 1 to Tuesday, October 31, 2000. It was located on the Hanover fairground , which is famous for hosting CeBIT...
HanoverHanoverHanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
performance: Directed by Peter SteinPeter SteinPeter Stein is a critically acclaimed German theatre and opera director who established himself at the Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz, a company that he brought to the forefront of German theatre....
; both parts in their complete version, with Bruno GanzBruno GanzBruno Ganz is a Swiss actor, known for his roles as Damiel in Wings of Desire and Adolf Hitler in Downfall.- Early life :Bruno Ganz was born in Zürich to a Swiss mechanic father and a northern Italian mother. He had decided to pursue an acting career by the time he entered university...
and Christian Nickel (the young and the old Faust), Johann Adam Oest (Mephistopheles), Dorothée Hartinger, Corinna Kirchhoff and Elke Petri. Complete playing length (with intervals): 21 hours
Later derivative works
- Franz SchubertFranz SchubertFranz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
's first successful song Gretchen am SpinnradeGretchen am SpinnradeGretchen am Spinnrade is a selection of text from Goethe's Faust. It was set by Schubert in 1814, Op.2, D 118, and was his first successful Lied...
is a setting of lines spoken by Gretchen in Faust Part I. - The second section of Mahler's Symphony No. 8Symphony No. 8 (Mahler)The Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major by Gustav Mahler is one of the largest-scale choral works in the classical concert repertoire. Because it requires huge instrumental and vocal forces it is frequently called the "Symphony of a Thousand", although the work is often performed with fewer than a...
is a cantata for the last scene in part II of Goethe's Faust. - Randy NewmanRandy NewmanRandall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
's musical FaustRandy Newman's FaustRandy Newman's Faust is a 1993 musical by American musician and songwriter Randy Newman, who based the work on the classic story of Faust, borrowing elements from the version by Goethe, as well as Milton's Paradise Lost, but updating the story to the modern day, and infusing it with humorous cynicism...
(1993) - Jan ŠvankmajerJan ŠvankmajerJan Švankmajer is a Czech filmmaker and artist whose work spans several media. He is a self-labeled surrealist known for his surreal animations and features, which have greatly influenced other artists such as Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, the Brothers Quay, and many others.- Life and career :Jan...
's film FaustFaust (1994 film)Faust is a 1994 Czech film directed by Jan Švankmajer. It merges live-action footage with stop-motion footage and includes imaginative puppetry and claymation. The Faust character is played by Petr Čepek. The film was produced by Jaromír Kallista...
(1994) - Alexander SokurovAlexander SokurovAlexander Nikolayevich Sokurov is a Russian filmmaker. His most significant works include a semi-documentary, Russian Ark , filmed in a single unedited shot, and Faust , which was honoured with the Golden Lion, the highest prize for the best film at the Venice Film Festival.- Life and work...
's film FaustFaust (2011 film)Faust is a 2011 Russian film directed by Alexander Sokurov. Set in the 19th century, it is a free interpretation of the Faust legend and its literary adaptations by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Thomas Mann. The dialogue is in German...
(2011)
External links
(German) (German) (1912 English translation by Bayard TaylorBayard Taylor
Bayard Taylor was an American poet, literary critic, translator, and travel author.-Life and work:...
l)
- Faust, Part 1 and 2 English translation from Project Gutenberg in a modern design
- Faust full text in German and English side-by-side (translations: Priest, Brooks and Coleridge)
- Faust available at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
, scanned illustrated books - Faust, Part II available at digbib.org (German)
- Faust, Pt. 1 available at Google Books (1867 English translation by John Wynniatt Grant)
- Faust, Pt. 1 available at Google Books (1908 English translation by Abraham HaywardAbraham HaywardAbraham Hayward was an English man of letters.-Life:He was son of Joseph Hayward, and was born in Wilton, near Salisbury, Wiltshire....
with illustrations by Willy PoganyWilly PoganyWilliam Andrew Pogany was a prolific Hungarian illustrator of children's and other books.-Biography:...
) - Notes, explanation, and commentary on the work In English, with excerpts from the German translated into English