A fresh translation of the poetry of German Romantic and polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe < p/>"Germany's greatest man of letters. . . and the last true polymath to walk the earth" -- George Eliot < p/> Here, in this selection of his poetry, is a representation of Goethe's life from childhood to old age: full of travel, romantic fixations, curiosity, nostalgia, deep thought, and above all, writing. < p/> Goethe is undoubtedly Germany's greatest poet, as Shakespeare is England's. This fresh translation offers the reader an introduction to Goethe's genius. And what a genius! < p/> Novelist, dramatist, philosopher and above all poet; a scientist with deep interests in Nature, in particular the human body, forestry, geology, botany and light; a courtier and in later life considered a sage, he was also a very frequent letter writer, no mean artist, and a man who was able throughout his life to renew and rejuvenate himself creatively, working out many of his life's problems through his writings. < p/> For English speakers he is probably best known as the author of Faust, a vast dramatic work mainly in verse which occupied him on and off throughout his long life, as well as The Sorrows of Young Werther, a novel of youthful despair which became the sacred text of the Romantic movement. < p/> This volume brings together his very personal lyric poetry, hewing as close to the original form, content, and rhyme schemes as possible in English.
