Selected Poems: The Collected Works of Goethe, Volume 1 - Softcover

Von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0691292094 ISBN 13: 9780691292090

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2026

Synopsis

Authoritative English translations of Goethe’s major poetic works

Goethe created a body of poetry that is unsurpassed in lucidity of speech and imagery and in instinct for melody and rhythm. The founder of the poetry of experience, he reintroduced intimacy to the public world, and his poems have something for everyone. Nonetheless, Goethe the poet remains relatively unknown to contemporary English-speaking audiences, partly because of the difficulties his poetry has posed to translators. This volume contains translations, side by side with the German originals, of Goethe’s major works—all prepared by eminent American and English writers and all testifying to the poet’s genius.

The Collected Works of Goethe presents modern translations of a representative portion of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s vast body of work. Selected from more than 140 volumes in German, this twelve-volume series remains the standard collection in English and features poetry, drama, fiction, memoir, criticism, and scientific writing.

Edited by Christopher Middleton
With translations by Michael Hamburger, David Luke, Christopher Middleton, John Frederick Nims, and Vernon Watkins

About this title

About the Author

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) was one of the greatest artists of the German Romantic period. He was a poet, playwright, novelist, and natural philosopher. Christopher Middleton (1926–2015) was a British poet and translator whose books include The Anti-Basilisk and Jackdaw Jiving: Selected Essays on Poetry and Translation.

Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691292094
• ISBN 13: 9780691292090
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 328
• Editor: Middleton Christopher