Literature

Selected Poems: The Collected Works of Goethe, Volume 1

    Translated by
  • Michael Hamburger
  • David Luke
  • Christopher Middleton
  • John Frederick Nims
  • Vernon Watkins
    Edited by
  • Christopher Middleton

Authoritative English translations of Goethe鈥檚 major poetic works

Paperback

Price:
$27.95/拢22.00
ISBN:
Published:
Nov 17, 2026
Pages:
328
Size:
6.13 x 9.25 in.

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鈥檚 major works鈥攁ll prepared by eminent American and English writers and all testifying to the poet鈥檚 genius.

The Collected Works of Goethe presents modern translations of a representative portion of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe鈥檚 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.