Thursday, September 12, 2019

Faust (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)


Faust is a classic play about a man who makes a deal with the devil for worldly power and pleasure. I listened to the pictured abridged dramatization, a translation of Goethe's version.

The story: pretty good, if confusing at times.  That may be due to listening to the entire 4-hour audiobook in one go, though- hard to maintain concentration. Part one is much more focused on Faust and (in my opinion) better; part two is all over the place historically (visiting characters of history and legend in different tiems) and harder to follow.

The poetry: excellent.  I'm impressed with the verse, doubly so as it was translated. There is what I'd call a 'flexible' rhyming scheme, where the syllabic distance between rhymes varies, but I liked that more than I expected.

The presentation: excellent (in the pictured audiobook version). 

As this is such a classic, you should give it a go.  I didn't realize the concept of Faust long predated Goethe (by 200 years), and is based on a historical figure.

Rating: B

No comments:

Post a Comment