Goethe viewed the writing of poetry as essentially autobiographical, and the works selected in this volume represent more than sixty years in the life of the poet. In early poems such as Prometheus,” he rails against religion in an almost ecstatic fervor, while To the Moon” is an enigmatic meditation on the end of a love affair. The Roman Elegiesshow Goethe’s use of Classical meters in an homage to ancient Rome and its poets, and The Diary,” suppressed for more than a century, is a narrative poem whose eroticism is combined with its morality. In selections from Faust, arguably his greatest and most personal work, Goethe creates an exhilarating depiction of humankind’s eternal search for truth. Faithful and felicitous, these verse translations . . . are an excellent introduction to [Goethe’s] genius.” —The Daily Telegraph(London)

David Luke is emeritus fellow of Christ Church, Oxford, and translator of Heinrich von Kleist and the Brothers Grimm for Penguin Classics.