Evening star., 1932-05-01
Washington Musician
Writes Interesting Notes
On Career of Goethe
Memory of Germany S Foremost Poet Who Died
on March o. 1882, One Hundred Years
Ago. Is Honored In America.

and Robert Pierce Gillies, who
were all well versed in German
and did much toward making
German literature known in Eng
land. Carlyle's activities began in
1922.
Mrs. Sarah Austin, who had
lived for several years at Bonn,
where she acquired a thorough
knowledge of German and a deep
interest in the Germans and their
literature, published a book on
Goethe. She exerted a most po-
tent influence by her converSa-
ton and her correspondence with
eminent men.
Kotzebue's play rated higher
than Goethe's and Schiller'S. After
a period of apathy, literary inter-
course was further hampered by
Napoleonic wars.
In 1918 the English translation
of Nine. de StaePs book, "On Ger
many" became an influence that
again brought Germany and the
Germans vividly before the minds
of the Englishmen. Then, too,
three important magazines, the
Edinburgh Review in 1902, the
Quarterly Review in 1909 and
Blackwood's Magazine in 1917,
important factors in literary criti-
cismS, were favorable to German
literature, and did much to bring
it prominently before the public
in book reviews and original
articles.
In 1914 London publisher
thought it might be a good busi-
ness venture to have Faust"
translated into English, as 1t
would now probably find a ready
market after having been brought
before the public by Nine. de
Stael. He negotiated with Cole
ridge, who, however, could not
bring himself to do the labor. This
is to be regretted, since his ver-
sion would have forestalled many
a poor translation of later date.
Only very slowly Faust" Part
l, gained recognition. In 1888 the
reviews of the second part began
to appear, but one is compelled to
turn away from most of these re-
views in disappointment. The
critics for the most part were
blind to the meaning and merits
of the second part. Renewed in
terest in Goethe'S works dates
from the appearance of Lewes'
biography of Goethe in 1855, but
it is not much to his credit that
he, too, is entirely blind to the
merits of the second part Of
Faust" This misinterpretation
of the second part continued even
several decades longer.
There were, of course, always a
few who understood and appreci-
ated the whole of Goethe'S mas
terpiece. of which the author him
self said: "The poem will explain
itself if we regard it as a whole
and do not undertake to explain
the parts separately and not in
their relation to each other"
During the second half Of the
last century the study of Goethe'S
Faust" in England received many
favorable impulses from Germany
and was carried on in a more
scholarly way than before. The
pathological and historical inter-
probation of Faust" by Scherer
and his school exerted a strong
influence on the methods of Eng
liSh Faust" criticism.
The newer spirit of German
Faust" scholarship, while by no
means disdaining pathological in
vestigation, aims, by the aid OF
esthetic criticism. to further the
appreciation and enjoyment Of
Goethe's masterpiece as an artiS-
tic whole. We should not in read
ing Goethe'S great play find our
chief interest centered around the
tragedy of Marguerite, but rather
find in the play the intellect,
character and life of Goethe him
self. the thoughts and feelings
during go years of his mortal way
faring.