The Poems of Goethe, Translated in the Original Metres

This collection presents roughly four hundred poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe rendered into English in faithful metres, encompassing songs, ballads, odes, sonnets, epigrams, elegies, and stage songs. The translations aim for literal fidelity and preservation of original metre, accompanied by a brief biographical sketch and dates of publication, with arrangement following authorized German editions. The selections range from short lyrical pieces and folklike ballads to longer narrative and classical pieces, exploring nature, feeling, human relationships and reflective thought, while the translator's prefaces explain principles and include the lengthy classical narrative of Hermann and Dorothea in later editions.