Hermann and Dorothea
by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (Ellen Frothingham, Trans.)
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good++ and vinyl protector/ No DJ, As Issued
- Seller
-
Mulvane, Kansas, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Slight toning, else content appears as unblemished with very good gold gilt decorated, green boards displaying minimal surface/edge wear, as shown. Spine may have been reinforced.
There are few modern poems of any country so perfect in their kind as the "Hermann and Dorothea" of Goethe. In clearness of characterization, in unity of tone, in the adjustment of background and foreground, in the conduct of the narrative, it conforms admirably to the strict canons of art; yet it preserves a freshness and spontaneity in its emotional appeal that are rare in works of so classical a perfection in form.
The basis of the poem is a historical incident. In the year 1731 the Archbishop of Salzburg drove out of his diocese a thousand Protestants, who took refuge in South Germany, and among whom was a girl who became the bride of the son of a rich burgher. The occasion of the girl's exile was changed by Goethe to more recent times, and in the poem she is represented as a German from the west bank of the Rhine fleeing from the turmoil caused by the French Revolution. The political element is not a mere background, but is woven into the plot with consummate skill, being used, at one point, for example, in the characterization of Dorothea, who before the time of her appearance in the poem has been deprived of her first betrothed by the guillotine; and, at another, in furnishing a telling contrast between the revolutionary uproar in France and the settled peace of the German village.
The characters of the father and the minister Goethe took over from the original incident, the mother he invented, and the apothecary he made to stand for a group of friends. But all of these persons, as well as the two lovers, are recreated, and this so skillfully that while they are made notably familiar to us as individuals, they are no less significant as permanent types of human nature. The hexameter measure which he employed, and which is retained in the present translation, he handled with such charm that it has since seemed the natural verse for the domestic idyl—witness the obvious imitation of this, as of other features of the poem, in Longfellow's "Evangeline."
Taken as a whole, with its beauty of form, its sentiment, tender yet restrained, and the compelling pathos of its story, "Hermann and Dorothea" appeals to a wider public than perhaps any other product of its author.
Shipping/Handling/Insurance/Tracking Included within the continental U.S. (Free Shipping). Extra Charges/Fees apply on Shipments Outside The U.S. and Expedited Shipments. Oversize and/or heavy books may require additional fees. Will advise. Written 10.14.21 Biblio #5936-111321 Img.7302
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Details
- Bookseller
- Eve's Reads (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 5936-111321
- Title
- Hermann and Dorothea
- Author
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (Ellen Frothingham, Trans.)
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good++ and vinyl protector/ No DJ, As Issued
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- Unstated, Presumed 1st
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Roberts Brothers,
- Place of Publication
- Boston, Ma.
- Date Published
- 1879
- Pages
- 163 Rough Cut Pages
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- Classics Antiquarian
Terms of Sale
Eve's Reads
Shipping/Handling/Insurance/Tracking Included within the continental U.S. (Free Shipping). Extra Charges/Fees apply on ALL Shipments Outside The U.S. and Expedited Shipments. Oversize and/or heavy books require additional fees. Will advise and will send invoice via Paypal for extra charges.
About the Seller
Eve's Reads
About Eve's Reads
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Biblio
- The Greek root for a variety of words referring to the book, such as bibliography, bibliomania, etc. Also, one of the world's...