West-Eastern Divan

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) was a German poet, novelist, playwright, courtier, and natural philosopher. He is the author of many works, most famously the poetic drama, Faust. Eric Ormsby is a translator, scholar of Islamic thought, and senior research associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies. He has published seven poetry collections and two critical works on poetry and translation.

• Introduction by Eric OrmsbyAcknowledgementsWEST-EASTREN divanThe Book of the SingerThe Book of HafizThe Book of LoveThe Book of ReflectionsThe Book of Ill-HumorThe Book of WisdomThe Book of TimurThe Book of SuleikaThe Book of the Cup-BearerThe Book of ParablesThe Book of the ParsiThe Book of ParadiseNOTES AND ESSAYS: FOR A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE WEST–EASTERN DIVANIntroductionHebrewsArabsTransitionAncient PersiansGovernanceHistoryMuhammadCaliphsFurther ObservationMahmud of GhaznaPoet-KingsTraditionsFirdowsiAnwariNizamiJalal al-Din RumiSa ̔diHafizJamiOverviewMiscellaneousVery MiscellaneousNewer, NewestDoubtDespotismObjectionAddendumCounter-ActionInterpolatedPrimal Elements of Oriental PoetryTransition from Tropes to SimilesAdmonition 413 ComparisonProtestGenresNatural Forms of PoetryAddendumThe Book-OracleThe Exchange of Flowers and SignsCiphersProspective DivanOld Testament MattersIsrael in the DesertThe Stopping-Places of the Children of Israel in the Wilderness Aids Closer to HandPilgrimages and CrusadesMarco PoloJohannes von MontevillaPietro della ValleApologyOleariusTavernier and ChardinRecent and Most Recent TravellersTeachers: Departed or Still LivingJonesEichhornLorsbachVon DiezVon HammerTranslationsFinal Conclusion!LetterReview[Dedicatory Poems]Appendix: Poems Collected PosthumouslyIndex of German titles and first linesIndex of English titles and first lines

"...what I really want to say is how exhilarating and enjoyable it is to read a book that combines such strikingly different kinds of artistic excellence and such diverse perspectives with the underlying coherence that comes from the shared reference to Goethe's original cycle."--Marjorie Perloff "Polyphonic Voices" "Ormsby wisely makes no attempt to simulate Goethe's elaborate rhyming stanzas; rather, he provides en face literal prose translations, with helpful explanatory notes at the bottom of each page. Goethe's polyphonic sequence folds lines and phrases from his Persian and Arabic sources into German lyric so as to create an East-West complex at once intimate and theatrical."--Marjorie Perloff "Times Literary Supplement - Books of the Year 2019" "This fine volume -- which also contains a translation of the essays on Eastern culture that Goethe added to make the poems more intelligible -- should make the Divan accessible to many more readers."-- "Times Literary Supplement" "Ormsby's book has the whole Divan + all the short, eccentric, extremely interesting essays that Goethe originally included--more than a hundred pages' worth."--Marjorie Perloff "Rhino Poetry"