Goethe in English: A Bibliography of the Translations in the Twentieth Century by Derek Glass

Abstract

MLR, I02.1, 2007 26i intellectual tradition. Werther, Tasso, and 'Trilogie der Leidenschaft' serve as ex amples, their melancholy being assimilated to a post-structuralist theoryof literature. That is to say, themelancholy character of theworks is interpreted as ameta-literary meditation on the aporias of literary semiosis itself.The theoretical framework is provided byDerrida and deMan, with occasional reference to Walter Benjamin and Niklas Luhmann. While Benjamin's work-in particular his Ursprung des deutschen Trauerspiels naturally suggests itself in this context, it isworth noting that there is nothing in JorgLoffler's account ofDerrida and de Man that addresses melancholy explicitly or directly. It is deMan who looms largest. Literature sometimes makes visible the inevitable non-convergence of itsmeaning and the vehicles of thatmeaning. One response to thismight be a form ofmelancholic scepticism about literary language, the extreme form ofwhich is inexpressibility,which L6ffler terms 'Melancholie der Schrift'. A similar argument has been made with explicit reference tomelancholy by JuliaKristeva, towhom L6ffler pays scant attention.Where Kristeva insists that melancholy writing tends towards 'asymbolia' or blankness, Loffler finds a trajectory towards unreadability. Thus the hymnic description of nature in Werther's letterof ioMay leads the reader not towards communion with nature but the impossibility of reading nature. In Tasso reading and writing are not only the explicit themes; they also feature asmetaphors that recur atmoments of tension. Similarly, 'Trilogie der Leidenschaft' deploys metaphors ofwriting only to undermine the very theory of symbolism towhich Goethe appears wedded elsewhere. Goethe lends himself to such analysis, both adhering toand critically reflectingon the idea of the symbol, the correspondence of subject to object, theorganic relation of sign tomeaning. For de Man, Romantic-period literaturemarks at once the apogee of such ideo logical mystifications as the organic theory of poetic metaphor and (wittingly or unwittingly) the start of theirundoing. Werther is especially rich in such mystifica tions. Loffler gives an effective analysis ofWerther's misplaced faith in the ability of his letters to express feelings authentically and directly.The novel is also rich in theirundoings. Werther seems dedicated to the ideology of theoriginal genius, which the novel, full as it is of literaryquotations, undermines. Werther is thewould-be creatorwho, facing aworld already fullof created things, turnsmelancholy plagiarist. While recognizing that JorgLoffler's project is important and contains many valu able insights,one might wonder whether historicity gets lost in thepost-structuralist search foraporias. The eighteenth-century theoryof original genius isnot opposed to quotation and allusion somuch as towriting according to rules. If melancholy is tobe linked toquotation or plagiarism, then reference to theEuropean tradition-say, Bur ton's The Anatomy ofMelancholy or Sterne's Tristram Shandy-is surely essential. What isnot absolutely clear ishow thepost-structuralist argument relates specifically tomelancholy. On the one hand, deMan's theory,as adapted by Loffler,would have melancholy as the logical conclusion of all self-conscious literatureof theperiod. On the other hand, scepticism about literary language is a part ofmelancholy's ancient theory,for melancholy is,by tradition and conviction, sceptical of all good things. KING'S COLLEGE LONDON MATTHEW BELL Goethe inEnglish: A Bibliography of theTranslations in theTwentieth Century. By DEREK GLAss. (MHRA Bibliographies, 2) Leeds: Maney. 2005. xix + 345 pp. ?54. ISBN 978-I-904350-32-3. It is with great pleasure, and no littlerelief,that Iwelcome Derek Glass's long-awaited bibliography; I had already prematurely referred to itas imminent in three different 262 Reviews publications some time ago. We aremuch indebted, not only toGlass himself, but also to his literary executors Matthew Bell and Martin H. Jones,who oversaw the completion and publication of this volume afterDerek's sad and untimely death. It is a fitting monument tohis selfless dedication to the recording of other scholars' and writers' efforts.To be sure, Derek often spoke of his labours with self-deprecating modesty; behind this lay a fiercelyconscientious determination, a serious devotion to an often thankless but, as the results here show, ultimately rewarding and invaluable task.He has made every effort to trawl through slim volumes, journals, anthologies, and even critical studies thatmight contain Goethe translations-though as he con cedes in his foreword, 'muchmore may lurk concealed in such sources' (p. xv). His main...