The Rudolf Steiner Archive

117. Review

Deutsche Zeitung, March 3, 1886

“Faust” by Goethe. With an introduction and running commentary, edited by K. J. Schröer. Part One. Second, thoroughly revised edition.

[ 1 ] When Schröer’s commentary on Faust was published four years ago, the editor himself had to admit (see the preface to the first edition) that such an undertaking was a risky one, given the sheer volume of Faust scholarship. But anyone who approached the book with complete impartiality could soon come to the realization that it represented an achievement that had not been anticipated by any predecessor. Schröer introduced entirely new perspectives to Goethe scholarship. Unlike all earlier interpreters, he sought the guiding principles for evaluating the great poet primarily within the poet himself. He takes the position that Goethe must be explained from within himself. Proceeding from this premise, he arrived at conclusions quite different from those of Friedrich Vischer, Düntzer, Marbach, Carrière, Fischer, Löper, and others. He illuminates every single aspect of Goethe’s work with the light emanating from the totality of Goethe’s spirit. What may seem incomprehensible in isolation is immediately understood when placed in the context of Goethe’s entire personality and poetic individuality. By consistently adhering to this principle, Schröer arrives not only at new insights into the ideal content of the poetry but also at remarkable conclusions regarding the dates of composition of its individual parts. From the long list of such findings, we highlight, for example, that earlier commentators have dated the composition of the dungeon scene to the year 1798 (a view seemingly supported by a passage in Goethe’s correspondence with Schiller); whereas from the context in which Schröer examines it, it is absolutely clear that it belongs to the oldest components of Faust, which were written between 1769 and 1775. Thus, Schröer’s edition established itself as thoroughly independent alongside similar works. The validity of Schröer’s research method—which he has since extended to Goethe’s other plays (see Josef Kürschner’s Deutsche Nationalliteratur)—can be seen from the fact that, after a relatively short period of four years, a second edition of the Faust commentary became necessary, to which we would like to draw attention here. In addition to numerous enhancements to the explanatory section, it contains a highly noteworthy preface that addresses the relationship between the Faust epic and contemporary intellectual currents.

Rudolf Steiner