Illustration by Harry Clarke for a 1925 edition of Faust
Now I’ve studied philosophy,
Jurisprudence too, and medicine,
And even, sad to say, theology,
Thoroughly, with great exertion.
And here I am, poor fool,
Not one bit wiser than before!from Faust, trans.Kirby
In his CC 202 lecture yesterday, Prof. William Waters spoke about Goethe’s Faust, enlivening the talk by playing a recording of Janet Baker singing Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel, a song composed by Franz Schubert using text from the play.
After the class, the journos of the Core Blogpolled student opinion in the hallway to find out what lecture-goers thought of the experience.
Priest Gooding (CAS ’18), a philosophy major coming to BU from southern California:
I thought he presented a very eloquent depiction of Goethe’s use of the German language to encapsulate the feelings that a play like Faust instills in its readers. In other words, it was turnt.*
Shanti Khanna (CAS ’18), a political science major coming to BU from historic Virginia:
I wanted HIM to sing in German.
Joseph Greene (CAS ’18), an ENG student native to Westford, Mass.:
That was among my favorite lectures I’ve heard in Core!
Alli Griffiths (CAS ’18): a philosophy major with roots in Key West, Florida:
I really liked it when he was reading the poetry in German.
Cat Dossett (CAS ’18), a student of art history hailing from nearby Weymouth, Mass.:
He reminds me a lot of Rick Steves.
A reminder: All members of the campus community students, alumni, faculty, staff, and their guests are welcome to attend any of the weekly plenary sessions in CC 102, 112, 202, or 204 each week. Recordings of yesterday’s lecture can be found on YouTube: part 1, part 2.
