Not a mere compilation, Blessed Longing traces the development of Goethe's lyric poetry as an organic-dynamic unity, through numerous representative samples of both well known and more intimate occasional poems. The translations are in verse and reflect as accurately as possible the rich diversity of Goethe's own meter, while dispensing with the restrictive artifice of rhyme to avoid the occasional "stuffiness" of traditional translations. The goal was not only to make Goethe's individual achievements accessible to English speakers, but to present to them a full and varied picture of Goethe the man and the poet.