Thus Spoke Zarathustra
by Friedrich Nietzsche · Also sprach Zarathustra
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1883-1885
- Form
- Treatise
- Language
- German
- Length
- Medium · 330 pp120 to 300 pages
- Difficulty
- Difficult4 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThus Spoke Zarathustra, translated by Walter KaufmannPenguin, 1978Kaufmann's translation, which keeps the biblical cadence, is the one most often assigned.
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A philosophical narrative in four parts, written in a prophetic style modelled on the Bible. After ten years alone on a mountain, the sage Zarathustra descends to teach that God is dead, that man is something to be overcome, and that the overman is the meaning of the earth. Through speeches, parables and encounters with disciples, a tightrope walker, a soothsayer and a menagerie of higher men, he arrives at the thought of eternal recurrence, that everything returns exactly as it was, and learns to affirm it.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Thus Spoke Zarathustra are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
