Historical References to Faust
Faust I
Prologue in Heaven
· The scene begins with the Three Archangels, Raphael, Gabriel, and
Michael, confessing their inability to comprehend the awe-inspiring
works of God.In the Christian tradition, archangels are angels of the
highest rank and are associated with certain functions or
responsibilities.In “Prologue in Heaven,” they personify the cosmos:
Raphael describes and represents the heavens, Gabriel the earth, and
Michael the elements.
· Mephistopheles.Goethe’s devil is inspired by a number of different
literary sources, not just Christian.
· The basic structure of the dialogue between the Lord and
Mephistopheles is inspired by the first two chapters of The book of
Job, in which Satan obtains permission from God to try and tempt Job
to do evil.
· Faust. The real Georg (or Johann) Faust was born in 1480 and died in
1540. Although contemporary sources suggest he was quite well known in
Germany during his lifetime, his fame and notoriety is the result of
an incredibly popular collection of (barely believable) anecdotes and
stories about him called Volksbuch, which was published in 1587. The
Volksbuch was an important source of inspiration to Goethe and other
authors as they wrote about Faust.
Night
· The opening monologue is an indirect adaptation of Christopher
Marlowe’s The Tragical history of Doctor Faustus.
· Faust has in his possession a book by Nostradamus (1503-66), the
French astrologer, physician and prophet.
· When Faust first opens the book by Nostradamus he sees the sign of
the macrocosm, which is a diagram of the organization of the cosmos.
· The vision that the sign of the macrocosm inspires echoes Jacob’s
dream in Genesis 28,...
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...hab,so that Ahab could seize his subject’s
vineyards. By referring to Naboth, Mephistopheles is preparing us to
expect the deaths of Baucis and Philemon.
Midnight
· In Medieval literature, allegorical figures symbolize the approach
of death. The allegorical figures in “Midnight” also parallel the four
horsemen of the Apocalypse: death, war, famine, and plague (see
Revelations 6:1-8).
Entombment
· In the original Faust legends, Faust is dragged off to
hell.Mephistopheles is unable to do so this time because Faust was
never so satisfied with the results of his striving that he wanted
time to stand still.Mephistopheles is only able to seize Faust's soul
through trickery.
Mountain Gorges
· The Anchorites – Pater Ecstaticus, Pater Profundus, and Pater
Seraphicus – are religious hermits who represent the mystical
tradition of early Christianity.
Goethe, Johann W. V. “Faust.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature: 1800-1900. Eds. Sarah Lawall and Maynard Mack. 2nd ed. Vol. E. New York: W. W. Norton, 2002. 774. Print.
Tantillo, Astrida Orle. " Damned to Heaven: The Tragedy of Faust Revisited."Monatshefte Für Deutschsprachige Literatur Und Kultur 99.4 (2007): 454-468. Print.
Faust, Drew Gilpin. The epublic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War. New York: Random House Inc., 2008
The first victims of satire in Faust are Satan and God, who appear in somewhat small-scale form in an early scene that parallels the Book of Job. In Goethe's Heaven reigns "The Lord," to whom a trio of archangels ascribe creation. Enter Mephistopheles, and all semblance of seriousness is lost. Introduced as a demon, and arguably THE Devil, he is witty, cynical, and in general a caricature of what religionists throughout the ages have labeled pure evil. The Lord proceeds to give Mephistopheles permission to go to his "good servant" Faust,...
At First the article Touches on the questioning of what Faust is. In summery, Faust is the protagonist of an old German story about a guy who is actually really successful, but at the same time is somewhat dissatisfied with his life life. He had a serious lust for earthly happiness, alo...
Joseph Campbell’s definition of a hero states that “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself” (Campbell 123). The concept of the hero has been present and in active use by storytellers since humans first began telling stories. Myths and legends of every culture and tradition have heroes whose purpose is to serve as role models and character lessons to those who hear or read their stories. The hero of a story can take many forms depending on the purpose of the story, reflecting the society of the writer. The purpose of post WWII German literature is largely to tell the story of those world-changing events as the individual authors felt it needed or deserved to be told at a particular point in time. As time passed, however, that purpose shifted in focus as the society shifted its focus in how the war era was to be remembered and dealt with in both politics and society. A look at the heroes of Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus and Jurek Becker’s Jacob the Liar shows how the concept of the hero in post WWII German literature changed from the mid 1940s to the late 1960s in parallel to the societal changes in the interpretations and memories of the war that took place over the same years.
in his invention. Faustus too is very consumed in the idea of forgetting his own existence
Faustus is a prime example of mankind's ignorance, which continues to thrive in society today. Faustus has ambition for power and control, and decides that the end justifies the means. Today mankind still lusts for power and control, how are we to know that our fate is not destined to be that of the late Dr. Faustus? Western society has pushed God out; fewer people go to worship; and there is no prayer or biblical readings in schools. Mankind's quest for power and immortality has destroyed nature - pollutants, gene manipulation, and medical research. Mankind is striving to become immortal, in the sense that genetic manipulation to prevent death is becoming more widely used. We could end up like Faustus, making deals in the dark.
“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, "What's in it for me?”- Brian Tracy. Faust is illustrated to be an exceedingly sophisticated scholar and alchemist; a man of discontent, and is compelled to obtain a vast amount of the world’s knowledge that surrounds him. In spite of all his triumphs, Faust becomes strangely unsatisfied at his life accomplishments’, “Oh God, how hard I’ve slaved away, With what results? Poor foolish old man, I’m no whit wiser than when I began!”(Goethe Lines 121-20).
The Romantic Hero in Goethe's Faust Works Cited Not Included Long hailed as the watershed of Romantic literature, Goethe’s Faust uses the misadventures of its hero to parallel the challenges that pervaded European society in the dynamic years of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Faust is the prototypical Romantic hero because the transformation of his attitudes mirrors the larger transformation that was occurring in the society in which Goethe conceived the play. Faust’s odyssey transports him from adherence to the cold rationale of the Enlightenment to a passion for the pleasures that came to define the Romantic spirit. Faust not only expresses the moral contradictions and spiritual yearnings of a man in search of fulfillment, but also portrays the broader mindset of a society that was groping for meaning in a world where reason no longer sufficed as a catalyst for human cultural life. The period of German Romanticism in which Goethe wrote Faust was plagued with the same intrinsic turmoil that Faust himself felt prior to making his deal with Mephisto.
Kostić, Milena. "The Faustian Motif in Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus." Facta Universititas 7.2 (2009): 209-22. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.
The first appearance of Faust in the story finds him having doubts about himself and the worth of his time spent in education. Undeterred by this depression, we see his pride has not diminished as he declares he is “cleverer than these stuffed shirts, these Doctors, M.A.s, Scribes and Priests, I’m not bothered by a doubt or a scruple, I’m not afraid of Hell or the Devil” (Goethe 633). Turning to magic to fill the void in his life, Faust conjures a spirit, but shrinks back from it in fear. In the ensuing argument between them, Faust asserts that he is the spirits “equal” (Goethe 637). Mephisto’s second visit at Faust’s residence leads them to having a drawn out discussion over the proposal of Mephisto serving Faust in exchange for his soul. Common sense might ask why a person would willingly discuss a deal with the devil knowing that it probably won’t end well. This instance would have to be answered that the imperious pride of Faust made him “so rash that he would give no heed to the salvation of his soul He thought the devil could not be so black as he is painted nor hell so hot as is generally supposed” (Fischer 107). In spite of his vast education, Faust’s pride pulls him into wagering his soul with Mephisto and causing the deaths of others and his
I. The play Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlow was first published in Manchester by Manchester Publishing in 1588, no information about the play’s first production date was found.
Doctor Faustus can only be described as a man that had a fervent hunger for power. The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, or, which is commonly known as, just ‘Doctor Faustus’, is an Elizabethan story written by Christian Marlowe. The work represents the tragic life of a scholar, John Faustus, who later finds himself into damnation because of his decision to practice sorcery. Since he had deliberately sold his soul to the devil, he gains incredible knowledge and power through his involvement of necromancy. Though he feels he has endless power, he is later forced to face his downfall. When his 24 year period, the time he had agreed to, is over, he is taken and dragged to Hell realizing his lack of good sense.
Faustus may be seen as blasphemous in the opening speech, implying that he would only be a doctor if he could be equal to God, (lines24-6)