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Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (c. 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures.
Sep 26, 2017 · Faust pursues her, seduces her, and then – unwittingly – destroys her and her family. Mephistopheles guides his hand but Faust’s actions are unbearably his own (the demon goads him: “Who ...
Sep 1, 2024 · Faust, hero of one of the most durable legends in Western folklore and literature, the story of a German necromancer or astrologer who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. The story has been adapted by literary greats such as Christopher Marlowe, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Thomas Mann.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Faust is a tragic play in two parts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, usually known in English as Faust, Part One and Faust, Part Two. Nearly all of Part One and the majority of Part Two are written in rhymed verse. Although rarely staged in its entirety, it is the play with the largest audience numbers on German-language stages.
Despite the complicated plot and the numerous philosophical and literary digressions, a single main theme is evident throughout both parts of Faust and provides a unifying structure for the entire work.
Goethe’s Faust is a dramatic poem that incorporates the entire Western literary tradition. It houses wild pageants littered with figures from Greek mythology, including griffins, sphinxes, harpies, and Helen of Troy from Homer’s Iliad .
Oct 8, 2024 · Faust, two-part dramatic work by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Part I was published in 1808 and Part II in 1832, after the author’s death. The supreme work of Goethe’s later years, Faust is sometimes considered Germany’s greatest contribution to world literature. Learn more about the play.