Faust well educated german professor who, toward the start of the play, is disappointed and unsettled by his failure to find lifes real purpose. Faust is a learned german scholar who, at the beginning of the poem, is disillusioned and demoralized by his inability to discover lifes true meaning. This scene begins with faust sitting at his desk in a highvaulted, narrow, gothic room as night falls. This act confirms mephistos suspicion of faust s disgust with positive methods of finding satisfaction and illustrates faust s movement toward the nihilistic cynicism which characterizes the devil. This holy spell holds the thing at bay behind the stove in his study. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. Goethes faust summary and analysis of fausts study. 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. Despite his worldly accomplishments he is assailed by frustration because the traditional and conventional modes of thought that he has mastered cannot help him to discern a coherent purpose or form behind all the numerous and varied phenomena. Although he is a very learned man and a scholar, who has mastered many realms of thought, fausts character is mainly driven by his need to find a revelation of logical order in the world. The faust legend has been the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and.
Faust is the protagonist of a classic german legend, based on the historical johann georg faust c. Faust continues to invoke the name of christ to hold the evil spirit at bay and to make it reveal itself to him. Books and chemistry can no longer define his life for him, and he longs to live a life in harmony with nature and. Traditionally faust sells his soul to the devil for a stipulated number of years and becomes property of the devil for eternity. Character analysis faust faust is a learned german scholar who, at the beginning of the poem, is disillusioned and demoralized by his inability to discover lifes true meaning. Faust opens nostradamus book to the sign of the macrocosm. Goethes faust night summary and analysis gradesaver. Calling the thing a refugee from hell, he makes the sign of the cross and watches the thing swell and puff. When he sees it, rapture and a youthful happiness flows through him.
Goethes faust fausts study summary and analysis gradesaver. Indepth summary and analysis of every scene of faust. Faust laments all that he knows and yet cannot know. This study guide consists of approximately 28 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of faust. Prelude on stage director, dramatist, comedian director you two, whove often stood by me, in times of need, when troubles breaking, say what success our undertaking 35. With the fields and meadows of the town gate behind him, faust returns with the black poodle to his study at night. He then sings of selfknowledge, hope, and lifegiving waters, only for the poodle to growl and interrupt what faust calls the sacred harmonies. If mephistopheles can give him that moment, faust surrenders to him.
The poodle is also frisky, and it runs and barks through the study. Butlers fortunes of faust, available in any good library. He is ebullient from his day in nature and feels that the love of mankind is astir, the love of god is all about us. Wagner is faust s assistant in scholarship, a bright, clear, and striving man.
Unlike faust, however, wagner has faith in the power of knowledge, reason, and science to satisfy humankinds deepest needs, and he prefers read full character analysis. The play is in two parts, the first part having been published in 1808 and the second in 1832. In this wager faust is certain that earthly life cannot provide him the unsurpassable moment in which he would choose to live forever. Mephistos costume is purposely chosen to make faust feel at ease with him, and to prevent him from becoming frightened as he had been by the. Faust, parts 1 and 2 cliffsnotes study guides book. Faust enters his study with the poodle, feeling that his better soul has been awakened by the night, and he feels a greater sense of love for man and god. On the strength of this novel, goethe was invited to the court of duke carl august in. He feels like a god, with total clarity about the being and workings of creative nature, how all things interweave as one and work and live in each other harmoniously. The poodle is running about, and faust offers it a cushion to lie down on by the stove.
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