This article is about the 19th-century work by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. For other uses, seeFaust (disambiguation).
"Urfaust" redirects here. For the Dutch black metal band, seeUrfaust (band).
Sculpture of Mephistopheles bewitching the students in the scene "Auerbachs Keller" fromFaust, at the entrance of what is today the restaurantAuerbachs Keller in LeipzigAnton Kaulbach:Faust and Mephisto
The earliest forms of the work, known as theUrfaust [de], were developed between 1772 and 1775; however, the details of that development are not entirely clear.Urfaust has twenty-two scenes, one in prose, two largely prose and the remaining 1,441 lines in rhymed verse. The manuscript is lost, but a copy was discovered in 1886.[2]
The first appearance of the work in print wasFaust, a Fragment, published in 1790. Goethe completed a preliminary version of what is now known asPart One in 1806. Its publication in 1808 was followed by the revised 1828–29 edition, the last to be edited by Goethe himself.
Goethe finished writingFaust, Part Two in 1831; it waspublished posthumously the following year. In contrast toFaust, Part One, the focus here is no longer on thesoul of Faust, which has been sold to thedevil, but rather on social phenomena such aspsychology,history andpolitics, in addition to mystical and philosophical topics. The second part formed the principal occupation of Goethe's last years.
The original 1808 German title page of Goethe's play read simply: "Faust. / Eine Tragödie" ("Faust. / A Tragedy"). The addition of "erster Teil" (in English, "Part One") was retroactively applied by publishers when the sequel was published in 1832 with a title page which read: "Faust. / Der Tragödie zweiter Teil" ("Faust. / The Tragedy's Second Part").
The two plays have been published in English under a number of titles, and are usually referred to asFaust, Parts One and Two.
Gretchen, Faust's love (short for Margarete; Goethe uses both forms)
Marthe Schwerdtlein, Gretchen's neighbour
Valentin, Gretchen's brother
Wagner, Faust's attendant
Faust, Part One takes place in multiple settings, the first of which isHeaven. Mephistopheles (Satan) makes a bet with God: he says that he can lure one of God's servants, Faust, who is striving to learn everything that can be known, away from righteous pursuits. The next scene takes place in Faust's study where the aging scholar, struggling with what he considers the vanity and uselessness of scientific, humanistic, and religious learning, turns tomagic for the showering of infinite knowledge. He suspects, however, that his attempts are failing. Frustrated, he ponderssuicide, but rejects it as he hears the echo of nearbyEaster celebrations begin. He goes for a walk with his assistant Wagner and is followed home by a straypoodle.
In Faust's study, the poodle transforms into Mephistopheles, dressed as a travelling student who refuses to give his name. He reveals to Faust that although the misshapenpentagram carved into Faust's doorway has allowed him to enter, he cannot leave. Faust is surprised that Mephistopheles is bound by mystical laws, and from this reasons that he could make a pact. Mephistopheles says that he is willing to make a deal but wishes to leave for the night. Faust refuses to release him because he believes it would be impossible for him to catch Mephistopheles again. Mephistopheles then tricks him into permitting a demonstration of his power; Faust falls asleep listening to the song of the spirits, allowing Mephistopheles to escape by calling upon rats to chew away the pentagram.
The next morning Mephistopheles returns. He tells Faust that he wishes to serve him in life, and in return Faust must serve him in the afterlife. Faust is willing to accept but is concerned that accepting the services of Mephistopheles will bring him to ruin. To avoid this fate, Faust makes a wager: if Mephistopheles can grant Faust an experience of transcendence on Earth—a moment so blissful that he wishes to remain in it forever, ceasing to strive further—then he will instantly die and serve the Devil inHell. Mephistopheles accepts the wager.
When Mephistopheles tells Faust to sign the pact with blood, Faust complains that Mephistopheles does not trust Faust's word of honour. In the end, Mephistopheles wins the argument and Faust signs the contract with a drop of his own blood. Faust has a few excursions and then meets Margaret (also known as Gretchen). He is attracted to her and with jewellery and with help from a neighbour, Marthe, Mephistopheles draws Gretchen into Faust's arms. With Mephistopheles' aid, Faust seduces Gretchen. Gretchen's mother dies from a sleepingpotion, administered by Gretchen to obtain privacy so that Faust could visit her. Gretchen discovers she is pregnant. Gretchen's brother condemns Faust, challenges him and falls dead at the hands of Faust and Mephistopheles. Gretchen drowns her illegitimate child and is convicted of themurder. Faust tries to save Gretchen from death by attempting to free her from prison. Finding that she refuses to escape, Faust and Mephistopheles flee the dungeon, while voices from Heaven announce that Gretchen shall be saved – "Sie ist gerettet" – this differs from the harsher ending ofUrfaust – "Sie ist gerichtet!" – "she is condemned."
Rich in classical allusion, inPart Two the romantic story of the first Faust is put aside, and Faust wakes in a field of fairies to initiate a new cycle of adventures and purpose. The piece consists of five acts—relatively isolated episodes—each representing a different theme. Ultimately, Faust goes to Heaven. He had lost his wager with Mephistopheles, that he would never seek to remain in a transcendental moment and have it prolonged forever. However, God had won his wager from the Prologue (and thus Faust's soul) as the transcendental moment was derived from his righteous pursuits. Angels, who arrive as messengers of divine mercy, declare at the end of Act V: "He who strives on and lives to strive / Can earn redemption still" (V, 11936–7).
ThroughoutPart One, Faust remains unsatisfied; the ultimate conclusion of the tragedy and the outcome of the wagers are only revealed inFaust, Part Two. The first part represents the "small world" and takes place in Faust's own local, temporal milieu. In contrast,Part Two takes place in the "wide world" ormacrocosmos.
In 1821, a partial English verse translation ofFaust (Part One) was published anonymously by the London publisher Thomas Boosey and Sons, with illustrations by the German engraverMoritz Retzsch. This translation was attributed to the English poetSamuel Taylor Coleridge by Frederick Burwick and James C. McKusick in their 2007 Oxford University Press edition,Faustus: From the German of Goethe, Translated by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.[3] In a letter dated 4 September 1820, Goethe wrote to his son August that Coleridge was translatingFaust.[4] However, this attribution is controversial:Roger Paulin, William St. Clair, andElinor Shaffer provide a lengthy rebuttal to Burwick and McKusick, offering evidence including Coleridge's repeated denials that he had ever translatedFaustus and arguing that Goethe's letter to his son was based on misinformation from a third party.[5]
Coleridge's fellow RomanticPercy Bysshe Shelley produced admired[6] fragments of a translation first publishing Part One Scene II inThe Liberal magazine in 1822, with "Scene I" (in the original, the "Prologue in Heaven") being published in the first edition of hisPosthumous Poems byMary Shelley in 1824.[7]
In 1828, at the age of twenty,Gérard de Nerval published a French translation of Goethe'sFaust.
In 1850,Anna Swanwick released an English translation ofPart One. In 1878, she published a translation ofPart Two. Her translation is considered among the best.[8]
In 1870–71,Bayard Taylor published an English translation in the originalmetres. This translation, which he is best known for, is considered one of the finest and consistently remained in print for a century.[9]
Guo Moruo:Part One (1928) andPart Two (1947) into Chinese.[11]
PhilosopherWalter Kaufmann was also known for an English translation ofFaust, presenting Part One in its entirety, with selections from Part Two, and omitted scenes extensively summarized. Kaufmann's version preserves Goethe's metres and rhyme schemes, but objected to translating all of Part Two into English, believing that "To let Goethe speak English is one thing; to transpose into English his attempt to imitate Greek poetry in German is another."[6]
C. F. MacIntyre:Faust: An American Translation of Part I (1949) for New Directions.
Phillip Wayne:Part One (1949) andPart Two (1959) for Penguin Books.[12]
Louis MacNeice: In 1949, the BBC commissioned an abridged translation for radio. It was published in 1952.
In August 1950,Boris Pasternak's Russian translation of the first part led him to be attacked in the Soviet literary journalNovy Mir. The attack read in part,
... the translator clearly distorts Goethe's ideas... in order to defend thereactionary theory of 'pure art' ... he introduces an aesthetic and individualist flavor into the text... attributes a reactionary idea to Goethe... distorts the social and philosophical meaning...[13]
There was some alarm when myFaust was torn to pieces inNovy mir on the basis that supposedly the gods, angels, witches, spirits, the madness of poor Gretchen and everything 'irrational' was rendered too well, whereas Goethe's progressive ideas (which ones?) were left in the shade and unattended.[14]
1938: World premiere of both parts, unabridged, at theGoetheanum inDornach, Switzerland
July 22–23, 2000: TheExpo 2000 Hanover performance: Directed byPeter Stein; both parts in their complete version, with Christian Nickel andBruno Ganz (the young and the old Faust), Johann Adam Oest (Mephistopheles), Dorothée Hartinger, Corinna Kirchhoff and Elke Petri. Complete playing length (with intervals): 21 hours
Antoni Henryk Radziwiłł's opera Faust (1835) is based on the original version of Faust Part I. Composed between 1808 and 1832, it received its first complete performance in Berlin in 1835. Created in close contact with Goethe, Radziwiłł’s musical setting is considered to have influenced the author’s subsequent revisions of his drama.[22]
^abKaufmann, Walter (1963). "Introduction".Goethe's Faust: Part One and Sections from Part Two (Anchor Books ed.). Garden City, New York: Doubleday. p. 47.ISBN0-385-03114-9.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^Thomas Hutchinson, ed. (1970).Poetical works [of] Shelley (2nd ed.). London: Oxford University Press. pp. 748–762.ISBN0-19-281069-3.
^Rennick, Andrew. "Bayard Taylor" inWriters of the American Renaissance: An A to Z Guide. Denise D. Knight, editor. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2003: 354.ISBN0-313-32140-X
^Radziwill, Anton Fürst (1835).Compositionen zu Göthe’s Faust. Partitur (in German). Berlin: Singakademie.
^Malone, Paul M. (2004). "'You'll always be the one you are.'Faust as Rock Opera".Faust(PDF). Icons of Modern Culture Series. Mountfield, East Sussex: Helm Information. pp. 263–275.ISBN978-1903206157 – via rudolf-volz.de.
_001.jpg)
%2c_Erstdruck_1832.jpg)
