Faust: A Legend of Modern Times

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As the children of a melting pot culture of British, French and German influences, the American consciousness is uniquely poised to reflect upon the impact of one of the most prevalent and oft-retold legends of the modern age: Faust. German in origin but moreover a culmination of various historical figures and indigenous lore, the story of Faust is that of a man who sells his soul to the devil for youth, wealth, pleasure, power or whatever else the writer in question can think to attribute to him. The legend's themes touching so frequently on the subjects of the supernatural and the struggle of good and evil in a Christian mythological setting, it is little wonder that the story has caught the attention and inflamed the imagination of literally hundreds of storytellers from all over Europe and, more recently, North America. Enjoying in excess of five centuries of exposure through books, plays, opera and film, not to mention its basic concepts permeating to the depths of modern speech and expression, Faust is indeed one of the most notable singular legend of modern times. Yet Faust is a malleable figure, gaining influence just as much as it gave, to finally become an amalgam of half a dozen countries' sensibilities.

Faust was also a real person. Although accounts vary, in his translation of Goethe's Faust (pub. 1803-1833; trans. pub. 1961) Walter Kaufman is able to pinpoint the real Johann Faust's birth to around 1480, in the town of Knittlingen, Württemberg, near Stuttgart in modern-day Southeast Germany (12). He is thought to have studied magic -a field still regularly taught at many schools of the time-- at the University of Cracow in Poland, and is said to have been a colleague of Martin Luther and Phillip Melanchthon, alth...

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...". Mystica, The. Paragraphs 3-9. 09 November 2003.

Marlowe, Christopher. Doctor Faustus. Ed. Irving Ribner. New York: Macmillian Publishing Company, 1985. 87.

Mason, Eudo C. Goethe's Faust: Its Genesis and Purport. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1967. 389.

McLean, Adam. "Alchemical Drama of Goethe's Faust, The". Alchemy Website, The. Paragraph 2. 27 November 2003.

Montgomery, Paul. Review Notes and Study Guide to Goethe's Faust. New York: Monarch Press, 1963. 5.

Nietzsche, Friedrich. "Wanderer and His Shadow, The". Gay Science: With a Prelude in German Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs, The. Trans. Josephine Nauckhoff and Adrian Del Caro. Cambridge University Press, 2001. 237.

Young, T. Personal interview. Rec. 19 November 2003.

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