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Goethe's faust part 1
Goethe's faust part 1
Faust question and answer
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In “Faust Part One”, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, uses different characters in his play, like God, Mephistopheles, and Gretchen to portray the juxtaposition of good and bad. We are introduced to Faust, who as a mere human makes mistakes throughout the play under some influence of the devil. Therefore it is difficult to write him off as a completely evil being. However, Destro’s argument is extremely useful in helping to interpret Faust’s character in a very levelheaded manner. Destro believes that Faust is a tragic hero for the purposes of the play, but as a person Faust is bad because of his actions and lack of enlightenment up until the near end of his life. Faust was a very selfish character who caused death and despair because of his carelessness; and for that he is bad. Although Faust does show feelings of remorse and guilt in the dungeon scene, for majority of the play, he is flawed and though Mephistopheles manipulated him, Faust had the power to maintain control over his own actions and urges therefore he is a bad or negative character.
Faust is a fairly troubled individual. That is a major part of the play. Faust is not like typical humans of his time; he is very curious, self-righteous and extreme and as Destro says, Faust has his own interpretation of morality that are not exactly typical (Page 60). Which helps the reader to understand Faust’s character can be seen as “highly problematic” from an “ordinary moral point of view” which is why Faust, regardless of his guilt will never fully change and the pursuit of trying to gain moral clarity and substance will lead to nowhere because he is already very flawed (Destro 60). Essentially, Destro means that Faust was doomed because of his personal views and his desire to ga...
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...ity in hell, unable to ever experience love again.
Works Cited
1. Andre, Alt, Peter. "Mephistopheles' Principles: On the Construction of Evil in Goethe's Faust I." Modern Language Review Vol. 6.1 (2011): 149-63. Print.
2. Destro, Alberto==. "The Guilty Hero, or the Tragic Salvation of Faust." A Companion to Goethe's Faust: Parts II and I. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2001. 56-75. Print.
3. Colavito, Carl N. Educating for Democracy: Lessons from Goethe's 'Faust' Colavito, Carl Nicholas. Diss. University of Florida, 2010. Miami: Dissertation Abstract, 2010. Print.
4. Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von, and Peter Salm. Faust, First Part. New York: Bantam, 1962. Print.
5. Murray, Chris. "Review Essay: 'Give It Up in Despair': Coleridge and Goethe's Faust."Romanticism: The Journal of Romantic Culture and Criticism Vol 15.1 (2009): 1-15. Print.
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.
Bishop, Paul. "The Guilty Hero, Or: The Tragic Salvation of Faust." A Companion to Goethe's Faust: Parts I and II. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2001. 56-75. Print.
Goethe, Johnann Wolfgang von. The Sorrows of Young Werther. Trans. Elizabeth Meyer and Louise Bogan. Forward by W.H. Auden. New York: Vintage, 1990.
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...
In Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, the ill-fated protagonist serves as stark example of what is to come of man when he strays from God’s grace. In the play, Dr. Faustus deliberately shuns religion and rationalizes his ever-unsatisfied pursuit of knowledge, ultimately leading to a pact with the demon Mephistopheles. The Doctor’s sinful actions and inability to repent are a display of his own free choices and how he willingly chooses his downfall. A key scene in which Faustus ignores a warning of his fate-to-come is when Mephistopheles presents an outdated and unfulfilling explanation of the cosmos. While some critics have argued his lacking description of the universe is simply to torment Faustus, upon further scrutiny it becomes evident this is only one of many red flags Faustus disregards out of pride in intelligence, a reflection of his deliberate choosing to discount God.
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 Romanticism period is marked by changes in societal beliefs as a rejection of the values and scientific thought pursued during the Age of Enlightenment. During this period, art, music, and literature are seen as high achievement, rather than the science and logic previously held in esteem. Nature is a profound subject in the art and literature and is viewed as a powerful force. Searching for the meaning of self becomes a noble quest to undertake. In the dramatic tragedy of “Faust” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, we find a masterpiece of Romanticism writing that includes the concepts that man is essentially good, the snare of pride, and dealing with the supernatural.
While voluntarily excommunicating themselves from society, both characters accomplish a portion of their goal and yet they remain unhappy because they never control the "perfect" life they have built for themselves. In Faust, the intelligent gentleman Faust, seeks spiritual wholeness in knowledge. Through years of hard study, Faust becomes knowledgeable in math, science and religion and yet he becomes inept and incapable of having any romantic or physical relationships with the outside world. As Faust strives to become the "over man" through knowledge, he realizes that books will not satisfy his curiosity and that sensual pleasures will. Therefore, in the process of creating his new life, Faust, becomes distant and unconcerned with all reality and humanity around him.
III. Faustus is portrayed as a very individual character. He changes and is shaped by the events that happen all around him. Everything he does affects his future outcome. For example his decision to give up his studies of medicine were very un-stereotypical of a character that is studying to be a doctor to do. Even more so is his decision to take upon the necromantics of the devil. He says, “Then read no more; thou hast attain'd that end: A greater subject fitteth Faustus' wit.” (1.11) He believes that he has learned enough information about all the great things of the world and there is nothing left to study that will intrigue him as much as magic will. His curious personality affects the play because his decisions determine the plot. For example the Seven Deadly Sins entice him so he becomes convinced not to repent his sin. This characterizes him as gullible, curious and adventurous. He becomes obsessed with his magic and he absolutely loves having the powers to do anything he pleases. An example of this is when he conjures up Helen. He knows he can do whatever he wants without reservation so he chooses to conjure the woman who launched a thousand ships. This shows that not only is he gullible, curious and obsessed but also Faustus only wishes for the best in whatever he does; the best that will please him.
Dr Faustus is a short play written by Christopher Marlowe. The play is a masterful insight into the paradoxical soul of mankind and its ironically self inflicted corruption. The play could be classified as a theological allegory. It can be assumed that the play specifically speaks to the religious motivations of the time, but can be adapted to the present as well. Marlowe portrays Faustus’ ambition as dangerous; it was the cause of his demise. Perhaps Marlowe used the theme of over-ambition as a warning to the audience, who would be likely to be wary of ambition - it was looked down on as a negative personality trait in Christian England (Calvinism) (Munteanu, Class notes). An on going theme within the story is the corruption of a soul which is played out through the use of religious beliefs. Specifically, the use of the seven deadly sins is a precursor to man kinds self inflicted death. Marlowe uses sin, redemption and damnation to get his point across to the audience. The sins that Marlowe specifically uses are those of: pride, covetousness, wrath, envy, gluttony, sloth and lechery. Theses sins are colourfully displayed through the character traits of Dr Faustus. In the process we view them and can adapt them to our own lives and how they are all parts to the corruption of our souls.
Mephistopheles, from the epic poem Faust, by Goethe, is one of the most interesting characters if examined carefully. Much like today's crude interpretations of the devil, Mephistopheles was a skeptic, a gambler, self- confident, witty, stubborn, smart, creative, tempting and of course, evil. There were very ironic things about him. Though he was evil, he was a force of goodness. The evil in him was portrayed in the negative aspects of Faust's personality, which showed that no matter how powerful the Lord was, the devil would always have an impact on a persons life and decisions.
“Marlowe’s biographers often portray him as a dangerously over–ambitious individual. Explore ways this aspect of Marlowe’s personality is reflected in ‘Dr. Faustus.’ ”
Robert Ornstein. “Marlowe and God: The Tragic Theology of Dr. Faustus.” PMLA 83.5 (Oct, 1968): 1378-1385. Modern Language Association. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Snow, Edward A. "Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and the Ends of Desire." Two Renaissance Mythmakers: Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson. Ed. Alvin Kernan. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. Print.