Goethe’s Faust is a complex work of literature that is concerned with the place of humanity in the cosmos, the striving of its protagonist beyond his human confines, the implications of his going too far, and the consequences that his quest have on his community.
Goethe wrote Faust in two parts (Part I in 1808, Part II in 1832), and together they revise the Faustus legend to fit with Romantic sensibilities and eighteenth-century attitudes toward earthly life and the beyond. The theme of a man selling his soul to the devil for earthly desires—fame, knowledge, wealth, power—developed from a profound Christian belief in life after death. Goethe updates the legend by adding a prolonged love story, making his devil an ironic and mocking figure, and allowing Faust’s soul to escape damnation.
Faust’s universe is one of motion and flux, one where humanity is but a part, and one in which Faust tries to find values that are permanent and dependable as his experiences bring continual transformations: from hope to despair, from lust to spirituality. He literally journeys across the world, through mystical festivals, from old age to youth, in his quest for belonging and contentment. Through all of his accomplishments, Faust remains disillusioned and bitter at his death, but for his endless striving and belief in something beyond himself, Faust is saved from damnation by God’s grace.
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