Literary Analysis: Goethe's Faust
Originally published on January 19, 1829 in German, Faust Part I by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe marks amongst one of the most alluded plays of German folklore history. Part II, equally significant in literature, was published in 1832, based on the folktale of a distinguished scholar who was presumed to have been lured by the devil. The two parts echo in a communion of a microcosm and a macrocosm to represent religion and the society. It exercises the language of spirituality and consciousness that communicates throughout the course of history. Faust transcends time and space, permeate the physical boundaries, and reaches beyond the realm of any society. Goethe’s power to manipulate rhymed verse definitely credit to the success of Faust. Born to a wealthy, middle-class family on August 28, 1749 in the city of Frankfurt-Main, Germany, Goethe received a decent homeschooled education until 1765. His pursuit in law mimicked that of his father’s and tinkered with the German language as a child. The plays he had written shows his early brilliance as a redeemed scholar and later publicity. The dedication to philosophical ideas and political positions attached to the man after he had returned to Frankfurt. He devoted himself to short novels and dramas revolving the Romantic theme and Gothic runnels, which Urfaust and Faust Part I and Part II often reflect. The influence of the historical era which Goethe dwell in may have impacted his themes, one such as radical thoughts against the church and the orthodox visions of natural spirits and the common theme of devil’s influence. Doubtless, the literary era of romanticism has impacted on Faust and many others’ character formations.
Quote Analysis:
“Eritis sicut Deus, scientes bonum et malum” (2049).
Translated from Latin, this quote says “you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3.5). This quote reflects the religious message behind this play, one of the most crucial part of acknowledgement is the communion of good and evil. Eventually, toward the end of the play, the angels transmits the idea that goodness births from evilness, and vice versa. The simplicity of this verse can be interpreted differently in ways that transcend superficial interpretation. As Mephistopheles inscribes this in the Student’s notebook, he intends to teach the scholar that his pursuit in knowledge will resolution in his higher knowledge in worldly studies. Furthermore, this allusion to the Bible, specifically in the Genesis section, shows the readers that knowledge may just be the propelling factor to divinity. However, these were the words that slipped out of the snake’s mouth. In the same way, Mephistopheles slipped these same words for spreading evil. The good versus evil debate again appears in this short phrase, for which Mephistopheles rejects that mankind can be pure and sincere as he detaches himself to the truth.
“As long as on the earth he lives/So long it shall not be forbidden/ Man ever errs the while he strives” (315-317).
Again the theme of good and evil, with their origins, appear in this phrase. The short dialogue that appears in the prologue in heaven shows the opposing forces that will remain existent throughout the story. The Lord, omnipotent in his very nature, knows the pathways of mankind. He knows that the errors of man are temporary and that his value shall not be corrupted by worldly and metaphysical desires. Man ever errs the while he strives, most definitely describes the fate of Faust, who will encounter errors and hindrances on his pursuit of spiritual understanding.
“And yet your power, O Care, insidious vast/I shall not recognise it ever” (11493-11494).
Amongst the four gray crone, which indeed appears in Macbeth as the Witches who confront Macbeth and Banquo, was Care, Want, Debt and Need. Their appearance in Midnight most likely deem them as evil spirits. Care, slips from Faust’s door and enters with incantations. However pressing the spirit presents, Faust undoubtedly forbids all of her beckoning and says the previous line. In context with the plot, this line serves as a dramatic turning point, away from the material life Faust once lived and depart to a greater natural acceptance. Unfortunately, Care blinds him by the justification that men remain blind throughout their life. Thus, he is no longer dependant of Mephistopheles and therefore gains a true sight.
Title Significance:
The author chooses this title to give the readers an overview of what the story may present them, namely, the famous folklore tale of doctor Faustus in German oral stories and traditional marionette shows derived from the English version from Marlowe in the Tragical history of Doctor Faustus which date of publication has long been debated to be around 1500s or 1600s. All folktale stories revolve around one general theme of the doctor, and Goethe has taken consideration of all sources of the traditional information of the man. Utilized and alluded to in modern literature, the title of Faust generally come to the reader’s mind as the Part I of the play. However, Part II presents a realm equally important philosophically and spiritually. While the title does not include any symbolisms, the character that it mentions has become a symbolism in literature. Goethe’s choice of title fits best for this book because the plot overviews the course of one individual’s change, choices, and deeds. As he encounters temptation, trials, and obstacles, Faust becomes the ideal man whose regrets and dissatisfaction disintegrates, to become the Faust that the divinities accept.
Setting:
The setting of Faust shifts rapidly from one place to another, transcending space and time. Part I focuses on the personal life of one individual, Faust. Even before the prologue, Goethe adds the essential piece of the play which incorporates the director, the clown, and the poet who argues about the production and the main theme of the play. From the Heaven, the play descend down to the Gothic chamber of Faust and presents the audience with the main character. The Witch’s kitchen is a stop for the two characters to revitalize Faust. From the Garden to the Dungeon, each setting illustrate a mood in which the play cannot exist without. Then, as Faust travels in time, he reaches another state of mind that overviews both Romanticism and Classical values. Goethe’s work most mimick that of an renaissance work because of the revitalization of Hellenistic principles. In relation to the play, the positioning of an action provides sometimes more symbolisms than the dialogues included. In association of the plot, the setting provides a multitude of characters in the jest of their time period. For example, the three fates and the four crones, Paris and Helen, the Holy Roman Emperor, all constitute as a part of the play where time does not bound imagination, and immortality binds with their experience. All glorious human history is displayed in Faust: Classical Greece, Medieval times, the Enlightenment period, and Romanticism. The ideas conveyed in the poem are just as apparent: humanism, urge of authority, the creation of Homunculus, medieval spirits… In this poem, religion reflects most of the people’s inner experiences. This contrasts greatly with our current society, where dispositions and connection with religion has been manipulated to obtain wealth and riches. The Lord emphasizes the importance of redemption, which again contrasts with our diminished appeal to benefit the society. The message of life’s rebirth from corruption and death, which first Faust dwell from the personal inaptitude then ascend to spiritual fulfillment. The setting says it all: the personal purgatory filled with darkness slowly ascend to a greater and brighter want, a want for a perfect society. The ending setting greatly contrasts with the beginning (in Faust’s study), the tone and mood are at opposite ends of a spectrum.
Themes:
Patterns in life transcends time and space
Faust travels from his own personal scope to a grander magnitude of the society, from there he and Mephistopheles travels from Medieval spiritual realm to Greek and Roman perspective, from there they center themselves in the Holy Roman Empire, and back to Romantic period. Each time period resonates the same message, that within light there is dark, that within desire there is sin, that within each scope there is a physical world and a spiritual world, that the world system balance by these patterns. Individual existence, then, sometimes transcend time and space. Knowledge, then, transcend time and space. And love, will always transcend time and space. Like modern days, our perception of a soul sometimes fools us into believing that forever is a metaphysical concept, when it is truly something that defeats boundaries.
Good always defeats evil
Literature provides an explanation for the natural laws and regulations, the phenomenons, the culture of a specific territory, and the scope of imagination. In this piece of literature, Goethe celebrates the tragic and blessings of the Christian world. In Part I, readers encounter the Gretchen tragedy but to soon encounter the second part of the play to be graceful and paced. In this world, everyone desires a place, a shelter where good always trounces evil. Such a world built on imagination and wonder, yet such a world does not appear often in real life. In real life, evil always triumphs, no matter how you position yourself to look at the victor and the victim. Literature is our escape from reality, we ache for a world where good wins and the bad falls. Inhabitants of a corrupt like us would like the salvation that Faust receives. Inhabitants of a corrupt world would like the the Lord to receive us as his subjects and not a pawn of Mephistopheles. While Faust’s utopia in the given land thrives, our own conscience rings in our head–– is this the beauty of a literature work in the Romantic era?
We all crave knowledge, good or bad
Knowledge provide us with assurance, with confidence. However, the case is quite the opposite with Doctor Faustus, who seeks more knowledge about the natural world than just the limitations of his contemporary studies. By trying to understand more about the natural world and its boundaries, he makes a pact with the devil who promises Faust twenty four years of pleasure and wishes that no man could reject after Faust’s denial to riches. Throughout these twenty four years, Faust enlarged his mind and opened up a new scheme of knowledge which he was unknown to. Information, in this case, presents a value that men cannot resist. In the modern world, men like Faust strive under the influence of insatiable knowledge. Because Faust knows that lies and errors are caused by ignorance, Faust then knows that rationalization is the only way out of the life’s labyrinthe. Through passion and the deaths caused by his ignorance, he discovers the meaning of all relationships and connects the pieces together: past, present, future, and the universal truth with the heavens above.
Character: In order of appearance
Mephistopheles
Mephistopheles is in no relations with the devil, despite the numerous times people may refer him as a devil. A creation by the Urfaust legends and the Faust folklores, the Mephistopheles provides fear and terror. At medieval ages, people’s sentiments toward evil is very severe and extreme. However, Mephistopheles under Goethe’s hand has a different personality. Despite deriving from the medieval legends and German Urfaust stories, the Mephistopheles presented in Faust has hints of playful wisdom, cynical motives, and contentment of materialism and nihilism. In philosopher’s eyes, this figure may have been the most sophisticated in the entire play. His position as a court jester mos summarizes his personality. It is essential to understand that he is very observant of his surroundings and careful to play with his actions. The outsider is easy to discern real faults in the orderly system. At the same time, the jester position put himself in the misdeed and false stance. From his false stance, he could not incorporate himself into Faust’s position, whose knowledge and competence in studies made him ignorant to physical matters. We as readers and audiences must understand that the devil exist within ourselves, the very same goes for Faust. There are times that Mephistopheles win over Faust’s ideas, like conjuring him to the cult and away from Gretchen. There are times that Mephistopheles can not control the good, like the love unrestrained by lust for Gretchen. One scene that conveys Mephistopheles’ evilness, “She clots a man’s blood with her staring threat/and he may turn into a monolith/You’ve heard, of course, of the Medusa myth” (4195-97). His persuasion and eloquence marks one of the most treacherous devils in the Faustian ages.
Faust:
Faust first appears in the play as a old yet renowned man, a scholar with great potentials. He then is revived by the witch’s potion to become a younger, healthier man. His dissatisfaction with his studies and his seeking of a greater knowledge led him to compromise with Mephistopheles, a devil. Faust is a symbol of knowledge and free thought, an anti-clericalism for he opposes the church’s assumption of wealth. He wish to find out more of the life’s meaning yet no one could possibly provide the connection between life and nature. Despite his weaknesses, he also possesses greatness and virtue, just like the mankind possesses both goodness and evilness. The characterization of Faust is of human existence and consciousness, that he himself deems as a hero of the human race. In the end, he receives salvation. He redeems himself in the end by accepting a greater good rather than a individualized love. “I hasten to fulfill my thought’s designing/The master’s word alone imparts his might” (11503-11505). This cultivation of good, brings Faust to his eternal salvation.
Gretchen or Margarette: The double naming simply stem from the common German translation and the two names are indeed just one person. Gretchen’s tragedy marks the first part of the entire play and is one of the main character in the tragic love story. Young, around the age of sixteen, Gretchen is innocent and ultra-religious virgin whose tragic life ended due to Faust. Her mother’s restrictive nature and her innocence lead to her assumption that everyone who attach to her will have a great heart as well. The ideal faith of Christianity makes her the only true Christian in the entire play. She falls in love with Faust and was impregnated by Faust, however, restricted by the moral code that woman should not bear children before marriage and will receive damnation if she does. Her fear and inexperience led to an infanticide and caused her downfall in the dungeon. Her death concludes the first part of the play, and is sometimes referred to as a Gretchen’s tragedy. She accepts her punishment because the fervent religiousness, and morally rejects the sight of Mephistopheles. Her innate goodness defeats the sense of negative action. Therefore, due to her last judgment, she is admitted by the heavens and granted salvation. Gretchen is a victim of judgment, or the distinguishment between right and wrong. While emotions blind her path, she still is able to judge her sentence. Thus, in part II, Gretchen appears in the form of Una Poenitentiam, her love for Faust purged her sins. Audience should reasonably infer that she will reach the highest scope of heaven.
Valentine: A death caused by Mephistopheles’ beguile, Valentine does not deem unjust or grotesque enough to receive such judgment. Valentine, a soldier of some redeemed status and the brother of Gretchen, is killed under the blade of Faust. He holds the pride of having a virgin sister and now that Faust has violated this privilege, he decides to publicly shame his sister for committing a sin. “Dear Gretchen––you are young, my pet/And not half wise enough as yet/You’re in a sorry way/ I tell you, just for you and me/ You are a wh**e, what’s there to say?/It can’t be helped, you see” (3745-49). Valentine’s morality and standards match that of a normal civilian, but in him the readers can see the brutality and disconnection with family member.
Homunculus:
Homunculus is a miniature man shaped by the scholar assistant of Faust, Wagner. The introduction of Homunculus simply infer to the Lord’s creation, the capacity of someone to enact the life source. For example, in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the readers examine the possibility of life and death, of bringing consciousness. A body joined with soul, however, Homunculus needs a more able body to fulfill his desire. The incorporation of this line draws the reader’s attention: “Well, there, Papa! How now? It was no jest/ Clutch me affectionately to your breast/ But not too roughly, or the glass might shatter/ Such thing, you see, a property of matter” (6889-6993). He, without the form of a regular human, is without protection and security.
Conflict:
Person vs. self
The most conveyed conflict must resort in the person versus self conflict, for which the main character embark on this journey to encounter his thirst for spiritual knowledge. His inner doubts and concerns surrounds the conflict within himself. Although readers or the audience may comment on Faust’s position under the influence of Mephistopheles, it is essential to understand that in part II, Faust is able to fight off and reject temptations of Mephistopheles. The insecurity, perhaps, strikes Faust the most. The discontentment within himself, highlighted from his sinful lust, requires Faust to fulfill himself with desires. However, in part II, as he gains more understanding on the concept of altruist actions and decisions, Faust begins to push away Mephistopheles. Moreover, the loss of sight propels the scholar to see beyond the material or physical boundaries, to see metaphysical feelings and sentiments. Day by day, he rejects his constant obsession about destiny and focuses more on what he can do rather than what he will become. The final conflict with Care may also be seen as personal obstacle, from which he escapes all of the immorality and detriments. This also summarizes the conflict of modern man’s sense of alienation driven by the desires and wants. He is torn between conscience and wants, idealism and nihilism, spirituality and physical senses. Who is to say this is not a pattern of mankind?
Person vs. person,
Despite killing Valentine, the elderly couple, and multitude of others, Faust’s main conflict remains with his unfaithful servant––Mephistopheles. The serpent, the court jester, the evil advocate, the part of darkness, the devil, the grotesque liar, Mephistopheles had made a pact with the Lord for the dominion over Faust’s nature. To overcome Mephistopheles, Faust undergoes a severe transformation. From the primary ignorance and obedience, he slowly regains his spiritual vigor and establishes his own commands. As he loses faith in human morality, he progresses into a diminished sense of rationalization. He fills himself with skepticism throughout the course. The dependency on Mephistopheles of Faust in part I tells Faust’s struggle to overcome Mephistopheles in the subtle way.
Person vs. environment.
From the introduction of the character, Faust encounters black-magic and conjures up natural spirits to only withdraw because of his fright. From this first scene, the audience may presume that this man is resolved to enter into a quarrel with nature.
Point of View:
Viewing from the dramatic point of view and/or with the 3rd person objective, Goethe presents Faust as a play’s form. The point of view does not include character’s thoughts or feelings, but provide enough factual information or action using objective prose to influence the audience’s perception. The characterization of Mephistopheles, for example, utilizes the action which he commits to doing. The neutral stance gives a more assertive or credible tone, from there, Goethe illustrates the potential of the characters. There is no narrator in the story except central figures, thus uses the dramatic point of view. The play delivers its message well by letting the audience feel rather than describing in words. The first part of the play mainly focuses on the subjective tone on a particular individual while the second part overviews a broader and higher world.
Beginnings and Endings:
The beginning of the entire play, both Part I and Part II, takes place after the dedication. Here displays three figures, merry person (the clown), the theatre director, and the dramatic Poet. Each of these three figures represent the society’s three driving forces. The theatre director most value the announcement of a novel play, with action and a well-written plot. Goethe would most distinguish himself with the Poet, whose voice and art resonante in the ultimate truth. The universal radiance, the Poet emphasizes, is what the play should most focus on. The clown, a blend of both sides, tells the audience that the combination of both arts and material gain can be preserved and that the world is a scope of both. This theme shall echo again and again, for that the individual’s world sometimes compare with the society’s scope. Small or large, this beginning has presented the audience of two sides of identity, the important thing is––the two sides never conflict each other. As the audience or reader shall see, the play itself piece together the two parts like the two sides of the argument.
The final scene shows the sentence and is followed by the acceptance of Faust into the eternal salvation. The last scene, Mountain Gorges, Forests, Cliffs, Wilderness, describes the holy Christian vision scene. The emphasis on the Feminine purity most celebrate the Holy Virgin, Mother, Queen, etc. The course of forgiveness, highlighted by the angels’ speech, summarizes the majority of the final scene. Constituting the final jurisdiction of the Lord and heaven, this final scene gives the audience an insight of the medieval authorities on Faust. For example, the scenery of the wilderness and the mountain sides most correspond with the medieval measures of a metaphysical realm. The final scene illustrates a rebirth, from which Faust will abandon his mortal self due to his altruism deeds. Here the play concludes because Goethe has presented the message: reject the evil influences and physical desires to accept an altruist outlook for a greater knowledge and possible immortality.
Irony:
Situational irony:
An example of situational irony happens in Part I when Faust gives the sleeping potion to Gretchen’s uncompromising mother for leaving her out of the love scheme between Faust and Gretchen. However, contrary to the audience’s perception, Gretchen’s mother dies from the potion that Mephistopheles had prepared. The author pokes fun at the audience’s assumption that Mephistopheles contains a good intent when he does not. This act further compares the character to the devil because of this cynical sense of death to receive what he wants.
Another example of situational irony happens in Part II when Mephistopheles calls on the Lemures (not the species of monkeys but the spirits) for preparation of Faust’s burial. However, contradictingly, the Angels carry the deceased Faust away to the last scene of the play for his elevation to the higher acknowledgement of the heavens. This act of situational irony presents Goethe’s intention to fulfill the audience with triumph and not tragedy. Everyone longs for a world where good always defeats evil. In a tragic play, the plot most likely will reflect the components of an unpredictable life. In this case, the situational irony defeats the host of evil, Mephistopheles, from enacting the damnation of Faust. This conclusion satisfies the audience because people do desperately seek escape. This situational irony provides a self-confidence, and serene contentment.
Dramatic irony:
An example of the dramatic irony takes place in Part I when the Mephistopheles speaks to the Student. This scene may have been included in the play for a comical moment, or a simple fragment of the original Urfaust. The Student’s visit coincidentally collide with the pair who were about ready to embark on their journey. Here, the audience knows more than the Student that Mephistopheles constitutes the renowned Faust. A sense of comical relief is exhibited on the stage that Mephistopheles provides a myriad of nonsensical blabber, one of such being seduction of women. This scene purely exhibits comical relief.
An example of dramatic irony takes place in Part II when the blind Faust commits to pure spiritual and natural dispositions, without the vision of the materialistic world and metaphysical regimes. However, Mephistopheles commits an evil deed by attempting to bury Faust in the section of entombment in Act V. The appearance of the chorus of angels inhabit the sense of the heavens and intend the jurisdiction of Faust’s immortal essence before Mephistopheles seizes his soul. The audience, thus, knows more than the devil because the devil did not make sense of the arrival of the angels in time to recognise their intentions. This scene greatly reflects Goethe’s intention to add the element of surprise for the audience.
Literary Devices and Techniques:
Using the last section of the poem of the first part: Dreary Day: A field and Night: Open field until the end of Dungeon.
Metaphor: Goethe uses metaphor to compare one item with another, to establish a link between the two forms. If the audience was to acknowledge one of the item, they should have a fair knowledge on the tone and mood of the speaker when they say their dialogue. In this case, the author compares the speaker’s attitude or sentiment at the moment, “Of a sudden I was a fair nightingale” (4415-16).
Foreshadowing: After researching about the raven-stone, I know that the raven stone is usually served by executioners. The raven stone is an icon for death and sorrow, which matches the following procedures in the plot. Faust says this line to foreshadow the coming plot, that his beloved Gretchen shall soon face persecution for infanticide, “Why do they hover there, by the raven-stone?” (4397).
Parallel structure: The author uses parallel structure to enhance his work, to add other information about the scene. In plays and dramas, the character’s dialogue constitutes a majority of description. In this case, the description of the scene is very important, “Who knows what they are brewing and wrecking. Weaving and wavering, bowing and crouching… Strewing and conjuring” (4583-85). In readers’ minds, there would exist an imagery. “The Devil, gnashing in wrath appalling, crashing and brawling” (4590-91). The audience would have a mental image of the Devil, with its talons and teeth.
Antimetabole: By switching the order of the phrase presented, Goethe puts an emphasis on the position of the maiden without messing up with the information. It is a form of literary device that may be useful to erase bland statements, “behind this sodden wall here does she dwell” (4490).
Allusion: As a Shakespeare reader, Goethe includes the allusion of Macbeth to better enhance the mood of the scene. When Lady Macbeth sleepwalks in the middle of the night, she and Gretchen acts in the similar manner––frantic and nonsensical. The blood on Macbeth’s hands most directly link with the “blood” on Faust’s hands due to the death of Valentine. “My dearest hand! But it feels wet! Oh! Wipe it off! It would seem there’s blood on it!” (4514-17).
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