Goethe, "Faust": customer reviews of the book, contents by chapter

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:35

From the reviews of Goethe's "Faust" you can be sure that the debate about this work has not subsided so far. This philosophical drama was completed by the author in 1831, he worked on it for 60 years of his life. This work is considered one of the pinnacles of German poetry due to the whimsical rhythms and complex melodics.

History of Creation

In reviews of Goethe's "Faust" they always note how long the author worked on this work. He wrote the first part back in the 1790s, although the idea came to him a decade and a half earlier. The poet managed to complete it only in 1806.

Two years later it was published, but then readers could not yet imagine how this philosophical drama would end, where Goethe's poetic genius and fantasy would lead. He worked on the second part already in quite advanced years, and for the first time it was published only after his death. The book was published in full in 1832.

An amazing findresearchers discovered in 1886. In the drafts of the poet, they found "Prafaust", that is, the work that preceded the tragedy, they managed to trace the very first ideas from which the author was originally repelled.

Summary

The contents of Goethe's "Faust" will allow you to refresh your memory of the main events of this work, to remember how events developed in it.

It all starts with the prologue. It contains an episode that is not related to the main plot. The poet and the theater director are arguing with each other about how the play should be written. In the course of this dispute, the director claims that the viewer often comes across stupid and rude, besides not having his own opinion, but judging the works from other people's words. In addition, he is not always interested in art itself. Some come to the theater to look at others and "walk" their next dress.

In this regard, according to the director, there is no point in trying to create a great work, because the vast majority of viewers simply will not appreciate it. Instead, you can pile everything that comes to hand, surprising the viewer with a lack of connection in the presentation, because no one will appreciate the abundance of thought anyway.

First part

In this article we will give a summary of Goethe's Faust chapter by chapter, so that you can consistently follow all the vicissitudes of the development of the plot.

Events of the first partstart in heaven. Mephistopheles enters into an argument with the Lord about whether Faust will be able to save his soul from him. After that, the reader is transferred to the earth, where he meets the professor, the main character of the work. Talking briefly about the chapters of Goethe's Faust, it should be noted that he was a researcher who brought many benefits to the surrounding residents with his finds and discoveries, but he himself was never satisfied with the knowledge he had learned from books over many years. Realizing that the innermost secrets of the universe, which he dreams of, are inaccessible to a simple human mind, he wants to commit suicide by drinking poison. He is saved from suicide by a sudden sound of the bell.

The main character goes for a walk around the city with his student Wagner. They meet a dog, which they bring into the house. There she takes the form of Mephistopheles. An evil spirit tempts the hermit scientist, convincing him to again experience the joys of life, which he has long been bored with. But for this he wants a rather high price - his soul.

Faust agrees, they seal this pact with blood.

Looking for fun

Telling the contents of Goethe's Faust chapter by chapter, then we should stop at the scene in which Mephistopheles and Faust go for a walk around Leipzig, wanting to have some fun. In the wine cellar, an evil spirit strikes the students by extracting wine from a hole made in the table.

Then he begins to indulge Faust's desire to get closer to the young and innocenta girl named Margarita, considering it an exclusively carnal attraction. To set up their acquaintance, Mephistopheles enters into the confidence of her neighbor Martha. When a relationship develops between the characters, Faust can't wait to spend the night with a new lover. Therefore, he convinces the girl to give her mother sleeping pills, but the drug that the scientist gives her, the woman dies.

Returning from Faust, Margarita soon discovers that she is pregnant, after which her brother Valentine challenges the scientist to a duel.

Murder

If you have read Goethe's Faust in its entirety, you should have appreciated the episode connected with the murder committed by the protagonist. During the fight, he kills Valentine, after which he immediately leaves the city. Faust even forgets about Marguerite until he meets her ghost at the witches' sabbath. He appears to him on Walpurgis Night in the form of a terrible prophetic vision. This is a girl with pads on her feet and a red thin line on her neck. Asking the evil spirit, he finds out from him that his beloved is now in prison awaiting the death pen alty. She got there because she drowned their daughter.

Faust wants to help Marguerite. She sits in a dungeon, gradually losing her mind. He invites her to run away, but Margarita refuses to accept the help of evil spirits, preferring to remain awaiting execution. To the surprise of Mephistopheles, the Lord decides to save the soul of the girl from torment in hell.

Second part

The second part of this work, as you remember, was written much later. It is a philosophical and poetic canvas, which is full of mystical associations, symbols and unexplained mysteries. The work is considered one of the most encrypted in world literature.

This part consists of five acts, each of which has a more or less independent plot. In the first act, the action takes place in antiquity. Faust marries Helen the Beautiful. Then, together with Mephistopheles, he meets the emperor, taking a number of measures aimed at improving the well-being of his subjects.

In the second part of the event moved to the world of the Middle Ages. At the same time, a good knowledge of ancient Greek mythology is required to understand the text and all lyrical digressions and references. Because of these difficulties, the continuation of the tragedy is rarely staged in the theater and is not included in the school curriculum in Germany itself.

At the end of life

At the end of this piece, we see a blind Faust, who decides to try to build a dam for the benefit of all mankind. He hears the sound of shovels working, and decides that his work has benefited people. This moment turned into one of the brightest in his life.

In reality, it is the night spirits of lemurs who, on the orders of Mephistopheles, are digging his grave, and the dam will never be built. Remembering the contract concluded with the evil spirit, Faust asks at this very moment to stop his life.

According to the terms of the agreement they signed, the soul of the scientist must go to hell. At the same time, the bet that God made with Mephistopheles, dedicated to whether Faust can be saved, the Lord allows inthe benefit of saving the soul of the researcher. He explains this by the fact that until the last moments of his life he worked for the benefit of mankind.

As a result, unlike the traditional versions of this legend, in which Faust ends up in hell, in Goethe's version, angels take the scientist's soul to heaven. This happens even despite the fulfillment of all the conditions of the agreement, as well as the fact that Mephistopheles acted with the permission of God.

Customer Reviews

The book was written about two centuries ago, but still remains in demand and popular. In reviews of Goethe's Faust, readers note that it still remains modern and relevant. Moreover, it is able to shed light on key aspects of life, regardless of when it was read: now or several centuries ago.

In reviews of the book "Faust" by Goethe, many note that this is a real textbook of life, which outlines the whole gamut of human vices. Special luck accompanies those who become the owner of an illustrated version of this work. In reviews of Goethe's Faust, they emphasize that the classic drawings that accompany the tragedy merge into a single whole with the text, helping to better understand what the author wanted to say.