Goethe is a German poet, playwright and natural philosopher who have been recognized as one of the greatest people in the Western literature. Faust is the leading role of a classic German legend which forms the basis for literary, cinematic, artistic and musical works which were produced in the 20th century for many years by various poets such as Goethe, Oscar Wilde, Hector Berlioz and Thomas Mann. Each poet re-tells the Faust legend and builds on it depending on the previous versions. Goethe's Faust shows the true essence and limitations of knowledge and power. Faust means having a bargain with the devil. It makes and inverts complex Christian moral to a simple original legend, a hybrid between an extended poem and a play. It brings together references from the medieval Roman Empire. The legend became an obsession of Goethe who constantly pursued it and refined it according to his own version. The human hubris, vanity and pride lead him to his doom. He began his Faust in the Holy Roman Empire. His interest is a variety of pursuits and studies in connection with important discoveries in animal and plant life. He reflected the collapse of the monarchy in France which gave rise to a democratic government.
Faust has been classified as the classic text of modernity since it was first composed from 1773 to 1832. It comprehends various changes in political and economic organization, philosophy, industrialization and technology and science which have an impact of secularization in Europe.
Faust is characterized by the revolutionary ethos and celebrates development phases which had not been written since it was discovered. It represents stages of economic power in the Industrial Revolution which began in the early 19th century. The Faust myth was born due to the conflict between Renaissance for knowledge and Reformation insistence. This conflict became a playwright and a leading critic of the German Enlightenment and masterpiece to establish and encourage German dramatists (Richter 33). Modern Literature published a German theme which was widely admired established by the achievement of Germany’s new masterpiece. Classicism repressed extreme emotions and reduced the number of personal classical German philosophy.
Parts that Goethe introduced and how they changed the overall structure and meaning of the original folk-legend and the first book of Faust by Johann Spies
Part I of Faust is set in the pre-industrial German which survived into the late18th century. Part II offers a complicated analysis of the varying economics as a monetary system that was based on precious metal equivalence which was based on the significance and the authority of the nation-state. Goethe’s new epic poem which he composed in hexameter restored the interest of both the Greek classics and the poets. They devoted themselves in studying of the great ancients such as Homer and Sophocles. The artistic style used by Goethe required different poetic forms and themes. These discussions developed the study of ballads which united dramatic, lyric and epic elements cited in a poem. Ballads served as a field for experimenting artistic functions and possibilities of the poetic forms. Goethe critically tested each poem whether it had been organized with complete prudence. Goethe discussed philosophy and literature with the dynamic romantic circle in Jena. The works in Faust brought relationships with various fashions dialectically (Richter 42). His epic poems were classical philosophy registered in a traditional devil’s Sabbath. History became part of the unprecedented fashion and disciplinary thinking which was understood by an assemblage of cultures. Each had a unique character in the development of the classical antiquity which was the ideal European culture since the Renaissance.
The poetry which was created 16th century by Goethe in part one became a gateway in part two which led into a cultural past receding further from its evocation. The fundamental nature of Faust’s pact with Mephistopheles was to live and enjoy each moment to the fullest and let it pass. The compilation of the early Christian times was known as the Faust tradition which makes an agreement with the devil and is inspired by Goethe’s text in the 19th century. Through his performance of plays in the European tradition, Goethe’s role was to revive the classical ethos in Europe. A comprehensive creation of the European culture was responsible for the extensive view that Germany had reached the peak of cultural development. Faust has survived Urfaust which was Faust in its original form and the only manuscript was discovered in1887 (Richter 56). Goethe was aware of the degree to which the Roman neoclassical polemics narrowed the options available to dramatists. He therefore wrote several libretti and court masques.
Critics have asserted that Faust is incomplete and cannot be understood as a cohesive work due to its sense of incoherence. Its scope and length have prompted readers to consider it as an epic rather than a drama. Evidence to support this argument includes; Goethe intended to compensate the nonexistence of visual recognition, the play was never staged during his tenure, however it evokes the history of the European narrative. Scholars regard Faust in its epic terms and emphasize uniqueness in the play.
Works cited
Noble, Thomas F. X. Western civilization: beyond boundaries. 5th Ed. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin Co., 2008. Print.
Richter, Simon. The literature of Weimar classicism. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2005.
Print.
Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western civilization. 7th Ed. Southbank, Vic.: Thomson Learning
Australia ;, 2009. Print.
