The main theme of the tragedy "Faust" by Goethe is the spiritual quest of the protagonist - the freethinker and warlock Dr. Faust, who sold his soul to the devil for gaining eternal life in human form. The purpose of this terrible treaty is to soar above reality not only with the help of spiritual exploits, but also with worldly good deeds and valuable discoveries for mankind.
History of creation
The philosophical drama for reading "Faust" was written by the author throughout his creative life. It is based on the most famous version of the legend of Dr. Faust. The idea of writing is the embodiment in the image of the doctor of the highest spiritual impulses of the human soul. The first part was completed in 1806, the author wrote it for about 20 years, the first edition took place in 1808, after which it underwent several author's revisions during reprints. The second part was written by Goethe in his advanced years, and published about a year after his death.
Description of the artwork
The work opens with three introductions:
- dedication. A lyrical text dedicated to the friends of youth who made up the author's social circle during his work on the poem.
- Prologue in the theater. A lively debate between the Theater Director, the Comic Actor and the Poet on the topic of the meaning of art in society.
- Prologue in Heaven. After a discussion about the mind given by the Lord to people, Mephistopheles makes a bet with God about whether Dr. Faust can overcome all the difficulties of using his mind solely for the benefit of knowledge.
Part one
Doctor Faust, understanding the limitations of the human mind in knowing the secrets of the universe, tries to commit suicide, and only the sudden blows of the Easter Annunciation prevent him from carrying out this plan. Further, Faust and his student Wagner bring a black poodle to the house, which turns into Mephistopheles in the form of a wandering student. The evil spirit strikes the doctor with his strength and sharpness of mind and tempts the pious hermit to re-experience the joys of life. Thanks to the concluded agreement with the devil, Faust regains youth, strength and health. Faust's first temptation is his love for Marguerite, an innocent girl who later paid with her life for her love. In this tragic history Margarita is not the only victim - her mother also accidentally dies from an overdose of sleeping pills, and her brother Valentine, who stood up for her sister's honor, will be killed by Faust in a duel.
Part two
The action of the second part takes the reader to the imperial palace of one of the ancient states. In five acts, permeated with a mass of mystical and symbolic associations, the worlds of Antiquity and the Middle Ages are intertwined in a complex pattern. The love line of Faust and the beautiful Helen, the heroine of the ancient Greek epic, runs like a red thread. Faust and Mephistopheles, through various tricks, quickly become close to the emperor's court and offer him a rather non-standard way out of the current financial crisis. At the end of his earthly life, the almost blind Faust undertakes the construction of a dam. He perceives the sound of shovels of evil spirits digging his grave on the orders of Mephistopheles as active construction work, while experiencing moments of great happiness associated with a great deed realized for the benefit of his people. It is in this place that he asks to stop the moment of his life, having the right to do so under the terms of the contract with the devil. Now hellish torments are predetermined for him, but the Lord, having appreciated the doctor's merits to humanity, makes a different decision and Faust's soul goes to heaven.
Main characters
Faust
This is not just a typical collective image of a progressive scientist - he symbolically represents the entire human race. His difficult fate and life path are not just allegorically reflected in all of humanity, they point to the moral aspect of the existence of each individual - life, work and creativity for the benefit of their people.
(On the image F. Chaliapin in the role of Mephistopheles)
At the same time, the spirit of destruction and the power to resist stagnation. A skeptic who despises human nature, confident in the worthlessness and weakness of people who are unable to cope with their sinful passions. As a person, Mephistopheles opposes Faust with disbelief in the goodness and humanistic essence of man. He appears in several guises - sometimes a joker and joker, sometimes a servant, sometimes an intellectual philosopher.
margarita
A simple girl, the embodiment of innocence and kindness. Modesty, openness and spiritual warmth attract to her a lively mind and the restless soul of Faust. Margarita is the image of a woman capable of all-encompassing and sacrificial love. It is thanks to these qualities that she receives forgiveness from the Lord, despite the crimes she has committed.
Analysis of the work
The tragedy has a complex compositional structure - it consists of two voluminous parts, the first has 25 scenes, and the second - 5 actions. The work connects the cross-cutting motif of the wanderings of Faust and Mephistopheles into a single whole. bright and interesting feature is a three-part introduction, which is the plot of the future plot of the play.
(Images of Johann Goethe in the work on "Faust")
Goethe thoroughly reworked the folk legend underlying the tragedy. He filled the play with spiritual and philosophical problems, in which the ideas of the Enlightenment close to Goethe find a response. Main character transforms from a sorcerer and alchemist into a progressive experimental scientist who rebels against scholastic thinking, which was very characteristic of the Middle Ages. The circle of problems raised in the tragedy is very extensive. It includes reflections on the secrets of the universe, the categories of good and evil, life and death, knowledge and morality.
Final conclusion
"Faust" is a unique work that touches on eternal philosophical questions along with the scientific and social problems of its time. Criticizing a narrow-minded society that lives in carnal pleasures, Goethe, with the help of Mephistopheles, simultaneously ridicules the German education system, replete with a mass of useless formalities. The unsurpassed play of poetic rhythms and melody makes Faust one of the greatest masterpieces of German poetry.
9 CLASS
YOG ANNE WOLFGANG GOETHE
FAUST
Characters:
Faust
Mephistopheles
margarita
Valentine
Wagner
3 s
Students, soldiers, townspeople, children, common people.
The action takes place in medieval Germany.
dedication
Again you are approaching, the figures are foggy,
That I have already appeared before.
Or holding you? Or again to that Oman
Did my feelings succumb favorably?
You will rush! Dominate, O unstreakable,
When you have already risen so imperiously;
My soul is rebelliously younger
When a wonderful spirit will blow from you.
You brought happy days pictures
And images forever dear swarm;
And the first love and friendship shadow
They get up, as if in a fairy tale of the elderly.
I remembered life zigzags ringing,
Past regret, and the pain of loss is bitter,
And the name of those that their changing fate
It stole in bloom, like flowers in a field ...
My songs are not heard by tender souls,
That listened to the songs of youthful days;
Our friendly conversations were dispelled,
Around strangers, though, maybe not indifferent,
And their glory does not please the senses;
And those who, like relatives, congratulate them, -
Scattered, wandering around the world.
And again I was captivated by ghosts,
As if calling to the silent realm of the yen.
My former singing, almost stopped,
It resounds like a magic harp;
I startled, and tears rang out,
And my heart suddenly sank right to the bottom...
The present from afar barely dreams
And what has passed - again lives and acts.
Prologue in the theater
Theater Director, Poet and Comic Actor talk about visual arts. Should art serve the general public, should it remain true to its high purpose? This conversation is a reflection of the views of the author himself on art.
Prologue in the sky
Lord, archangels (Raphael, Gabriel and Michael) and Mephistopheles
Archangels sing praises to the deeds of the Lord, who created the Universe. They paint a picture of nature, the greatness of which cannot be comprehended by the mind.
Mephistopheles interrupts this singing with his sarcastic remark: “Lord, you have appeared to us again, asking how things are going with anyone ...” It turns out that not everything on earth is as beautiful as it seems. Mephistopheles himself is a witness only to the “human poverty” on earth.
The Lord is trying to deny such an attitude towards people and gives an example: the life of the scientist Faust - his faithful and diligent slave. To this, Mephistopheles denies that “his opinions on madness are sick”, that he is not like other slaves, that he does not have humility and calmness. He notes the contradictory, bifurcated nature of Faust:
His thoughts, crazy sick,
Soar somewhere in an indefinite distance.
Then from the sky he would have plucked the best dawns,
Then he would drink all the joys of the earth;
Don't give in to that bullshit.
Mephistopheles offers the Lord to the couple. He says that he can give Faust earthly joys that will capture him and make him forget about high impulses for knowledge. God agrees and allows Mephistopheles to subject Faust to any temptations, believing that the sensation will lead Faust out of the impasse. Mephistopheles is confident that he will win, which will make Faust "... crawl in the dust." If Faust admits that he is satisfied with life, his soul will be given to Mephistopheles.
A grand struggle between good and evil begins.
Part one
Scenes I-II
The scientist's office is filled with thick books and scientific equipment... Night. Dr. Faust is working on the manuscript. His thoughts are shrouded in sadness: for many years he tried to learn the secrets of the world, but now, at the end of his life, the old scientist saw and understood all the futility of the human mind and all science.
I got into philosophy
He reached the edge of all sciences -
I am both a doctor and a lawyer,
And, unfortunately, the theologian...
Well, why am I dovchivs?
As a fool was, and lost.
Even though I have a doctorate
And ten years at random
Here and there, sideways
I lead my students by the nose, -
And the heart breaks in itself:
We can't know anything!
Faust and his friend Wagner are walking around the city. People respect Faust. The friend says that the doctor should be proud of this. However, he replies that by treating people, he is not always sure if he helps them improve their lives. Faust admits to Wagner that two opposite people live in him, they are not inferior to each other. One stick is rushing to the ground, and the other is behind the clouds, ready to break out of the body.
On a walk, some black dog joins friends. At first, Faust is frightened: the dog seems to him a ghost. But a friend reassures him. Faust takes the dog to him.
Scenes III-IV
Faust turns into an evil spirit, cursing the earth, dreams, science, even God himself. At this moment, Mephistopheles appears before him and offers the doctor wealth, power, recognition. But Faust does not need all this. The only thing that can interest him is the return of youth. Then Mephistopheles agrees to restore the doctor's youth on one condition: here, on earth, Mephistopheles will be Faust's servant, but there, in hell, the doctor will give his soul to Satan.
Scenes V - VI
Mephistopheles leads Faust into the city and shows him what a merry life he can have if he agrees to sign the treaty.
To dispel Faust's last doubts, Mephistopheles shows the doctor the reason for the beautiful Marguerite. The old one signs the contract.
Mephistopheles gives Faust a goblet, emptying which the old doctor turns into a young man...
On the square of a small town - a lot of fun. Laughter and jokes do not capture only one person - Valentine, Margarita's brother, who is forced to go to war and leave his sister all alone. The young man worries about the fate of the girl and prays to God to protect Margarita from evil and temptation. Valentin's friends - Siebel and Wagner - promise to take care of the girl.
At that moment, Mephistopheles appears in the square and begins to work miracles.
Scenes VII - XVII
Mephistopheles restores Faust's youth, he brings the doctor to the witch, who rejuvenated him by giving him a magical drink to drink, and made him more receptive to pleasures. Faust is now young, handsome, his blood boils, and he knows no more doubts about his determination to know all the pleasures of life and comprehend the highest happiness. Mephistopheles rejoices because he made him forget about the craving for knowledge
Deciding to seduce Faust earthly joys, he introduces him to Margarita, or Gretchen, a pure and chaste girl from a poor family.
Seeing Margarita on the street, Faust approaches her, but the girl speaks to him briefly and unfriendly - she is in a hurry to leave the square. Faust rushes into sums. But Mephistopheles promises to help win her heart. He assures Faust that the girl will like the amazing gifts that the young man will bring her. Mephistopheles leaves a chest with gifts at the door of Margarita.
Margarita finds jewelry and, succumbing to temptation, tries on jewelry.
Further actions of Mephistopheles are even more insidious. Thanks to his charms, this modest, meek and naive girl not only becomes Faust's lover, but later, on his advice, agrees to put her mother to sleep so that she does not interfere with their date.
Scene XVIII
Margarita prays in the temple:
look kindly,
For my sin God have mercy!
pierced by the sword,
Regret uvita,
You see the holy Son of death.
You are calling your father
And you send sighs
To the sky, sorrow full to the top.
Who knows,
How torments
Is this heart pain difficult?
How my soul suffers
What trembles, what craves -
Only you can see!
Where would I go -
Heavy, heavy, heavy
Heartbreak!
I'm sitting alone
I'm sad, I'm sad, I'm sad
Heartbroken with regret.
I watered the flowers
Rose, ah! my tears
When I am early in the morning
Ripped them for you.
How cheerful the rays
Played through the window
Sobbing, in bed
I sat for a long time.
Save! Abandon shame and death!
look kindly,
God bless me for me!
But in response, he hears the words of Mephistopheles: “You fell away from heaven and were given to hell!”. Margarita hears the voices of spirits and loses consciousness!
Scenes XIX - XXIV
Margarita's brother Valentina hears rumors that his sister has not been an example of morality for a long time. Passing by Gretchen's window, Valentine accidentally meets Faust and Mephistopheles. Guessing that one of them is the sisters' lover, he rushes into the fray. At the sign of his companion (“Be bolder, doctor! Sword! Forward!”), Faust accepts the fight. Together with Mephistopheles, they compete with Valentine. Faust kills Marguerite's brother.
Margarita rushes to her brother, trying to alleviate his suffering, but he pushes his sister away, curses her and predicts a shameful death.
Margarita loses her mind.
In a moment of despair, she kills her newborn child. A crazy woman is locked up in jail as a thief. She is sentenced to death.
Faust and Mephistopheles quietly enter the prison to rescue the woman. But they need to hurry. Everything must be done at night, while the watchmen are sleeping.
And Margarita begins to scold her beloved for the cold attitude towards her. The woman then talks about how she drowned the child. She tells Faust that there is no worse fate than walking with a bad conscience, always looking out for enemies or an ambush behind him - and refuses to follow him into the wild. He decided to take her out by force. But Margarita, surprisingly, turns out to be resolute and again refuses.
Faust and Mephistopheles leave the prison together, never persuading Margarita go with them. "I will submit God's judgment", the girl answers. Leaving, Mephistopheles says that Margarita is doomed to torment. However, the voice above announces: "Saved!". Giving the advantage of fierce death and repentance before the flight arranged by the devil, Margarita saved her soul.
II part
Faust's last monologue
Faust is old again and feels that life is coming to an end. In addition, he is blind and is in complete darkness, alone with his thoughts. And he is still striving to fulfill his cherished dream: to build a dam in order to conquer a piece of land from the sea, every year it absorbs the sea tide, depriving it of fertility.
Mephistopheles already senses Faust's near death and summons lemurs, evil spirits, to prepare his grave. He hopes that Faust's soul will fall into his hands, according to a long-standing agreement. And Faust, inspired by the idea of construction, continues to give orders to the builders, not knowing who they are.
Such a grandiose picture of a rich, fertile and prosperous country, where “a free people lives in a free land” arises in his imagination, that he says the secret words that he would like to stop the moment:
The edge of the mountains lies a rotten swamp,
The whole region threatens to jet;
We bring it to drain
And so our feat to accomplish.
We will find a place for millions here -
Element zbora their free labor.
Spread wide fields,
Abundant herds will play in expanse,
Steep hills will be brought down by the working people,
Will cover them with patterns of structures -
And he will live in this region, as in paradise ...
Let them try to break through that dam -
The group will overcome the breakthrough to obscure.
Serves this business reserved -
This is the height of earthly wisdom:
Only he is worthy of life and freedom,
Who fights the day for them.
May age and young and old
He takes life benefits from the battle here.
Whenever I see that I'm standing
With a free people in a free land,
I could shout in delight:
"Stop, hvilino, you are good!
Saying last words, Faust falls into the arms of lemurs and dies. Mephistopheles already assumes the moment when, according to the agreement, he will take possession of the Faustian soul, but here the heavenly forces appear, and the struggle of evil spirits with good ones begins. Angels scatter roses that light up from the fiery breaths of demons and bake the body of Mephistopheles. Unable to withstand the struggle, the demons run away, and the angels carry Faust's soul to heaven.
Faust's soul is saved.
Translation from German - M. Lukash
More complex as it is more abstract. Faust and Mephistopheles find themselves at the court of a certain emperor. The emperor, who, it would seem, has power, is not at all omnipotent and fully controls himself and his subjects. External threats, internal economic difficulties. Faust appears and inspires the emperor with the idea that an adviser will appear who can help cope with these difficulties. But being at court gives Faust practically nothing, even though he is in favor. To cope with the crisis, Mephistopheles proposes to print banknotes. For Faust, stay is associated with two important points: reward from the king - a strip of land cut into the sea and a meeting with Elena the Beautiful (part 2 is aimed at antiquity). In the second part, there is a parallel with Walpurgis Night only with ancient creatures (sphinxes, chimeras).
Against this background, Elena appears. Before us is a maid of honor, not the first youth and beauty. And at first she does not make a strong impression on Faust. But he tends to see in her eternal femininity, Elena becomes the lawful wife of Faust, they have a son. The son is amazing, this young creature of amazing beauty and charm, gifted by nature, Eufarion (euphoria, bliss, aspiration to heaven). Loved by parents to madness. Their lives are colored by the constant fear that they will lose him and will not be able to keep him on earth. These fears are coming true. Having become an adult, Eufarion asks his parents to let him go. It does not return to earth, it dissolves into the ether. In the fate of Faust's children there is a polar divergence.
All amplitude human life revolves around human mortality.
His student, Wagner, thinks that science should give practical solutions to problems, that it should be useful, and he creates an artificial man. Comparison with the mighty God - nature, as Goethe shows, man, created by God, is imperfect (he dies, suffers, doubts), or maybe a man created by man will be perfect?
Wagner manages to create an artificial man, raised in a flask, there is a little man, but an adult. He tries to free himself, gets out, but turns out to be unviable.
"Faust on the Seashore" (the last third of the second part). Faust decides that he will use his reward for the benefit of people. He will give it to those who will be happy on it. Faust has a new idea of life. Thinking about others, living for generations, it gives a sense of perspective. Faust by this time is so old that he cannot do anything himself, he is frail, weak and blind. Faust demands from Mephistopheles that this strip of land be expanded, secured, so that a large number of people can prosper there. In this regard, the problem of man and nature arises, the transforming power of culture on this earth, under the leadership of Faust, is digging graves, and on the edge of the earth a grave for Faust himself.
"The myth of Philemon and Baucis" - loving spouses who died on the same day and the Gods, as a reward, turned the husband into an oak, and his wife into a linden. With Goethe they live on this cape, but they go to work. From the ringing of bells, Mephistopheles gnashes his teeth, but cannot do anything with them and persuades Faust to move them, as they interfere with him. He swears that they will not lose anything, but he scared them so much that they died on the spot.
Faust lives to his last day and it seems to him that he understood the secret of why to live. He believes that on a well-organized land they will live happy people worthy of glory and freedom. The meaning of life is to fight every day for glory and freedom. And having understood this thought, then I would have said, “A moment you are beautiful ...” (in conditional mood). Nevertheless, death overtakes Faust, and next to him is Mephistopheles, but legions of souls of the righteous rush to intercept Faust's soul to save his soul, God, forgetting about humanity. Remembers a person. Among the spirits Margarita. Everything in the world is in motion - the struggle of contradictions and unity.
The dispute over Faust always goes on a thin line, on a knife edge, and the existence of mankind is on this line and you need to keep a balance. BUT evil turns out to be not only not omnipotent, in itself there is a contradiction (in the image of Mephistopheles), he speaks of himself as a part of that force that seeks and desires evil, but contributes to the creation of good.
Faust is a generalization of the author's ideas about man and his being. Faust is shown in different guises, he is a learned scribe, a delusional person, a philosopher, a criminal, a family man, everything about him is very difficult to say that he is a positive or negative hero. It has an eternal dissatisfaction with itself and the world. Goethe considers this inner restlessness to be the most important in the life of man and mankind. Mephistopheles embodies the complete denial of all values of human life and the dignity of man in general.
Mephistopheles is the devil, the messenger of hell, this image was borrowed by Goethe from an old legend. Leaving the name, the poet completely changed his character. At
Goethe Mephistopheles is not at all like a devil from popular beliefs. Spiritually, he embodies high culture thoughts, but skeptical and cynical thoughts, denying everything good and kind in life.
However, he cannot be defined as a "negative" character.
Mephistopheles is a complex figure. There is a contradiction in it: he speaks of himself as part of that force that seeks and desires evil, but contributes to the creation of good. Goethe put some of his thoughts into the mouth of Mephistopheles. He endowed this character with his critical observations on the negative phenomena of reality.
Margarita is an unfortunate person, lives in the suburbs, pretty, modest, well-bred, pious, caring, she loves children very much. She has a younger sister. The girl is virtuous, as evidenced by the song "The Ballad of the King of Ful", which she sang. Love, as Goethe shows it, is a test for a woman, moreover, it is destructive. Margarita unrequitedly loves Faust, becomes criminal. There are 3 crimes on her conscience (she dooms herself to complete loneliness) - she puts sleeping pills to her mother, on one unfortunate day her mother does not wake up from an overdose of sleeping pills, the duel of Valentine and Faust, Valentine turns out to be doomed, he is slain by Faust's hand, Margarita turns out to be the cause of the death of her brother, Margarita drowns the baby daughter from Faust in a swamp (chthonic environment). Faust leaves her, he is only interested in her as long as he achieves her. Faust forgets about her, he does not feel obligations to her, does not remember her fate. Left alone, Margarita takes steps that lead her to repentance, forgiveness. Margarita assumes all responsibility, pays with her life for her soul. When Faust dies, among the righteous souls sent to meet his soul, will be the soul of Margarita.
“A life-long tragedy” can be called the immortal work of Johann Goethe, because the genius of literature finally put an end to it shortly before his death. The protagonist, whose name is given to the tragedy, Faust sought and found the meaning of life, proved the inseparable connection between good and evil.
Part 1: Faust and Margarita
Faust studied dozens of volumes of philosophical searches, studied jurisprudence, learned medicine, heeded theology, but did not achieve answers to his main questions. Receiving more and more new knowledge, an erudite and respectable person, came only to the conclusion that the world is unknowable, and people are very far from perfection. The scientist is oppressed, the more doors with the mysteries of human nature he opens, the farther from him is the enticing solution. Desperate, Faust already decides to end his life, but he is stopped by the ringing of bells.
As a representative of darkness, Faust intervenes in life, arguing with God on the soul of a scientist. The Dark Knight has come to tempt the restless truth seeker. His goal is to prove to the Almighty that all people are stupid and unworthy of higher truths. But the short-sighted Mephistopheles was deceived and chose the wrong scientist. He should turn his eyes to the antipode of Faust - Wagner, who is mired in dust scientific papers confident that the truth must be sought in books and manuscripts. Faust is ready for the trials of life and accepts the challenge of Satan himself.
Following with Mephistopheles, Faust tasted wine, but did not get carried away with hops. He took part in deceitful actions, but did not desire personal gain due to this. And he even seduced the young maiden, which doomed the unfortunate woman to undeserved suffering. But Faust was truly in love with Margarita and, having learned about the fate that befell her after his departure, he wished with all his heart to save his beloved. And when he realized that he was late and nothing could be fixed, he sincerely suffered with her. So it was proved to Mephistopheles that a person is worthy of "high" feelings.
Part 2: Work for the good of society
The action is transferred to the ancient world, where Faust is married to the beautiful Helen. Faust and Mephistopheles make acquaintance with the emperor and take a number of measures to improve the well-being of his subjects.
At the end of his life, Faust is illuminated by the idea of building a dam. He puts the rest of his strength into this business and goes blind. But the work goes on, and the soul of the scientist sings. He found what he was looking for - meaning in working for the benefit of others. In real work, the result is here and now, and not at all in test tubes and reasoning. Faust does not realize that the sounds of construction are the machinations of Mephistopheles. He is unaware that it is lemurs (night spirits) who are digging his hole. The hero stands on the edge of his own grave, and not at the pit.
Remembering the contract with Mephistopheles, Faust asks to stop the moment of his life here. The devil is not going to miss the soul for which he fought so much. But he lost. Faust, stupid, in his opinion, little man, did not stop in his search until the very end. The hero's eyes close forever, and the soul flies into the arms of the Lord, leaving the enraged Mephistopheles with a nose (since Faust before last day worked for the good of humanity throughout his life.
Faust quotes
I curse hope
overflowing hearts,
But above all else
I curse the patience of a fool.
I curse conceit
with which our minds are filled,
And I curse the world of appearances,
Deceptive, like a layer of rouge.
And the seduction of a family man,
Children, household and wife,
And our dreams, half
Impossible, I swear.
In any outfit I will be rightfully
To recognize the anguish of existence.
Liveliest and best dreams
We are dying in the midst of worldly fuss.
In rays of imaginary brilliance
We often soar in thought in breadth
And we fall from the weight of the pendant,
In the image of the protagonist of the tragedy "Faust", Goethe sees not only a reflection of himself, but also a man of his time, the Enlightenment period, the heyday of German culture and philosophy.
Goethe and the Enlightenment
Johann Wolfgang Goethe certainly combined all the signs of genius. He was a poet, prose writer, an outstanding thinker, an ardent supporter of romanticism. It is on it that one of the greatest eras in Germany, the Enlightenment, ends. A man of his country, Goethe was instantly accepted into the ranks of the most prominent German philosophers. His sharp style immediately began to be compared with Voltaire's.
Biography
Goethe was born in 1749 into a wealthy patrician family. The basics of all sciences were taught to him at home. Later, the poet entered the university, but this was not enough for him. He also graduated from the University of Strasbourg. After the treatise "The Sufferings of Young Werther" was published, world fame came to him.
Goethe long time held an administrative position under the Duke of Saxe-Weimar. There he tried to fulfill himself, to convey the advanced ideas of that century to everyone else and to serve the benefit of society. After becoming prime minister of Weimar, he became disillusioned with politics. His active position did not allow him to engage in creativity.
Italian period
The writer fell into depression and went to recuperate in Italy, the country of the Renaissance, the masterpieces of da Vinci, Raphael, the philosophical search for truth. It was there that his style of writing developed. He again begins to write short stories and philosophical narratives. Upon his return, Goethe retains the post of Minister of Culture and the work of the head of the local theater. The duke is in his friend Schiller and often consults with him in important matters of the country's politics.
Goethe and Schiller
One of the turning points in the life and work of Johann Wolfgang was his acquaintance with Schiller. Two first-class authors not only together begin to develop the Weimar classicism founded by Goethe, but also constantly push each other to new masterpieces. Under the influence of Schiller, Goethe writes several novels and continues to work on Faust, which Friedrich so wanted to see. Nevertheless, "Faust" was published only in 1806, when Schiller was no longer alive. The first part was created under the tireless surveillance of Eckermann, Goethe's personal secretary, who insisted that the tragedy be published. The second part, at the behest of the author himself, was released posthumously.
Tragedy "Faust"
It is no exaggeration to say that Faust is the main work of the poet. The tragedy in two parts was written for sixty years. According to "Faust" one can also judge how the evolution of the writer's work took place. By creating passages at certain periods of his life, Goethe concluded in this tragedy the whole meaning of life.
Doctor Faust
The poet did not invent the main plot line, he took it from folk tales. Later, thanks to the thinker himself, the story of Faust will be retold by many writers, weaving this story into the basis of their books. And Goethe learned about this legend when he was only five years old. As a boy, he saw a puppet theater. It told a terrible story.
The legend is partly based on real events. Once there lived Johann-Georg Faust, a doctor by profession. He was engaged in the fact that he traveled from city to city and offered his services. If traditional medicine did not help, he took up magic, astrology and even alchemy. Doctors more successful and famous in their environment said that Faust was a simple charlatan who could fool any naive person. The healer's students at the university, where he briefly taught, spoke of the doctor with great warmth, considering him a seeker of truth. The Lutherans called him the devil's servant. The image of Faust seemed to them in all the dark corners.
The real Faust died under very mysterious circumstances, quite suddenly, in 1540. At the same time, legends and conjectures began to be made about him.
The image of Faust in Goethe's tragedy
A work about Faust is a long life journey of a person who is endowed with a special view of the world, the ability to feel, experience, be disappointed and hope. The protagonist makes a deal with the devil only because he wants to comprehend all the secrets of the world. He wants to find the elusive truth of being, to find the truth, constantly with despair seeks out more and more new knowledge. Soon he realizes that he himself will not be able to find answers to questions, he will not be able to reveal all the secrets.
For the sake of knowledge, the hero is ready to pay any price. After all, everything that is in Faust's life, everything that moves him, is a search. Goethe endows the hero with the full gamut of all existing emotions. In the work, he is either in ecstasy from the fact that he discovered a grain of new information, or on the verge of suicide.
The main task of the hero is not just to know the world, but to understand himself. The image of Faust in the tragedy "Faust" is somewhat reminiscent of His life does not revolve in a circle, does not return to its roots. He constantly goes only forward, making new discoveries, exploring the unknown. For gaining knowledge, he pays with his soul. Faust is well aware of what he wants, and for this he is ready to call the devil.
The main positive features that the image of Faust absorbed in the tragedy "Faust" are perseverance, curiosity, and goodwill. The main character not only seeks to acquire new knowledge, he wants to help others with it.
The image of Faust in Goethe's tragedy also has negative qualities: the desire to gain knowledge immediately, vanity, doubts, and carelessness.
The protagonist of this work teaches that you can’t look back and regret something, you need to live in the present, look for what makes a person happy. Despite the horrendous deal, Faust lived absolutely happy life, never regretting it until the last moment.
The image of Margarita
Margarita - a modest girl, naive in many matters, has become the main temptation for the already elderly hero. She turned the whole world of the scientist and made him regret that he had no power over time. The poet himself was very fond of the image of Margaret in the tragedy "Faust", probably identifying him with the biblical Eve, who gave the forbidden fruit to Adam.
If all the years of his life Faust relied on his mind, then, having met this seemingly ordinary girl on the street, he begins to rely on his heart and feelings. Margarita after meeting with Faust begins to change. She puts her mother to sleep in order to get on a date. The girl is not as careless as it might seem in her first description. She is proof that looks can be deceiving. Having met with Mephistopheles, the girl subconsciously understands that it is better to bypass him.
The image of Margarita Goethe took from the streets of his time. The writer often saw sweet and kind girls whom fate throws into extremes. They cannot get out of their midst and are doomed to live their lives the way the women of their family did. Striving for more, these girls are falling more and more down.
Finding her happiness in Faust, Margarita believes in a better outcome. However, a series of tragic events does not allow her to enjoy love. Her brother is killed by Faust himself, unwillingly. He curses his sister before dying. The misfortunes do not end there, and, having suffered more than they should, having gone mad, Margarita ends up in prison. In a moment of complete despair, she is saved by higher powers.
The image of Mephistopheles in the tragedy "Faust"
Mephistopheles is a fallen angel who is constantly arguing with God about good and evil. He believes that a person is so corrupted that, succumbing to even a small temptation, he can easily give his soul to him. The angel is sure that humanity is not worth saving. Faust, according to Mephistopheles, will always be on the side of evil.
In one of the lines of the work, Mephistopheles is described as a devil who previously had sharp claws, horns and a tail. He does not like scholasticism, preferring to get away from boring sciences. Being evil, it helps, without knowing it, to find the truth for the hero. The image of Mephistopheles in Faust is made up of contradictions.
Often in conversations and disputes with Faust, Mephistopheles manifests himself as a true philosopher, who watches with interest the deeds of man, the progress. However, when he communicates with other people or evil spirits, he selects other images for himself. He does not lag behind the interlocutor and supports conversations on any topic. Mephistopheles himself says several times that he does not have absolute power. The main decision always depends on the person, and he can only take advantage of the wrong choice.
Many thoughts of Goethe himself were invested in the image of Mephistopheles in the tragedy Faust. They expressed themselves in sharp criticism of feudalism. At the same time, the devil profits from the naive realities of the capitalist foundation.
Despite the superficial similarity of the demon and the protagonist, the image of Mephistopheles in the tragedy "Faust" is absolutely opposite to him in the main. Faust strives for wisdom. And Mephistopheles believes that no wisdom exists. He believes that the search for truth is an empty exercise, because it does not exist.
Researchers believe that the image of Mephistopheles in Faust is the subconscious of the doctor himself, his fears of the unknown. At that moment, when good begins to fight evil, the demon talks to the main character. At the end of the work, Mephistopheles is left with nothing. Faust voluntarily admits that he has reached the ideal, has learned the truth. After that, his soul goes to the angels.
Hero of all time
The eternal image of Faust became the prototype for many heroes of new literature. Nevertheless, he seems to complete a whole string of literary "loners" who are used to fighting life's problems on their own. Of course, the image of Faust has notes of the sad thinker Hamlet or the expressive defender of humanity, the desperate Don Quixote, and even Don Juan. Faust resembles the Lovelace most of all with his desire to come to the truth in the secrets of the Universe. However, at a time when Faust knows no boundaries in his search, Don Juan stops at the needs of the flesh.
Each of the listed characters has its own antipodes, which make their images more complete and partially reveal the inner monologue of each. Don Quixote has Sancho Panza, Don Juan has an assistant Sganarelle, and Faust fights in philosophical battles with Mephistopheles.
The influence of the work
After the publication of the tragedy about a desperate lover of knowledge, many philosophers, culturologists, researchers found the image of Goethe's Faust so fascinating that they even singled out a similar type of person, which Spengler called "Faustian". These are people who are aware of infinity and freedom and strive for it. Even at school, children are asked to write an essay, the image of Faust in which should be fully disclosed.
This tragedy had a significant impact on literature. Inspired by the novel, poets and prose writers began to reveal the image of Faust in their creations. There are hints of it in the works of Byron, Grabbe, Lenau, Pushkin, Heine, Mann, Turgenev, Dostoevsky and Bulgakov.
