Faust part one

‘The hour is come, as master of my fate,
To prove in man the stature of a god’ The medieval myth of Faust’s pact with the devil preoccupied Goethe for most of his working life and in the thirty years during which he worked on Part One he reshaped the legend to dramatize his own very personal concerns as a poet. His version depicts Faust as the greatest scholar of his age, master of every branch of learning – from philosophy and law to medicine and theology – only to recognise that the true secrets of existence remain hidden from mankind. To gain this knowledge, he must sacrifice the very thing that makes him human: his own soul. Reflecting Goethe’s preoccupation with the exhilaration and terrors of human creativity, Faust offers an ironic perspective on the constant striving in the Age of Enlightenment to challenge the limits of man’s advancement through art and science. Philip Wayne’s translation brings Goethe’s poetry powerfully to life. His introduction sets the play in the context of its creator’s own life of endeavour and achievement.
Faust Part One Goethe - Biographical Note Introduction FAUST - PART ONE Dedication Prologue in the Theatre Prologue in Heaven Night - Faust's Study (i) Faust is disconsolate; he conjures up the Earth Spirit, but without power to detain him. Faust and Wagner, his 'Famulus' or Servitor. *Faust broods again, and desires death. Bells and voices in the Easter Dawn prevent him from taking his life. Outside the City Gate Various citizens, soldiers; then Faust and Wagner; they meet the mysterious Poodle. Faust's Study (ii) Faust, more peaceful, studies St. John; but he is disturbed by the Poodle, which assumes a menacing shape; Faust compels Mephistopheles to appear, from the form of the Poodle; he interrogates Mephistopheles who is trapped, but rescued by spirits, who lull Faust to sleep. Faust's Study (iii) Mephistopheles returns, and, with full argument, the wager is made.* {Mephistopheles and the Freshman] [Mephistopheles and Faust Set Out] Auerbach's Cellar in Leipzig Drinking party. Fiery pranks by Mephistopheles: Faust is introduced here to a first degree of worldly grossness. Mephistopheles causes mirage in which the two disappear. Witch's Kitchen Faust is repelled by this second degree of devilment; but he is enraptured with a vision of woman's beauty, and he accepts the rejuvenating potion. A Street First encounter with Margareta; Faust demands her of Mephistopheles. Evening Mephistopheles leaves Faust alone in Margareta's room, in her absence. The devil places a casket for her; she returns, and finds the jewels. A Walk Mephistopheles is irate because Margareta's mother has given the jewels to a priest. Neighbour's House Margareta and Martha her neighbour. Mephistopheles tells Martha of the death of her husband and arranges a return with Faust. A Street Faust gives reluctant consent to the ruse of Mephistopheles. In Martha's Garden Faust's first love-scene with Margareta; Mephistopheles entertains Martha - the famous "quartet," in and out of the scene. A Summer-House Forest and Cavern Faust, alone, feels a return of purer aspiration, but is tempted back to amorousness by Mephistopheles. Margareta's Room Her heart is troubled, and she sings sadly at her wheel. Martha's Garden Second love-scene; Margareta questions Faust's beliefs; Mephistopheles scoffs at this, and gloats over the approaching night. At the Well A neighbour-girl's gossip strikes appalling fear into the heart of Margareta. A Shrine in the Ramparts Margareta's remorseful anguish and prayer. Night Valentine, Margareta's brother, is heavy-hearted with evil rumour of her; he challenges Faust and Mephistopheles, and is treacherously slain in a duel; dying, he curses his sister. Cathedral Nave Margareta is plagued by an Evil Spirit, and in her remorse she swoons. Walpurgis Night (Presumably this is the May Day Eve a year after the death of Valentine.) The Festival of Witches and Spirits upon the Brocken, or Harz-Mountain; "trio," and various choruses and voices. Here Faust is brought to a third degree of sensuality, the lowest state to which he descends. He then sees a vision foreboding Margareta's execution, but he is diverted by Mephistopheles with the Walpurgis Night's Dream, an "Intermezzo." (Satirical Masque, see Introduction.) Desolate Day Faust has learnt that Margareta is imprisoned, and he bitterly reproaches Mephistopheles. Night, Open Country (The shortest scene.) Faust and Mephistopheles galloping past gallows, to the rescue of Margareta. Prison Margareta is awaiting execution for the killing of her child. Faust pleads with her to go to him; but the strain has affected her mind. Mephistopheles summons them; Margareta commits her soul to Heaven, and Mephistopheles bears Faust away. Note: The scenes between the two * marks above were added by Goethe many years after his original version, which accounts for the kinder companionship with Wagner and the tone mellowed by experience: in this, and in his wager with Mephistor, Faust's fate is developing in accordance with the wager in the Prologue, between Satan and the Lord God. The beautiful, retrospective "Dedication" was also added later, as were the "Prelude" and the "Prologue."