Faust, Part One: Pt.1 (Classics) - Softcover

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von

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9780140440126: Faust, Part One: Pt.1 (Classics)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140440127 ISBN 13: 9780140440126

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2004

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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.

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About the Author:

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) studied in Leipzig where he showed an interest in the occult, before moving to Strasbourg where he was introduced to Shakespeare and folk poetry. His novel Werther established him as a great success, and spawned copycat suicides. His interest in the classical world led him to travel round Italy. He was working on Faust throughout his life.
Philp Wayne translated the complete Faust for Penguin Classics. He died in 1965.

Synopsis:

A brief analysis of the development, style, and protagonists of "Faust" is included with Goethe's classic tale about a troubled man who sells his soul to the devil.

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