This article is about the German legendary character. For other uses, see Faust (disambiguation).
Dr. Fausto by Jean-Paul Laurens1876 'Faust' by Goethe, decorated by Rudolf Seitz, large German edition 51x38cm
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (c. 1480–1540).
The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. The Faust legend has been the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical works that have reinterpreted it through the ages. "Faust" and the adjective "Faustian" imply sacrificing spiritual values for power, knowledge, or material gain and / or making a risky bargain with seemingly good intentions that goes terribly wrong.[1]
The Faust of early books – as well as the ballads, dramas, movies, and puppet-plays which grew out of them – is irrevocably damned because he prefers human knowledge over divine knowledge: "He laid the Holy Scriptures behind the door and under the bench, refused to be called doctor of theology, but preferred to be styled doctor of medicine".[2] Plays and comic puppet theatre loosely based on this legend were popular throughout Germany in the 16th century, often reducing Faust and Mephistopheles to figures of vulgar fun. The story was popularised in England by Christopher Marlowe, who gave it a classic treatment in his play The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus (c. 1592).[3]
In Goethe's reworking of the story over two hundred years later, Faust becomes a dissatisfied intellectual who yearns for "more than earthly meat and drink" in his life.
^
"Faustian". The Free Dictionary (thefreedictionary.com). — pertaining to or resembling or befitting Faust or Faustus; especially in insatiably striving for worldly knowledge and power even at the price of spiritual values; 'a Faustian pact with the Devil'.
^One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Phillips, W.A. (1911). "Faust". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 211.
^
"Christopher Marlowe". Biography (biography.com). Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
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