Lives of Faust: The Faust Theme in Literature and Music. A Reader

by Lorna Fitzsimmons (Editor)

The theme of Faust, the scholar who compacts his soul to the devil, has undergone many transformations since it first arose in the Reformation period, becoming one of the most profound themes of modernity. This textbook is a collection of major Faust works of literature and music, plus essays by Faust scholars. Texts include the English Faust Book, the Faust Puppet-Play, the ballad The Just Judgment of God shew´d upon Dr. John Faustus, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century performance announcements, Berlioz´s Damnation of Faust, Gounod´s Faust, Hawthorne´s The Birthmark and Ethan Brand, Melville´s Moby Dick, Valèry´s My Faust, and Shapiro´s The Progress of Faust. Topics include the globalization of the theme and Faust rock opera. Key contents is geared towards university students in North America and the UK collection of major Faust works of literature and music new edition of the "College of Life Long Learning" (1976)

Genres: Nonfiction

517 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lives of Faust is a rich collection of works which directly or indirectly adopt Faust as their subject-matter. Not only has the collection included the depiction of literary works, but also musical and sometimes broadcast works. What most attracted me in this book is the various perspectives from which Faust comes to the forth. Sometimes he is a fool who seeks to obtain a power he does not understand, and sometimes he is a true genius misunderstood by his surroundings. Sometimes he is saved, and sometimes he experiences a tragic doom. What is common to all the Fausts encountered is his uncontrollable desire to transcend the limits of his environments and his decision to take the Devil as a temporary ally.
This book shades the light on works I might not have read as Faustian constructs. It taught me to read Faust more as a universal being who might be any person because his desires are common to different individuals.
I recommend this book to anyone who would like to have a profound investigation of Faust.