Faust, and the Urfaust

Goethe’s Faust #1-2

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John R. Williams (Translator)

Translated, with an Introduction and Notes by John R. Williams.

Goethe's Faust is a classic of European literature. Based on the fable of the man who traded his soul for superhuman powers and knowledge, it became the life's work of Germany's greatest poet. Beginning with an intriguing wager between God and Satan, it charts the life of a deeply flawed individual, his struggle against the nihilism of his diabolical companion Mephistopheles.

Part One presents Faust's pact with the Devil and the harrowing tragedy of his love affair with the young Gretchen. Part Two shows Faust's experience in the world of public affairs, including his encounter with Helen of Troy, the emblem of classical beauty and culture. The whole is a symbolic and panoramic commentary on the human condition and on modern European history and civilisation.

This new translation of both parts of Faust preserves the poetic character of the original, its tragic pathos and hilarious comedy. In addition, John Williams has translated the Urfaust, a fascinating glimpse into the young Goethe's imagination, and a selection from the draft scenarios for the Walpurgis Night witches' sabbath - material so ribald and blasphemous that Goethe did not dare publish it.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Plays, Poetry, German Literature, Drama, Literature

468 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1832

About the author

A master of poetry, drama, and the novel, German writer and scientist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe spent 50 years on his two-part dramatic poem Faust , published in 1808 and 1832, also conducted scientific research in various fields, notably botany, and held several governmental positions.

George Eliot called him "Germany's greatest man of letters... and the last true polymath to walk the earth." Works span the fields of literature, theology, and humanism.
People laud this magnum opus as one of the peaks of world literature. Other well-known literary works include his numerous poems, the Bildungsroman Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and the epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther .

With this key figure of German literature, the movement of Weimar classicism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries coincided with Enlightenment, sentimentality (Empfindsamkeit), Sturm und Drang, and Romanticism. The author of the scientific text Theory of Colours , he influenced Darwin with his focus on plant morphology. He also long served as the privy councilor ("Geheimrat") of the duchy of Weimar.

Goethe took great interest in the literatures of England, France, Italy, classical Greece, Persia, and Arabia and originated the concept of Weltliteratur ("world literature"). Despite his major, virtually immeasurable influence on German philosophy especially on the generation of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling, he expressly and decidedly refrained from practicing philosophy in the rarefied sense.

Influence spread across Europe, and for the next century, his works inspired much music, drama, poetry and philosophy. Many persons consider Goethe the most important writer in the German language and one of the most important thinkers in western culture as well. Early in his career, however, he wondered about painting, perhaps his true vocation; late in his life, he expressed the expectation that people ultimately would remember his work in optics.

Reviews

[Ajeje Brazov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tempo fa, nell'onda delle visioni dei film sull'espressionismo tedesco, vidi il film di Murnau: Faust. Mi sbalordì non poco, Murnau uno dei massini esponenti dell'espressionismo tedesco in cinematografia, crea un film ricco di atmosfere arcane, crepuscolari, dove l'espressionismo dei protagonisti è il punto focale. Così dopo la visione, che mi entusiasmò molto, decisi di leggere l'opera da cui fu tratto il film.
Faust di Goethe è un'opera maestosa, per argomentazioni filosofiche, politiche e sociali, per i rimandi ad opere di autori che hanno fatto la storia della letteratura mondiale, quali Shakespeare e Dante. Sì, perchè Faust è una sorta de La Divina Commedia, goethiana, poi tutta l'opera è caratterizzata da un'immersione totale nei miti antichi, la mitologia greca ne fa da padrone, infine dà spunti di riflessione sulla vita, sulla morte e soprattutto sull'amore, in tutte le miriadi di sfumature.

Parto con la lettura e subito mi prende, un po' perchè conoscevo la storia per sommi capi e poi perchè Goethe conduce il lettore, quasi per mano (almeno all'inizio) e non mi sono preso la briga di guardare le note alla fine del libro. Arrivato circa a metà inizio ad arrancare, non perchè non mi prendesse più, ma perchè la comprensione completa del testo incominciava ad aver bisogno di un aiuto e così passo alle note, partendo ovviamente dall'inizio. Mi si è aperto un mondo, le note sono splendide ed aiutano e soprattutto arricchiscono l'opera.
Goethe è un grande scrittore e con quest'opera si merita sicuramente un posto tra i massimi scrittori di tutti i tempi. Capolavoro!

Margherita
Lontano dagli occhi, lontano dal cuore!
La cortesia per voi è un'abitudine;
ma certo le amicizie non vi mancano,
e sono intelligenti più di me.
Faust
Oh, cara! Spesso, credi, chiamano intelligenza
quel che è solo insipienza e vanità.
Margherita
Davvero?
Faust
Ah, l'innocenza, la semplicità
sono sacre, e non sanno di valere!
L'umiltà, la modestia, i più alti doni
che la Natura ha dato con amore...

Non cerco la salvezza nell'irrigidimento,
il meglio della sorte umana è il brivido;
caro si paga al mondo il sentimento,
ma solo chi è commosso sente a fondo l'immenso.

Nel suo vivo fluire mai Natura
fu costretta da giorni e notti e ore.
Essa dà forma e norma a ogni figura,
neppure in ciò che è grande c'è violenza.

dove ha dominio infatti la Natura
incorrotta, tutti i mondi si abbracciano.

[Ria · Rating 4 out of 5]

part 2 proves that Goethe is a crackhead. it's a bit too positive for me. justice for Mephisto

[Manybooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has indeed been a long time since I read Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's classic, and while I do not have the time (or even the required energy and inclination) to reread all of Faust at present, I can and will state that it is now one of my favourite pieces of German drama (or rather, it has become this slowly, but steadily). The first time I read Faust for an undergraduate university course on specifically Goethe and Schiller (in 1986, thus over thirty years ago), especially the second part proved to be a rather frustrating and even daunting experience (until I began to realise and consider that since it took Goethe almost sixty some years to complete his masterpiece, perhaps trying to read and understand it, or for that matter, having teachers/professors attempting to make students read Faust in its entirety in a couple of weeks or so, is not conducive to either understanding or appreciating this drama, or even Goethe as an author). And I guess being the only student enrolled in this course, and having therefore of course only the professor herself as a possible sounding board and discussion partner did not much help things either (especially since the Goethe and Schiller course, a fourth year advanced literature course that I actually took in my second year, was also my very first sojourn into classic German literature, so yes indeed, talk about being thrown into the proverbial deep end of the swimming pool).

Now for those of you actually interested in attempting a perusal (either the original German, or one of the very many translations that exist), I would strongly suggest and encourage taking one's time. And really, one could also easily and with scant regret stick to the first part of Faust as a play in and of itself, as Faust I is basically its own complete story, the so-called Gretchentragödie (the tragedy of Gretchen), if one feels that the second part could likely prove too involved and confounding (I have reread Faust I at least ten times over the past few decades, but have only read the second part, Faust II about three times, with two of these readings being for compulsory university courses).

And finally, as a bit of an add-on, Goethe's so-called Urfaust (which this here edition of Faust fortunately contains as well) is also a most interesting read. For while on the surface and in general, it is basically pretty much similar to Faust I (and thus presents the tragedy of Faust and Gretchen and how Faust meets Mephisto and signs his deal with him), there are actually quite a number of scenes (and certain lines) which appear in Faust I and do not as yet appear in Urfaust, in Goethe's original manuscript (and for me, the most noticeable and important thought-provoking difference being that in Urfaust, Gretchen is simply shown as having been condemned to death for infanticide, whilst in Faust I, there is heard an angelic voice from above claiming that while Gretchen has perhaps been condemned to be executed by the secular authorities, her admission of her guilt and her refusal of Faust's and Mephisto's offer of escaping from prison, has in fact saved her, has redeemed her soul for heaven).

[Orhan Pelinkovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faust written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) is a tragic play largely written in rhyme verse and part in prose to more accurately depict the literary period of the scene.

Goethe's play, in two parts, is immersed with Christian-rooted metaphors and symbolism, pagan beliefs and mysticism of the author's region, Greek mythology, and political and economic events that defined the period in which the play was written.

A captivating poetic play that wonderfully illustrates human's internal struggle between morally acceptable behavior and our nihilistic alter ego all intertwined with the irony and outcome of those rewarded and punished. All in all, part two was very good, but part one was perfection.

[paper0r0ss0 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ineffabile colosso artistico. Troppo grande e troppo arduo sarebbe (per me) il compito di entrare nell'analisi di questo testo. Vale solo accennare i temi dell'insoddisfazione dell'homo novus, l'anelito insopprimibile per l'azione, la volonta' titanica dell'addomesticamento della natura, la curiosita' per la mente e i suoi travagli, con degli spunti straordinariemente precursori delle discipline psicoanalitiche di la' da venire. Resta da sottolineare la straordinaria fruibilita' dell'opera. Mi aspettavo un mattone ingestibile e invece ho scoperto una lettura piacevole, ovviamente condizionata dal livello di approfondimento, che si invischia un po' solo nella seconda parte, negli atti dedicati al "viaggio" classicista alla ricerca di Elena.

[Saturn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A farmi conoscere la storia del Faust è stato il cinema, prima con Murnau e poi col più recente film di Sokurov.
Temevo una lettura molto impegnativa e in effetti la seconda parte lo è stata. L'approccio invece è stato fantastico. La prima parte infatti è molto più accessibile e scorre via che è un piacere. Già da sola sarebbe un capolavoro, ma è nella seconda parte, molto più ostica, che viene fuori il genio. Per fortuna la mia edizione ha un nutrito apparato di note che mi ha aiutato a cogliere molti riferimenti. Ci sono infatti tanti rimandi soprattutto alla letteratura greca e alla bibbia che non sono facili da cogliere se non si ha una buona preparazione in tal senso. Quelli che per me sono stati più immediati e quindi anche più coinvolgenti, sono i richiami a Omero e all'Iliade.
Il protagonista di quest'opera non è solo Faust, ma di riflesso tutto il genere umano. Ci sono scene di satira politica, c'è il tema del progresso, della ricerca, di quel senso perenne di insoddisfazione che ci spinge a superare continuamente i nostri limiti. Ci sono i rapporti umani, in particolare nel legame fra Faust e Margherita. È una di quelle opere immense che non si esaurisce mai e che racchiude infinite chiavi di lettura.
Anche stilisticamente è una delle opere più particolari; totalmente priva di uniformità, sembra quasi un omaggio alla letteratura mondiale di tutti i tempi.
Da leggere e rileggere.

Questa edizione include anche l'Urfaust, che è un primo abbozzo della prima parte, originariamente non destinato alla pubblicazione.

[Mesoscope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent and complete edition of Goethe's Faust that includes parts one and two as well as Urfaust as well as supplementary materials for study, including an interpretive essay and copious commentary. The supplementary material is of the very highest calibre, and I do not think I have ever seen a more perfect set of textual apparatus to support understanding a complex work than the rich material provided by Erich Trunz. Of the four or five copies of Faust I own, I consider this to be the core version.

The first part of Faust utilizes the controlling imagery of alchemy and pansophy to symbolize the life of the conscious and unconscious mind. Faust and Mephistopheles form an inseparable dyad who to some degree are a stand-in for Goethe himself, although I think the degree to which this is true can be easily exaggerated. The basic drama of this play is the effort for a scholarly man to get out of his head and his laboratory, and to make contact with the energies of life itself. In so doing, and in his self-absorption, he exerts a destructive impact upon many people he contacts.

The second part of the drama was written decades later and is entirely different in its controlling imagery and thrust, although it also exhibits an impressive unity with the underlying plan of the first play, most evident in the fifth and final act. While the first part is replete with images of early modern magic and demonology, the second part is deeply submerged in the classical world which, we soon discover, is more expansive than the images structuring the first part, and more capable of encompassing the full range of life's possibilities.

This work is vast, sometimes baffling, highly variable in style and tone, and incredibly profound, and at times shines with a numinous light that few masterpieces of world literature are capable of kindling. Many readers skip the second part, but in many ways I actually preferred it, although it was a less efficiently-wrought dramatic work. In any event, I see the work as a comprehensive unity, and I think skipping the second part is analogous to reading only the Inferno, which defaces the entire experience.

In terms of its larger significance, I have not been able to think of an author prior to Goethe who wrote original and thoroughly-modern works using the forms and structures of mythology. I think his influence as a precursor to Wagner's Ring, Mann's Magic Mountain, and Joyce's Ulysses have perhaps been under-valued - particularly the latter. The Circe episode of Ulysses reads like an homage to the Walpurgisnacht scene in Faust I.

Other works of Goethe function in a similar mode, such as Hermann and Dorothea, which, perhaps even more than Faust, would appear as a precursor to the mythopoetic method of modernism. I also detect important analogs in his Elective Affinities, as I described in my review.

Good English translations of Faust may exist, but I have not seen one. In particular I would not recommend the translation of the first part and some of part two by Walter Kaufmann. Despite my admiration for his work with Nietzsche, I think he considerably over-estimated his own talents as a poet, and I found his verse translation uncompelling.

[Matt]

It's a tragedy ... this book ... and also the fact the I have not read it yet. There are a couple of editions in our house and I picked the oldest one (Faust I+II and Urfaust; Deutsche Buch-Gemeinschaft, Berlin, 1924/25). Set in Fraktur (of course) it will be some challenge to even decipher the words.

[Lord · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone can read Faust but who can really say that he understand it? I know I don't. For those who seek a little bit enlightenment on this subject, I can recommend the book by Rudolf Steiner "Goethe's Secret Revelation and The Riddle of Faust" and, of course, his other books about Goethe.

[Hoda Marmar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The dedication which introduces this amazing masterpiece is forever a favorite of mine. This is one of the very few books which I would be reading, stop, and reread from the start with each reread tugging at my heartstrings. I LOVE Faust! Especially the first 50 pages which i must have read a zillion time. I lent my book and they never returned it. Oh, misery! Now, Here's the introductory poem:

"Again you show yourselves, you wavering Forms,
Revealed, as you once were, to clouded vision.
Shall I attempt to hold you fast once more?
Heart’s willing still to suffer that illusion?
You crowd so near! Well then, you shall endure,
And rouse me, from your mist and cloud’s confusion:
My spirit feels so young again: it’s shaken
By magic breezes that your breathings waken.

You bring with you the sight of joyful days,
And many a loved shade rises to the eye:
And like some other half-forgotten phrase,
First Love returns, and Friendship too is nigh:
Pain is renewed, and sorrow: all the ways,
Life wanders in its labyrinthine flight,
Naming the good, those that Fate has robbed
Of lovely hours, those slipped from me and lost.

They can no longer hear this latest song,
Spirits, to whom I gave my early singing:
That kindly crowd itself is now long gone,
Alas, it dies away, that first loud ringing!
I bring my verses to the unknown throng,
My heart’s made anxious even by their clapping,
And those besides delighted by my verse,
If they still live, are scattered through the Earth.


I feel a long and unresolved desire
For that serene and solemn land of ghosts,
It quivers now, like an Aeolian lyre,
My stuttering verse, with its uncertain notes,
A shudder takes me: tear on tear, entire,
The firm heart feels weakened and remote:
What I possess seems far away from me,
And what is gone becomes reality."

[Marianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emozionante e denso di lirismo, va letto assolutamente per capire di cosa si sta parlando. Lo considero un'opera importantissima, se non imprescindibile per chi vuole conoscere il Romanticismo (tedesco in particolare) e una storia indimenticabile.

[Ştefan Bolea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Der Teufel als Nihilist:

Ich bin der Geist der stets verneint!
Und das mit Recht; denn alles was entsteht
Ist werth daß es zu Grunde geht;
Drum besser wär’s daß nichts entstünde.
So ist denn alles was ihr Sünde,
Zerstörung, kurz das Böse nennt,
Mein eigentliches Element.

Faust, 1, 1388-1344.

Vorbei! ein dummes Wort.
Warum vorbei?
Vorbei und reines Nicht, vollkommnes Einerlei!
Was soll uns denn das ew'ge Schaffen!
Geschaffenes zu nichts hinwegzuraffen!
"Da ist's vorbei!" Was ist daran zu lesen?
Es ist so gut, als wär' es nicht gewesen,
Und treibt sich doch im Kreis, als wenn es wäre.
Ich liebte mir dafür das Ewig-Leere.

Faust, 2, 11596-11603.

I was not at all impressed of Goethe's masterpiece. It's basically about one (old) man who chases two chicks: one that is almost 15 years old and another, a famous dead porn star of the antiquity, Helen of Troy. I can clearly see that the play is modern and perhaps ahead of its time - the avant-guarde modernity consists in the comical, burlesque, absurd elements of the drama. It almost seems that Faust virally creates his own parody. The second part - which I find almost unreadable - appears to have formally influenced the fourth part of Nietzsche's Zarathustra. The relationship between Mephistopheles and Faust may be similar to that between Lestat and Louis. Goethe's conclusion from his eighties is identical with that from his twenties: It's all about Eros . Schopenhauer and Freud will add to that later on.

[Bárbara Costa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The back of the book: "Goethe's Faust is a classic of European literature (...) The whole is a symbolic and panoramic commentary on the human condition and on modern European history and civilization. (...) preserves the poetic character of the original and its tragic pathos"

The actual book (which contains all of the above, but also):
- "they spluttered and they farted"
- "I'd be delighted to mix up a cupful for him \ but if he's not prepared, this stuff could fuck him up"
- At some point someone creates a cute tiny homunculus who has funny adventures
- There's a diss contest between sirens and harpies
- Mephistopheles, the coolest demon you'll ever find, is just having a great time through the batshit crazy acid trip that is the second part of the book. He even becomes horny for some angels by the end - "You're all so pretty I'd like to kiss you [...] you're so / desirable and cuddly as a kitten"

[leni swagger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genuinely think that this might be one of the best books I‘ve read in school so far.

It has the jokes, the heartache and the drama, and it is overall incredibly well-written. Gretchen is probably one of the most gut wrenching characters I’ve stumbled across, and Faust has so many interesting layers to uncover. Their dynamic feels so real, and I genuinely cried during the final scene of the first part.

I’m glad this book is on the school program, and I don’t think it’ll ever not be relevant or falsely capture humanity. It’s popular for a reason, and who am I to say otherwise…? 💆‍♀️

Faust 2 sucked, though, but sequels always do that, don’t they? (Hellooooo, Phantom Menace!)

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goethe's Faust I finished.

I'll read Faust II (which is not the second part of anything but an altogether separate book) later on this year or maybe early next year.

The John R. Williams' verse translation is superb.

Reading Faust along with the Naxos narration has been an awsome experience.

I give Faust 4 stars because the 5 stars are owned by Marlowe's Dr Faustus.

Mi reseña en español

No fue Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832) el creador de Fausto. De hecho, la leyenda adoptó su primera forma escrita en el llamado Faustbuch publicado en Frankfurt en 1587.
•
El gran dramaturgo inglés Christopher Marlowe utilizó una traducción al inglés del Faustbuch para su obra La trágica historia de la vida y muerte del Doctor Faustus (ca.1590).
•
Entre diciembre de 2021 y enero de 2022 leí dos veces el Dr Faustus de Marlowe así como el Faustbuch de 1587 en inglés, y si bien la obra de Marlowe sigue con bastante fidelidad los hechos recogidos en el Faustbuch, para mi sorpresa no es el caso del Fausto I de Goethe, cuya lectura completé ayer y reseño hoy 1 de agosto de 2022.
•
Goethe no tuvo acceso al Dr Faustus de Marlowe ni tampoco, probablemente, al Faustbuch durante la composición del Fausto I (1775-1806), sino a las versiones populares de la leyenda (incluso para títeres) que pululaban entonces en Alemania.
•
En el Dr Faustus de Marlowe el pacto con Mefistófeles es claro: Fausto podrá utilizar a Mefistófeles para conseguir lo que desee durante un período de veinticuatro años, al cabo del cual le entregará su alma para que la lleve al infierno; en el de Goethe ese pacto se presenta en otros términos, que son en todo caso confusos, abiertos a interpretación e, incluso, contradictorios con el desarrollo de la acción. En el de Marlowe el asunto central de la tragedia es la redención, en el de Goethe aun sigo sin saber cuál es.
•
Goethe, en cambio. introduce novedades interesantes como el trágico romance entre Fausto y Margarita, la comentadísima escena de la Noche de Walpurgis y frecuentes momentos “musicales” inspirados en la tradición popular alemana.
•
Si bien en mi opinión el Fausto I de Goethe pierde frente al de Marlowe en trascendencia argumental y filosófica, y en la grandiosidad del drama humano, gana en la recreación de Mefistófeles como un personaje sarcástico, ingenioso y divertido, que incluso habla con Dios y hace apuestas con él, al estilo de lo que leemos en el Libro de Job. Pero sobre todo la obra de Goethe alcanza cotas muy elevadas en la expresión poética, que presenta en Fausto I una extraordinaria riqueza métrica y de rima.
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Por eso mismo, estoy convencido de que si el Fausto de Goethe no se lee en verso se queda reducido a pariente pobre del de Marlowe. Mi versión en verso preferida, la que me produce la impresión de estar leyendo una obra digna del Siglo de Oro español, es la de John R. Williams en inglés para Wordsworth Editions.
•
En español, una impresión similar me produce la de Augusto Bunge, que lamentablemente hace muchos años que no se edita (pero se consigue en PDF en la red). Quizás presente, sin embargo, algún problema de inteligibilidad a algunos lectores, por eso quizás convenga leerla junto con la traducción al español de Helena Cortés (Abada editores), que solo hace uso esporádico del verso pero en cambio es muy literal e inteligible. Además la muy cuidada edición de Abada es bilingüe y, a diferencia de las ediciones en prosa continua, mantiene la estructura estrófica del original.

[joey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non credo di avere adeguate parole per descrivere questa lettura. Quest'opera maestosa di Goethe mi ha lasciata senza parole come la prima volta. Ma stavolta, a dispetto della prima volta, l'ho compresa di più. Bella e intensa come lettura, una bella sfida.

[denise · Rating 1 out of 5]

1⭐️
Uhmmm...we've lost the plot. We. Have. Lost. The. Plot.

First 50 pages? I honestly thought I would find a new favorite classic. What exactly happened I don't know. The deeper I went into part one the deeper I felt like there was no rhyme or reason to this book besides Faust being horny and a pedo while the entirety of the narrative was constructed to shit on women.
I thought it was going to be an introspective discussion about good vs evil and instead I got, well whatever the fuck part one was.

Then part two came and I knew that it wasn't necessarily related to part one but the absolute 180 it did and the sheer volume of tomfoolery in part two made my eyes grow three sizes. Where are we? What are you doing? What's happening? It completely swerved off from the plot-line of part one like it never even existed. Just write a different book at that point.

I also knew Goethe himself called it a mess but honey that was a hot mess. The kind of hot mess you find in the garbage bag left outside in broad daylight with a 40 degrees C sun.

[Zach Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im not sure what i think of this, i really enjoyed the first part and the theological battle for faust’s faith and soul! But the second half i did not really connect with at all other than the occasional scene… i think if i was to ever understand this i’d need to see it on the stage. And yet i still enjoyed myself! I thought the mythology, both german and greek, was very well integrated and i like faust and mephistoles very much.

[Valee Free · Rating 4 out of 5]

È stato un lungo viaggio, a tratti senza senso, a tratti anche noioso, ma nel complesso esilarante grazie a Mefistofele e pazzo grazie a Faust, che comunque un po' saggio, o forse umano, lo è.

[nils · Rating 4 out of 5]

faust 1 ist cute, love her. aber bei 2 musste ich wikipedia als supporting act weil es ist coo coo crazy und urfaust ist halt urfaust... tja

[Cee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faust is a play consisting of two extremely different parts. My rating reflects that: the first part was a lovely four-star read for me. The second part only gets a meagre two-star rating.

It's rather curious that these parts are somehow supposed to form one narration. They differ from each other like day and night. The first part is funny, entertaining, sarcastic and flexible. The second is rigid, heavy with symbolism and hidden meanings. The first part was easy to read and engaging, the second part was tedious and far-fetched.

Though it's probably the second part that makes Faust the "best German book ever", but I didn't enjoy the second half at all. The narration barely makes sense by then, and it's just characters stating ideological statements, in a mythological straight-jacket. It was one of the most forced pieces of fiction I have ever read.

The first, however, was lovely. In that one the Devil has amazing lines that I read to my boyfriend, because they were just that cool. It's in this part that Faust is being a weepy dude, and where he makes a pact with the Devil. They get in all kinds of antics, where the Devil seems more to be a man with a mischievous streak than pure evil.

The second part was just one big ugh. Not even to mention the literal deus ex machina that happens near the end. Not cool, Wolfgang.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's my opinion worth, on this popular and mysterious masterpiece? I'm still not sure I've got my head around it. It is filled with symbols and poetry that I couldn't quite grasp on the first read. This is doubtless partly because of my imperfect German. But I found the play as a whole deeply moving, and the parts that I did understand I found deeply intelligent. This is a text I will certainly revisit, perhaps with the help of some literary scholars to illuminate the darker passages. This is not a book for the faint-hearted. I understand why it is often said to be an unstageable play. But if you have the patience, you will certainly find wit, wisdom and beauty in its pages.

[Tobias Cobbaert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ik dacht altijd dat dit een vrij straightforward verhaal was over een dokter in een midlifecrisis die een deal met de duivel sluit. Dat bleek te kloppen, maar enkel voor het eerste deel. Ik was niet voorbereid op de psychedelische rollercoaster die de tweede helft hiervan bleek te zijn.

[Dary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Into the wilderness alone I fled,
And to escape that barren solitude
I fell into the Devil's hands instead.

I adored Part 1, loved some of Part 2, but felt that some of it dragged on a bit. Amazing as a whole.

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ist ein bißchen arg klischeehaft, das aufzunehmen, aber trotzdem: Eines meiner Lieblingsbücher!

[Butterfly2507 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Einfach wunderbar <3

[sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked up a massive volume called The Essential Goethe and read John R. Williams translation…. I think it’s missing a whole act? not sure bc the ending was so abrupt.. either way was a nice exercise to make myself get through it— reading a play written in verse like an epic poem is very different for me but a good thing to get used to if I ever want to read Dante’s Inferno

This play was particularly satisfying to read because Master and Margarita (my fave read of the year) was heavily and quite directly inspired by Goethe’s work so I’m glad to be able to see the scenes, characters, and themes that inspired Bulgakov. The theatrical quality of this work also really lends itself to the absurd dramatic funky magical realism Bulgakov had goin on in his book.

Lastly, Faust is a part of the Romantic era of writing which is cool getting to see what romanticism looked like in the UK through Keats and in France through Dumas and now in Germany through Goethe so cheers! or Prost! as they say in German.. might have to go fire up Duolingo tbh

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well. This was a struggle 😅 The first part was actually fine and understandable plot-wise. Then, in the second part it all goes a bit nuts and magical and ancient characters appear in fragmented mini-stories which I found very difficult to follow. Every synopsis I read, either of the book as a whole or the individual acts taught me something new I completely missed - but that's probably because the old-school lyrical German went over my head a lot of the time. I wasn't really convinced by the plot as a whole and found Faust not particularly honourable or likeable - he only really seems to care about himself, his own struggle and his own meaning in the world. But it was interesting to read about the novel's history, development and basis on folktales about a real person (or potentially, people).

[Konnor · Rating 4 out of 5]

No matter how many times I return to it, Faust remains a beautiful commentary on salvation and human striving. Up until this point, I had only ever read the first part and while I still prefer it, there is no denying the richness of Goethe’s verse in part two. The Classical Walpurgis Night, in particular, I found to be almost equal parts delightful and confounding with its dizzying allusions to Greek myth.

[M.andthebooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eigentlich bin ich nur mit Faust I und Faust II fertig, aber mehr brauche ich für die Schule glücklicherweise nicht, es war nämlich etwas zäh.