In this book, Jane K. Brown offers an original reading of Goethe's complex masterpiece in the context of European Romanticism. Looking at the two parts of Faust in sequence, she views the second part as an elaboration of what was implicit in the first, and she clarifies the patterns of thought and organization underlying the play. In Faust, she argues, Goethe not only situates German culture within the wider European literary tradition, but also demonstrates that all literature is by its nature allusive--that it exists only as part of a tradition.

Faust has been called the fundamental icon of Western culture, and Goethe's inexhaustible poetic drama is the centrepiece of its tradition in literature, music and art. In recent years, this play has experienced something of a renaissance, with a surge of studies, theatre productions, press coverage and public discussions. Reflecting this renewed interest, leading Goethe scholars in this volume explore the play's striking modernity within its theatrical framework. The chapters present new aspects such as the virtuality of Faust, the music drama, the modernization of evil, Faust's blindness, the gay Mephistopheles, classic beauty and horror as phantasmagoria, and Goethe's anticipation of modern science, economics and ecology. The book contains an illustrated section on Faust in modern performance, with contributions by renowned directors, critics and dramaturges, and a major interview with Peter Stein, director of the uncut 'millennium production' of Expo 2000.

Originally published in 1987, this is a thorough and lucid introduction and commentary to the whole of Goethe’s Faust. It gives the student of German and European literature valuable insights into the most important work of Germany’s foremost poet. German quotations are translated or paraphrased in English and a detailed knowledge of German literature is not assumed. The book traces Goethe’s work on the play over 60 years of his creative career and surveys its critical reception over the 200 years since its first appearance. Part One is analysed as a mimetic tragedy, Part Two as an historical and cultural profile of Goethe’s own times. The commentary guides the reader carefully through its subtleties and multi-layered references and provides a broad and coherent structure for the overall understanding of the work. It suggests provocative interpretations of some figures and episodes in Part Two and places renewed emphasis on parts of the work that often receive relatively little attention. An appendix surveys the metres and verse forms of the play.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1967.