Historical References to Faust Essay example -- Faust History Literatu

Historical References to FaustFaust IPrologue in Heaven The scene begins with the threesome Archangels, Raphael, Gabriel, andMichael, confessing their inability to comprehend the awe-inspiringworks of God.In the Christian tradition, archangels are angels of thehighest browse and are associated with certain functions orresponsibilities.In Prologue in Heaven, they personify the cosmosRaphael describes and represents the heavens, Gabriel the earth, andMichael the elements. Mephistopheles.Goethes devil is inspired by a number of differentliterary sources, not just Christian. The basic structure of the dialogue between the schoolmaster andMephistopheles is inspired by the first two chapters of The hold up ofJob, in which ogre obtains permission from God to try and tempt Jobto do evil. Faust. The palpable Georg (or Johann) Faust was born in 1480 and died in1540. Although contemporary sources suggest he was kind of well known inGermany during his lifetime, his fame and notoriety is t he result ofan incredibly habitual collection of (barely believable) anecdotes andstories about him called Volksbuch, which was published in 1587. TheVolksbuch was an important source of fervency to Goethe and otherauthors as they wrote about Faust.Night The opening monologue is an indirect adaptation of ChristopherMarlowes The Tragical history of Doctor Faustus. Faust has in his bullheadedness a book by Nostradamus (1503-66), theFrench astrologer, physician and prophet. When Faust first opens the book by Nostradamus he sees the sign ofthe macrocosm, which is a diagram of the organization of the cosmos. The visual sensation that the sign of the macrocosm inspires echoes Jacobsdream in Genesis 28,... ...hab,so that Ahab could captivate his subjectsvineyards. By referring to Naboth, Mephistopheles is preparing us toexpect the deaths of Baucis and Philemon.Midnight In chivalrous literature, allegorical figures symbolize the approachof death. The allegorical figures in Midnight a lso repeat the fourhorsemen of the Apocalypse death, war, famine, and plague (seeRevelations 61-8).Entombment In the current Faust legends, Faust is dragged off tohell.Mephistopheles is unable to do so this time because Faust wasnever so satisfied with the results of his striving that he wantedtime to stand still.Mephistopheles is entirely able to seize Fausts soulthrough trickery.Mountain Gorges The Anchorites Pater Ecstaticus, Pater Profundus, and PaterSeraphicus are phantasmal hermits who represent the mysticaltradition of early Christianity.