literature
pehleeone
faustian_theme.docxFaustian theme
From: A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition.
The generic term for stories of people whose lust for absolute knowledge drives them to tragic extremes, symbolized by a pact with the Devil. The legend is based upon the career of Johann Faust, a 16th-century German scholar who experimented with alchemy and magic. An account of his life that incorporated medieval legends of selling souls to the devil, published in 1587, provided the basis for Christopher Marlowe's Tragical History of Dr. Faustus (1588–92). Marlowe's play is notable for Faust's celebration of the beauty of Helen of Troy and for its powerful conclusion in which Faustus is dragged screaming into Hell.
Dr. Faustus was imitated by German writers of the 17th and 18th centuries, who emphasized the magical tricks of Faustus and downplayed the tragic aspects of the story. The adaptation of Gotthold Lessing in 1759 restored the serious tone, emphasizing Faust's lust for knowledge as his motive.
In Goethe's great drama (Faust, Part One, 1808, Part Two, 1832), Faust's story illustrates the basic unity underlying the variety and complexity of life. Its happy ending, in which Faust is saved because of his constant searching and striving, reflects the Romantic belief in the ultimate goodness of the human soul.
Following Goethe, scores of 19th-century writers attempted with little success to capture the essence of the figure. The most notable 20th-century rendering of the theme is Thomas Mann'sDoktor Faustus (1947), in which the story is recast as a commentary on the German people's "pact" with Nazism. Some critics have also seen in Faust the embodiment of the scientist's arrogance that issued in the atomic age. The American poet Karl Shapiro, in "The Progress of Faust" (1946), describes Faust's reemergence "In an American desert at war's end."
Modern comic versions of the story include Stephen Vincent Benet's The Devil and Daniel Webster (1937) and Douglas Wallop's The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant (1954), later transformed into the successful Broadway and film musical Damn Yankees (1957; 1958).
Further Information
J. W. Smeed's Faust in Literature (1975) traces the history of the figure.
Citation Information
Quinn, Edward. "Faustian theme." A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 6 Mar. 2016. <http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin=Gfflithem0314&SingleRecord=True>.
How to Cite
