Description
Book SynopsisCutting-edge criticism on major aspects of Goethe's best-known work. Undisputedly a canonical work, Goethe's Faust is also the key to understanding its author, one of European civilization's most complex figures. Written over several decades, the work spans both Goethe's life and an age of enormous social, political, philosophical, and artistic change - even revolution. In this volume, Goethe scholars and experts from Europe and North America explore major aspects of this fascinating work, offering a cutting-edge guide to both reader and scholar. Contributors: Ritchie Robertson, Martin Swales, Alberto Destro, Osman Durrani, Ellis Dye, John R. Williams, Anthony Phelan, Franziska Schößler, Peter D. Smith, Cyrus Hamlin, R.H. Stephenson, David Luke, Robert David McDonald Paul Bishop is William Jacks Chair of Modern Languages at the University of Glasgow.
Trade ReviewEach essay presents an interesting aspect of Faust research, and the volume as a whole can be used as a very informative reference work. * GERMAN STUDIES REVIEW *
...as a coherent, accessible, often masterful introduction to a vast and complex work, this volume fulfills its promise....There is, without question, an awe-inspiring critical sovereignty and breadth in this book. * GOETHE YEARBOOK *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Reading Faust Today - Paul Bishop Literary Techniques and Aesthetic Texture in Faust - Ritchie Robertson The Character and Characterization of Faust - Martin Swales The Guilty Hero, or the Tragic Salvation of Faust - Alberto Destro The Character and Qualities of Mephistopheles - Osman Durrani Figurations of the Feminine in Goethe's Faust - Ellis Dye - DECEASED IN 2017 The Problem of the Mothers - John R. Williams The Classical and the Medieval in Faust II - Anthony Phelan Progress and Restorative Utopia in Faust II and Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre - Franziska Schößler "Was die Welt im Innersten zusammenhält": Scientific Themes in Goethe's Faust - Peter Smith Goethe's Faust and the Philosophers - Cyrus Hamlin The Diachronic Solidity of Goethe's Faust - R.H. Stephenson Translating Faust: A Personal Statement - F.D. Luke Faust: The Play in Production - Robert David MacDonald
