Faust: Part 1 (Penguin Classics) (Pt. 1). Questo articolo non è disponibile.Faust: Part 1 (Penguin Classics) (Pt. 1)

Il Faust di Goethe rielabora il mito tardo-medievale del Dottor Faust, un brillante studioso così disilluso che decide di fare un contratto o una scommessa con il diavolo, Mefistofele. Il diavolo farà tutto ciò che chiederà sulla Terra e cercherà di concedergli un momento nella vita così glorioso che desidererà che duri per sempre. Ma se Faust ordina che il momento resti, cade nelle mani di Mefistofele e deve servirlo dopo la morte. In questa prima parte della grande opera di Goethe, il pensatore amareggiato e Mefistofele stipulano il loro accordo e presto Faust vive una vita al di là del suo studio e, in forma ringiovanita, conquista l'amore dell'affascinante e bella Gretchen. Ma in questa avvincente tragedia di arroganza, desiderio insoddisfatto e autoinganno, Faust, servito dal diavolo, si dirige inesorabilmente verso la distruzione.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in Frankfurt-on-Main in 1749. He studied at Leipzig, where he showed interest in the occult, and at Strassburg, where Herder introduced him to Shakespeare’s works and to folk poetry. He produced some essays and lyrical verse, and at twenty-two wrote Götz von Berlichingen, a play which brought him national fame and established him in the current Sturm und Drang movement. This was followed by the novel The Sorrows of Young Werther in 1774, which was an even greater success.

Goethe began work on Faust, and Egmont, another tragedy before being invited to join the government of Weimar. His interest in the classical world led him to leave suddenly for Italy in 1786 and the Italian Journey recounts his travels there. Iphigenia in Tauris and Torquato Tasso, classical dramas, were written at this time. Returning to Weimar, Goethe started the second part of Faust, encouraged by Schiller. In 1806 he married Christiane Vulpius. During this late period he finished his series of Wilhelm Master books and wrote many other works, including The Oriental Divan (1819). He also directed the State Theatre and worked on scientific theories in evolutionary botany, anatomy and color. Goethe completed Faust in 1832, just before he died.

A. S. Byatt , novelist, short-story writer, and critic, is the author of many books, including Possession, winner of the Man Booker Prize.