A Companion to Goethe’s Faust: Parts I and II

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.

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.

Table of Contents

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