Goethe’s Faust reworks the late medieval myth of a brilliant scholar so disillusioned he resolves to make a contract with Mephistopheles. The devil will do all he asks on Earth and seeks to grant him a moment in life so glorious that he will wish it to last forever. But if Faust does bid the moment stay, he falls to Mephisto and must serve him after death. In this first part of Goethe’s great work, the embittered thinker and Mephistopheles enter into their agreement, and soon Faust is living a rejuvenated life and winning the love of the beautiful Gretchen. But in this compelling tragedy of arrogance, unfulfilled desire, and self-delusion, Faust heads inexorably toward an infernal destruction.
A.S. Byatt's preface considers Goethe's lifelong relationship with the myth of Faust and its influence on modern literature. This edition includes an introduction by the translator, a chronology, suggestions for further reading, explanatory notes, and an addendum on the writing of Faust.
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- ISBN10 0140449019
- ISBN13 9780140449013
- Publish Date 27 December 2005 (first published 28 July 2005)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
- Imprint Penguin Classics
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 240
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780140449013