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sabrinaview's review against another edition
4.0
Nachdem ich den ersten Teil sehr gepriesen habe, muss ich hier nur 4 Sterne geben. Die Geschichte ist deutlich verworrener und teilweise fast schon undurchblickbar. Aber danach geht es mMn deutlich besser voran und es war schön zu sehen, dass Faust am Ende doch nur für das Wohl anderer Menschen sorgen will und seinen Egoismus abgelegt hat. Auch, dass Gretchen ihm in den Himmel verhilft, obwohl er ihr Todesurteil war, ist sehr kraftvoll.
twan's review against another edition
3.0
5 (Random) Thoughts
-This is a challenging score for me. "Faust: Part One" was a fantastic and deep work of literature while remaining very readable. Part two seems to have the former characteristics, but for me lacked much of the latter. This was an often challenging read for me. Part One is an easy recommendation, while Part Two would inherently require several caveats: are you comfortable with reading with your Wikipedia page left open? Does an expanded cast of mythological references frighten you? Actually, does a broad swath of deep mythological references potentially unhinging your contextual awareness of the narrative scare you? I've read that this is an oft avoided work of literature due to the difficulty in parsing the references, and now I get that.
-So with those observances beings said I must admit I feel woefully incapable of giving in depth observations about this story. There were sections that were every bit as powerful as the great stuff of Part One, but I found it to be uneven, and a lesser work. Perhaps further study would force me to reconsider, but the expansion of the narrative seemed to take away a good portion of it's allegorical weight, for me.
-One difference I noticed from the two distinctly different parts was the perspective of the commentary. Part one seemed to predominantly comment on humanity through the form of the narrative, with characters representing the experiences of people. Part two seems to comment on the form itself. With references to known characters of mythology, like Helen of Troy, we see the way we perceive story and mythology. Faust, at one point in the story is obsessed with Helen, and has her brought back in an eternal moment. Her cry here is that of one trapped in a cycle of her story:
"HELEN: I cannot punish this evil that I brought here, With me. Ah me! What a fierce fate it is Pursues me, so that everywhere I possess The hearts of men, and that they neither spare Themselves nor anything else of worth."
These mythological characters that we think of are all locked in eternal moments through the stories we tell of them. Even Faust, will forever be representative of his deal with Mephistopheles, and the fallout thereafter. I found this to be an interesting meta-commentary.
"FAUST: Don’t seek to analyse so rare a fate! Our duty is to live: though but a day."
later
"All things that happen In this present age, Are mournful echoes Of our ancestors’ nobler times: And your story can’t equal That, loveliest of lies, Easier to believe than Truth"
-As in Part One, a standout section of Part Two is a conversation between Mephistopheles and an aspiring scholar. von Goethe certainly had a hilarious grasp on the youthful exuberance when confronted by an experienced sensualist devil. The below section is a favorite piece, if I can only choose a small part of the exchange:
"BACCALAUREUS: My old master! We’re in our old places: But don’t think to renew time’s journey, And spare me words with dual-faces: I treat them now quite differently. You teased the true, and honest youth. It wasn’t difficult for you to do It’s what no one dares to do today. MEPHISTOPHELES: Pure truth on the young is thrown away, The little beaks don’t like it, any way, But afterwards when years have passed, And they’ve learnt it for themselves at last, And think it came from them, not school: Then we hear: ‘The Master was a fool.’"
-Toward the end of the play (which seems more a poem than a play, as it is rarely performed, but beautiful in it's prose) the form of the story reshapes into a more familiar image or Part One, and it because the better for it (although it is EMBARRASSING for me to critique this timeless work, I must speak of my experience in reading it). This section spoken by Faust seems a powerful thesis statement for the story, and a logical conclusion for both parts.
"My gaze revealing, under the sun, A view of everything I’ve done, Overseeing, as the eye falls on it, A masterpiece of the human spirit, Forging with intelligence, A wider human residence. That’s the worst suffering can bring, Being rich, to feel we lack something."
If the words rang true for a mid-19th century Germany, they have grown in power over the century and decades. We have achieved boundless advances in the diminishing of human suffering, but have found in our bountiful riches of advancement we have found an unspeakable spiritual toll in an absence of meaning. It is the ends that Nietzsche spoke about when discussing the perils of enlightenment, and it was similarly predicted in this great play.
-This is a challenging score for me. "Faust: Part One" was a fantastic and deep work of literature while remaining very readable. Part two seems to have the former characteristics, but for me lacked much of the latter. This was an often challenging read for me. Part One is an easy recommendation, while Part Two would inherently require several caveats: are you comfortable with reading with your Wikipedia page left open? Does an expanded cast of mythological references frighten you? Actually, does a broad swath of deep mythological references potentially unhinging your contextual awareness of the narrative scare you? I've read that this is an oft avoided work of literature due to the difficulty in parsing the references, and now I get that.
-So with those observances beings said I must admit I feel woefully incapable of giving in depth observations about this story. There were sections that were every bit as powerful as the great stuff of Part One, but I found it to be uneven, and a lesser work. Perhaps further study would force me to reconsider, but the expansion of the narrative seemed to take away a good portion of it's allegorical weight, for me.
-One difference I noticed from the two distinctly different parts was the perspective of the commentary. Part one seemed to predominantly comment on humanity through the form of the narrative, with characters representing the experiences of people. Part two seems to comment on the form itself. With references to known characters of mythology, like Helen of Troy, we see the way we perceive story and mythology. Faust, at one point in the story is obsessed with Helen, and has her brought back in an eternal moment. Her cry here is that of one trapped in a cycle of her story:
"HELEN: I cannot punish this evil that I brought here, With me. Ah me! What a fierce fate it is Pursues me, so that everywhere I possess The hearts of men, and that they neither spare Themselves nor anything else of worth."
These mythological characters that we think of are all locked in eternal moments through the stories we tell of them. Even Faust, will forever be representative of his deal with Mephistopheles, and the fallout thereafter. I found this to be an interesting meta-commentary.
"FAUST: Don’t seek to analyse so rare a fate! Our duty is to live: though but a day."
later
"All things that happen In this present age, Are mournful echoes Of our ancestors’ nobler times: And your story can’t equal That, loveliest of lies, Easier to believe than Truth"
-As in Part One, a standout section of Part Two is a conversation between Mephistopheles and an aspiring scholar. von Goethe certainly had a hilarious grasp on the youthful exuberance when confronted by an experienced sensualist devil. The below section is a favorite piece, if I can only choose a small part of the exchange:
"BACCALAUREUS: My old master! We’re in our old places: But don’t think to renew time’s journey, And spare me words with dual-faces: I treat them now quite differently. You teased the true, and honest youth. It wasn’t difficult for you to do It’s what no one dares to do today. MEPHISTOPHELES: Pure truth on the young is thrown away, The little beaks don’t like it, any way, But afterwards when years have passed, And they’ve learnt it for themselves at last, And think it came from them, not school: Then we hear: ‘The Master was a fool.’"
-Toward the end of the play (which seems more a poem than a play, as it is rarely performed, but beautiful in it's prose) the form of the story reshapes into a more familiar image or Part One, and it because the better for it (although it is EMBARRASSING for me to critique this timeless work, I must speak of my experience in reading it). This section spoken by Faust seems a powerful thesis statement for the story, and a logical conclusion for both parts.
"My gaze revealing, under the sun, A view of everything I’ve done, Overseeing, as the eye falls on it, A masterpiece of the human spirit, Forging with intelligence, A wider human residence. That’s the worst suffering can bring, Being rich, to feel we lack something."
If the words rang true for a mid-19th century Germany, they have grown in power over the century and decades. We have achieved boundless advances in the diminishing of human suffering, but have found in our bountiful riches of advancement we have found an unspeakable spiritual toll in an absence of meaning. It is the ends that Nietzsche spoke about when discussing the perils of enlightenment, and it was similarly predicted in this great play.
abetterjulie's review against another edition
4.0
This book fed my mythology-loving soul. I bought a copy so that I could write notes in it. I don't think any other translation comes close to making this story as enjoyable and interesting.
sookieskipper's review against another edition
5.0
It is no accident that there are many literary figures that are built on this classic. Be it Don Quixote or Don Juan, they all share the same over achieving characters that Faust desperately tries to. He goes as far as committing suicide in search of a moment of true bliss.
He takes on an adventure with the Devil after making a wager. What follows is romance, tragedy, heartbreak and adventure. The interesting twist is the Devil himself has made a bet with the angels so he moves with an agenda of his own.
A highly captivating story about humanity, happiness, tragedy, greed, passion, romance, love and being a visionary.
I enjoyed part one more than second as there was a definitive story progressing when compared to part two where there are many characters that come ago. Having said that, its still brilliant and worth several more reads.
He takes on an adventure with the Devil after making a wager. What follows is romance, tragedy, heartbreak and adventure. The interesting twist is the Devil himself has made a bet with the angels so he moves with an agenda of his own.
A highly captivating story about humanity, happiness, tragedy, greed, passion, romance, love and being a visionary.
I enjoyed part one more than second as there was a definitive story progressing when compared to part two where there are many characters that come ago. Having said that, its still brilliant and worth several more reads.
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