Historical References to Faust Essay example -- Faust History Literatu

Historical References to Faust Faust I Prologue in Heaven  · The scene begins with the Three Archangels, Raphael, Gabriel, and Michael, confessing their inability to comprehend the awe-inspiring works of God.In the Christian tradition, archangels are angels of the highest rank and are associated with certain functions or responsibilities.In â€Å"Prologue in Heaven,† they personify the cosmos: Raphael describes and represents the heavens, Gabriel the earth, and Michael the elements.  · Mephistopheles.Goethe’s devil is inspired by a number of different literary sources, not just Christian.  · The basic structure of the dialogue between the Lord and Mephistopheles is inspired by the first two chapters of The book of Job, in which Satan obtains permission from God to try and tempt Job to do evil.  · Faust. The real Georg (or Johann) Faust was born in 1480 and died in 1540. Although contemporary sources suggest he was quite well known in Germany during his lifetime, his fame and notoriety is the result of an incredibly popular collection of (barely believable) anecdotes and stories about him called Volksbuch, which was published in 1587. The Volksbuch was an important source of inspiration to Goethe and other authors as they wrote about Faust. Night  · The opening monologue is an indirect adaptation of Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical history of Doctor Faustus.  · Faust has in his possession a book by Nostradamus (1503-66), the French astrologer, physician and prophet.  · When Faust first opens the book by Nostradamus he sees the sign of the macrocosm, which is a diagram of the organization of the cosmos.  · The vision that the sign of the macrocosm inspires echoes Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28,... ...hab,so that Ahab could seize his subject’s vineyards. By referring to Naboth, Mephistopheles is preparing us to expect the deaths of Baucis and Philemon. Midnight  · In Medieval literature, allegorical figures symbolize the approach of death. The allegorical figures in â€Å"Midnight† also parallel the four horsemen of the Apocalypse: death, war, famine, and plague (see Revelations 6:1-8). Entombment  · In the original Faust legends, Faust is dragged off to hell.Mephistopheles is unable to do so this time because Faust was never so satisfied with the results of his striving that he wanted time to stand still.Mephistopheles is only able to seize Faust's soul through trickery. Mountain Gorges  · The Anchorites – Pater Ecstaticus, Pater Profundus, and Pater Seraphicus – are religious hermits who represent the mystical tradition of early Christianity.