The Faust Legend : From Marlowe and Goethe to Contemporary Drama and Film

What do men and women desire? For what will they barter their immortal souls? These two questions have haunted Western society, and these persistent queries find their fullest embodiment in the Faust legend. This memorable story, told and retold in novels, prose fiction, and drama, has also profoundly influenced music, art, and cinema. Sara Munson Deats explores its impact, tracing the development of the Faust topos from the seminal works of Marlowe and Goethe to the large number of dramatic and cinematic adaptations which have fascinated audiences and readers throughout the centuries. Her study traces the durability of this legend and its pervasive influence on the literature of the Western world, in which it has been adapted across time, languages, and nations to reflect the concerns of a given era or place. This is the first comparative analysis of the Faust legend in drama and film Cover Half-title page Title page Copyright page Dedication Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Prologue Chapter 1 The Background of the Faust Legend Chapter 2 Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus Chapter 3 Goethe’s Faust Chapter 4 Post-Goethe Dramatic Versions of the Faust Legend Chapter 5 Cinematic Fausts Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index "The Faustbooks introduce the basic formula that will pervade many of the subsequent dramatic versions of the legend: the two dominant figures, the protagonist Faust (or Faustus) and his demonic antagonist and tempter Mephostophiles, the first time in folklore or scripture that this name had been associated with the Devil"-- Provided by publisher Explores dramatic and filmic adaptations of the Faust legend from Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and Goethe's Faust to lesser known works. With detailed comparison and analysis tracing the development of the Faust topos, it will appeal to students of early modern drama, eighteenth- and nineteenth-century German literature, and film studies.