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Goethe's Faust Lecture (Play of the Season) (Patreon)

Published:
2023-12-28 21:02:07
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

Today we are discussing the inexhaustible masterpiece of German Literature that is Goethe's Faust.

We're talking about part one vs part two, lifelong composition, closet dramas, Faustian bargains, the inspiration of the story, affirmation vs negation, culture, identity, salvation, redemption, freedom, and much more.

Quotations from the work are taken from the David Luke translation available in Oxford World's Classics paperback here and here.

Timestamps:

  • 0:00 Goethe’s lifelong composition
  • 2:00 Faust as universal mythology
  • 4:00 on part one vs part two
  • 6:00 drama as lifelong production
  • 7:00 understanding the closet drama
  • 8:00 Goethe’s endless experimentation
  • 10:00 why Faust speaks to our today
  • 12:00 on the early stories of Faust
  • 14:00 Goethe as man of genius
  • 15:00 titan of German Literature
  • 17:00 why did Faust inspire Goethe?
  • 18:00 achievement & depression
  • 19:00 opening of part one of Faust
  • 21:00 ‘I am a worm stuck in the dust’
  • 22:00 the character of Mephistopheles
  • 25:00 Faust contemplating ending it
  • 27:00 translating the New Testament
  • 29:00 anxiety of the word vs the deed
  • 30:00 the spirit of perpetual negation
  • 33:00 Faust’s deal with the devil
  • 34:00 ‘beautiful moment do not pass away’
  • 35:00 Faust’s relationship with Gretchen
  • 36:00 culture, identity & eternal feminine
  • 38:00 opening of part two of Faust
  • 39:00 how to read the second part
  • 40:00 reading for sentiment vs story
  • 42:00 earning freedom in daily strife
  • 44:00 salvation, redemption, transcendence
  • 45:00 Faust as inexhaustible poem unlimited
  • 46:00 the value of lifelong labours of love
  • 48:00 your experience with Goethe’s Faust?

Questions to Consider:

1) What do you make of the story of Faust?

2) What ideas from the play resonate most with you?

3) Do you find closet dramas a rewarding form of literature?

Happy reading, everybody!

Files

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Comments

mark sanford gross

Once again, a reminder of how things are connected (or how my brain connects things when least suspected) among all that we read especially when there is that overlap:). So, I'm reading Faust as I also wind down the last 100 or so pages of Gravity's Rainbow. This comes to me in Faust today. "The Witch draws a circle with fantastic gestures." Last night in MY GR moments, I came to P 624 in the Viking 193 Paperback. There, 2/3 down the page is the image of a circle-one of the few images in the book, a symbol..."What he was really drawing was the A4 rocket, see from below" say's the text. I think, was the witch drawing a rocket, too? I think, hmm, was Slothrop stirring a cauldron swirling pictures in the brew?" Is Hard Core Literature my hallucination? I think it's all coming together, whatever that means. I struggled with where to post this: Gravity's Rainbow, Faust, or What am I Reading.........happy day, all.

Shelley Riden

Well what do you know! I've just finished the prologue to Part I of Faust, and... it's an absolute delight! Profound, humorous, thought-provoking, lyrical... what could be better? I've avoided Goethe all of my life because I thought it would be dense, dry and abstruse. It is rich, yes. It does deserves repeated readings, yes. But it's wonderful! Color me delighted.

Andy Stephen

Finished Part 2 on Saturday and wished I’d listened to Ben’s lecture first because I went into both parts completely cold… it wasn’t until I was a good way part 2 and I thought to myself “this must be an absolute nightmare to stage” that I came across the concept of a closet drama 🤦🏼‍♂️ Anyway… I enjoyed Part 1, and while I had a good idea of the plot having listened to Gonoud’s opera a few times (albeit not for at least a decade) I was not expecting what I read in Part 2 in the slightest - so different! I actually hated part 2 to start… I found it overwritten and indulgent until we started getting more into the Greek stuff, although even then I only started getting engaged when reference was made to the Iliad because that’s the only one of Greek classics I’ve read. But the more I got into it the more I enjoyed it. Kudos also to the translator (whose name escapes me at the minute, I’m ashamed to say). To translate something into rhyming verse must have been so difficult and I thought he did an excellent job. And even though I did find it a bit overwritten/indulgent at times I did almost always find it to be well written, and oftentimes absolutely hilarious. Mephistopheles was a great character, and so great to read this so close to Paradise Lost for a completely different reading of the character. I came away from Part 2 thinking it’s something that I need to read again to get the benefit of it. I’m just not sure if I have the motivation to do so. However after seeing a couple of recommendations, ive used one of my many spare audible credits to get the Samuel West/Toby Jones recording so I’ll give that a try

Paul Hughes
>>127649827

Hi Andy, I’ve just read the first 20% of Faust, Pt 1- I noticed you said you wished you had listened to this lecture first. Does the lecture above contain spoilers? I’m tempted to listen as it might give me some background and themes to consider but I don’t want to encounter major spoilers- I can’t tell from the subheadings how much of the plot is discussed here

Michael

I am reading Faust Part 1 in tandem with the Master and Margarita. Would anyone be able to point me towards the best audiobook of Faust if there is one? I am reading the Kaufmann, Luke and Arndt translations. Thanks.

Anna M.

Can anyone recommend an annotated edition of Faust?

Jonathon Glover

Wow! It took me quite a while but I got through Part 2 last night. I really grew into the middle acts with the journey through Greek Mythology. Although, I had to spend an inordinate amount of time googling characters, I also know that the bookclub, and the reading OVID, in the last 18 months helped too. It is another story though where I empathise with the Devil, and a little unsure why Faust was worth saving. This ends as a comedy, but I feel as if it should’ve been a tragedy. There was a strong case of Deus Ex Machina at the end, which o thought was a little of a cop out. However, I highlighted the entire passage that Ben identified at the end of this lecture, and think that there is great wisdom, and power in those words. For me, I think I enjoyed Satan from Paradie Lost the most, but I actually preferred Faust more overall. Although, this was a difficult, long and rewarding process. Feel pretty proud to have Faust under my belt.

Colin McEnroe
>>131814108

I’m enjoying the David Luke. I expected this to be somewhat impenetrable but Luke’s translation is practically reading itself. The Oxford edition has enough notes for me and was $10 each part on Amazon.

Mayelin Garcia

Hi everyone! I am reading Faust, Part 1, after finished the Master and Margarita. A translation by David Luke. I am completely immersed in this story.

Arianna
>>132646544

Ditto. Finished M&M a few days ago and thus felt compelled to read Faust. Very good so far.

Mary-Ann Maronski

This was a reread for me, but I have to say I think I got more out of it than I had before. I can certainly agree with what Benjamin says in the lecture about it being a work best expressed through music. It might be just me but I can’t help but picture an entire opera in my head when reading this.

hardcoreliterature
>>133073175

That's so cool that you picture an entire opera in your head when you read this, Mary-Ann :) I can definitely completely understand that!

Svetlana Monroe

Great lecture, and Ben -you should be recording books, listening to you reading exerpts - of Goethe and other pieces, all of them -for me beats any audio recording.