Marlowe's versus Goethe's "Faust"

Paper Summary:

This paper explores the story structure, the role of Gretchen and theological presuppositions in Marlowe's play "Tragical History of Doctor Faust" and Goethe's play "Faust", separated by approximately two hundred years and by two different languages and cultures, English and German. The author points out that, while both Marlowe's and Goethe's plays are tragedies, Goethe's ends on an optimistic note. The paper relates that Goethe's play is a longer and more complex work with many more episodes of varied style. The author states that the Gretchen episode, which is prominent in Goethe's "Faust", is not found at all in Marlowe's play. The paper concludes that, what to Marlowe was basically a foreign story, which he imported for his own ends, was to Goethe a part of his own nation's cultural tradition and was more familiar to people as a folk tale.

Table of Contents:
Summary
Structure
Gretchen
Theology
Discussion
Structure
Gretchen
Theology
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The Gretchen (Margarete) episode is a very prominent and well-known one in Goethe's Faust but is not found at all in Marlowe's play. In the last part of Part I, the role of Gretchen comes to the forefront of the story, even putting Faust himself into the background for a while. Despite her tragic, Ophelia-like demise, the voice from above which proclaims her redemption at the very end of Part I ends that part of the poem on a highly optimistic note, and foreshadows Faust's own redemption at the end of Part II."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Arndt, Walter (Trans). Goethe's Faust. Ed. Cyrus Hamlin. New York: W.W. Norton 1976.
• "Christopher Marlowe." Wikipedia: a free online encyclopedia. 19 January 07Wikimedia Foundation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Marlowe.
• "Faust." Wikipedia: a free online encyclopedia. 20 January 2007. Wikimedia Foundation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faust.
• "Goethe." Wikipedia: a free online encyclopedia. 19 January 2007. Wikimedia Foundation.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goethe.
• Marlowe, Christopher. "Tragical History of Doctor Faustus." Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext97/drfst10a.txt.

More papers on Marlowe's versus Goethe's "Faust":

• Book Review # 131595 : "Analysis of Goethe's and Marlowe's Faust Stories"
• Comparison Essay # 4891 : "Faust"
• Analytical Essay # 73245 : "Marlowe's Mephistopheles"

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