In this blog post, I’ll share some tips on how to approach Goethe’s “Faust” without feeling overwhelmed, as well as a simple overview of the basic background of the work and its author.
Faust: No Need to Be Afraid
At some point in life, everyone hears about Goethe, the world-renowned German poet, and his work ‘Faust’. This often leads many people to think, “I really should read it at least once.”
You might hear ‘Faust’ mentioned again by chance, and you might even end up buying the book. However, it’s common to read just a little and then set it aside. This is because it’s a play, not a novel, and the dialogue is written in verse, making it hard to grasp the meaning at first.
This isn’t something I’ve made up. Even among those who studied German literature, the confessions I’ve heard from people around me were similar, so I’m generalizing from those experiences.
In fact, ‘Faust’ isn’t the kind of book you can easily read under a beach umbrella. To truly savor this work, you need a certain amount of time and a relaxed state of mind; a little prior knowledge can make it easier to approach. However, it is by no means an impregnable fortress. It is simply a play that symbolically depicts the human world, and anyone can read it with a little determination.
I’d even go so far as to say you can read it just as you would the Bible. I don’t mean the content is the same as the Bible, but rather that there’s no need to read it from cover to cover in one go. Whenever you have a spare moment, open the book to any page and read a passage aloud; if you get bored or sleepy, just close it. After reading it this way a few times, the work will start to feel familiar, and little by little, you’ll find yourself seeking out specific scenes and reading them here and there.
One more tip: it’s a good idea to keep the book in a conspicuous place, such as on your bedside table or desk. When you have a spare moment, read the verse aloud; if you don’t feel like reading, just close the book. Repeat this a few times, and before you know it, you’ll be able to say you’ve “read Faust.”
Again, don’t try to conquer ‘Faust’ from beginning to end in one go—just read wherever your heart takes you. For example, you could start reading from the part where Faust first speaks to Gretchen in the “Street” scene; if you get bored, set it aside, and next time, open it to the very last line of the work. Don’t be too intimidated—just start off lightly.
From here on, this article aims to provide a simple guide to help readers approach ‘Faust’ more comfortably. Although Goethe was a genius poet from a distant era and a faraway land, the themes he explored ultimately concern the human world. Any reader living in this day and age can understand this work in their own way.
Author’s Biography: Who Was Goethe?
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born on August 28, 1749, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. His father, Johann Kaspar Goethe, was a wealthy citizen who held the honorary title of Imperial Counselor; he had a rational and intellectual disposition. His mother, Katharina Elisabeth, was the daughter of the mayor of Frankfurt and possessed a rich emotional nature and a lively personality. His mother played a major role in awakening his artistic sensibilities at an early age by telling him fairy tales and introducing him to puppet shows. Such a family environment, combined with his association with the outstanding figures of the time, provided him with a blessed childhood.
In October 1765, Goethe left his hometown and began studying law at the University of Leipzig.
At the time, Leipzig was at the cultural forefront of Germany, and the young Goethe adapted well to its atmosphere, becoming deeply immersed in Rococo literature and a free-spirited lifestyle. He rejected the narrow-minded moral standards of the older generation and, as a young artist with a strong sense of self, could not abandon the expression of his passion and emotions. He began his creative work during this period, writing his first play, ‘The Caprice of a Lover’, in 1767.
In 1768, he interrupted his studies due to a severe illness, returned to his hometown, and experienced a mental crisis. At that time, through his mother’s friend, Mrs. Klettenberg, he became deeply immersed in mystical Pietism and developed an interest in the mysteries of nature and alchemy. These experiences influenced his understanding of the natural sciences and the formation of his pantheistic worldview. In 1769, he completed the comedy ‘The Accomplices’.
In 1770, while studying law again in Strasbourg, he met Herder, which marked a major turning point in Goethe’s life. Through Herder, Goethe discovered the simple beauty of Shakespeare and folk literature, which soon became the foundation for the literary movement known as Sturm und Drang. The novel ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther’, published in 1774, caused a huge sensation at the time and made Goethe famous. Other plays from this period include ‘Götz von Berlichingen’ (1771–1773), ‘Clavigo’ (1774), and ‘Stella’ (1775), and in 1773, he began writing ‘Faust’.
In 1775, Goethe accepted an invitation from Duke Karl August to reside in Weimar, where he held various public offices. His career in public service subsequently gained momentum—including his appointment as Minister of Finance—and his creative work temporarily slowed. Although he conceived several works, progress was slow due to the heavy workload of his public office, court politics, and the complexities of interpersonal relationships; eventually, on September 3, 1786, he left for Italy without informing anyone.
During his two-year stay in Italy, Goethe was deeply influenced by the art of ancient Greece and Rome. He gained such vitality that he described his time in Rome as a “rebirth,” and this period marked a turning point in his artistic development, as his work moved beyond the passion of the Sturm und Drang movement toward a classical style characterized by harmony and balance. During this time, he made progress on several works, including a verse adaptation of ‘Iphigenia’ and the completion of ‘Egmont’; it was thanks to his concentrated efforts during this period that ‘Faust—A Fragment’ was included in his first collected works in 1790.
After returning to Weimar in 1788, he began living with Christiane Vulpius; the following year, he completed ‘Tasso’, and his son August was born. However, the French Revolution of 1789 evoked mixed feelings in Goethe. While he was outraged by the corruption of the Ancien Régime, he could not accept the revolution’s radicalism and destructiveness. This led him to distance himself from the revolution, an attitude for which he was later criticized.
Goethe harbored doubts about the Revolution, and traces of these concerns are evident in his works directly or indirectly related to it—such as the play ‘The Citizen-General’ (1793), the epic poem ‘Hermann and Dorothea’ (1796–1797), and the war chronicle ‘French Campaign’ (1793). During a period when he was plagued by a sense of alienation—feeling that he was not properly understood—his friendship with Schiller in 1794 became a great source of strength.
In 1795, ‘Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship’ was completed and published, and, encouraged by Schiller, Goethe was able to resume work on ‘Faust’, which he had long put aside. Schiller’s death (1805) was a great shock to Goethe. From then on, completing ‘Faust’ became Goethe’s greatest duty; although ‘Part One of the Tragedy’ was published in 1808, the work underwent continuous revisions and rewrites for over twenty years, finally reaching completion in 1831.
In his later years, in addition to ‘Faust’, Goethe wrote ‘Elective Affinities’ (1807–1809), ‘Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years’ (1808–1829), the autobiographical ‘Poetry and Truth’ (1808–1831), and ‘West-Eastern Divan’ (1814–1819). On March 22, 1832, he passed away as a great poet.
What kind of writer was Goethe? In their youth, figures like Heine criticized Goethe as a self-centered writer who turned a blind eye to real-world problems and was absorbed in aesthetic pursuits. However, an anecdote left by Heine is particularly interesting. When a noblewoman asked Heine, “What do you think of Goethe?” he replied that the question was tantamount to asking, “What do you think of the universe, the world, history, and God?” This anecdote illustrates the vast scope of the questions posed by the monumental figure of Goethe and his works.
