Description and detailed analysis of the tragedy "Faust" by Goethe. Analysis of Goethe's Faust

The tragedy "Faust" was written very for a long time and unevenly - over fifty-seven years. Full text"Fausta" is divided into two large parts. The first includes the love story of Faust, who magically regained his youth, and the young girl Margarita. This story is traced from their first meeting until Margarita's death. The tragedy opens with two prologues: “Prologue in the Theater” and “Prologue in Heaven.” The prologue in the theater connects the work with modernity and is devoted to a discussion of what needs to be staged in the theater to satisfy the tastes of the public. The second prologue, conveying the Lord’s conversation with Mephistopheles, refers the reader to the Bible, thereby indicating the enduring significance of the play’s problematics.

The text of the first part is divided into twenty-five scenes. Events begin with the monologues of Faust, an old scientist, about his deep doubts about the usefulness and truth of his knowledge, about disappointment in fruitless science. These thoughts turn into a determination to change your life and indulge in secret magical activities, which leads to the appearance in the life of Faust of the demon Mephistopheles, bringing with him temptation with promises of youth and the fulfillment of all desires. To understand the author’s thoughts about the nature of Mephistopheles, the following dialogue between Faust and him is important:

Faust

- So who are you?

Mephistopheles

- I am a piece of power,

Always wanting evil, doing only good.

In Mephistopheles’ answer one should not see the devil’s simple desire to deceive a person. With these words, Goethe conveys his philosophical understanding of the impossibility of the triumph of evil in the world - it is always transformed into good. Goethe wants to say that evil is temporary, it is constantly denied God's will doing good. It is this thought that explains the salvation of the criminal Margarita at the end of scene 25. This moral law of life was shared by Pushkin, Lermontov and other outstanding writers and thinkers. In the 20th century M.A. Bulgakov used this dialogue as an epigraph to the novel “The Master and Margarita”.

The second part of Faust was created in the 19th century (1806-1831). Unlike the first part, which was based on a love story, in the second part Goethe transfers the plot of the tragedy to conditional situations generated by ancient mythology and history. Antiquity, the cradle of modern humanity, is intertwined in Goethe with Christian beliefs and symbolism, images and ideals. The second part consists of five acts in which Faust's ascent to the insight of the truth about the purpose of human life occurs.

At the culmination of the fifth act, Faust proclaims the highest meaning of human life in work and service for the benefit of people. This is how he talks about great job on draining the swamp and creating a flourishing region:

I am committed to this idea! Life years

It was not in vain; is clear to me

The final conclusion of earthly wisdom:

All my life in a harsh, continuous struggle

Let the child, and the husband, and the elder lead,

So that I can see in the brilliance of wondrous power

Free land, free my people!

It was in this monologue that the words that became textbook were heard:

Only he is worthy of life and freedom,

Who goes to battle for them every day!

Before the end of the tragedy, Goethe leads Faust to a bold statement of the “highest moment” he achieved as a “beautiful moment” - it lies in the creativity of man, his work, which bears fruit for subsequent generations. Faust begins to understand the purpose of man in life - he must bring good to people. Having overcome pride and selfishness, Faust is not afraid of defeat in a dispute with Mephistopheles, because he knows that he is now invincible:

Then I would say: a moment,

You're great, last, wait!

And the passage of centuries would not be bold

The trace left by me!

In anticipation of that wondrous moment

I am now tasting my highest moment.

It would seem that Faust violated the agreement, Mephistopheles triumphs:

Poor man, empty, pitiful moment!

But time is king; the last moment has come,

The old man who fought for so long fell,

The clock is standing!

Mephistopheles believed that he had defeated Faust by taking his life, but the devil turned out to have no power over the soul of a person if he makes a high choice in favor of the happiness of people. Mephistopheles possesses only Faust's body; angels descending from heaven carry away Faust's immortal soul. The result of the tragedy is that the person overcame temptation and evil was defeated.

The main theme of Goethe's tragedy "Faust" is the spiritual quest of the main character - the freethinker and warlock Doctor Faust, who sold his soul to the devil in order to gain eternal life in human form. The purpose of this terrible agreement is to soar above reality not only with the help of spiritual exploits, but also worldly good deeds and valuable discoveries for humanity.

History of creation

The philosophical drama for reading “Faust” was written by the author throughout his creative life. It is based on the most famous version of the legend of Doctor Faustus. The idea of ​​writing is the embodiment of higher spiritual impulses in the image of a doctor human soul. The first part was completed in 1806, the author wrote it for about 20 years, the first edition took place in 1808, after which it underwent several author's modifications during reprints. The second part was written by Goethe in his old age, and published approximately a year after his death.

Description of the work

The work opens with three introductions:

• Dedication. A lyrical text dedicated to the friends of his youth who formed the author’s social circle during his work on the poem.
• Prologue in the theater. A lively debate between a theater director, a comic actor and a poet on the importance of art in society.
• Prologue in Heaven. After discussing the mind, given by the Lord people, Mephistopheles makes a bet with God about whether Doctor Faustus can overcome all the difficulties of using his mind solely for the benefit of knowledge.

Part one

Doctor Faustus, realizing the limitations of the human mind in understanding the secrets of the universe, tries to commit suicide, and only the sudden blows of the Easter gospel prevent him from realizing this plan. Next, Faust and his student Wagner bring a black poodle into the house, which turns into Mephistopheles in the form of a wandering student. Evil spirit amazes the doctor with his strength and sharpness of mind and tempts the pious hermit to again experience the joys of life. Thanks to the concluded agreement with the devil, Faust regains youth, strength and health. Faust's first temptation is his love for Margarita, an innocent girl who later paid with her life for her love. In this tragic story, Margarita is not the only victim - her mother also accidentally dies from an overdose of sleeping pills, and her brother Valentin, who stood up for his sister’s honor, will be killed by Faust in a duel.

Part two

The action of the second part takes the reader into imperial palace one of the ancient states. In five acts, permeated with a mass of mystical and symbolic associations, the worlds of Antiquity and the Middle Ages are intertwined in a complex pattern. The red thread runs through love line Faust and the beautiful Helen, the heroine of the ancient Greek epic. Faust and Mephistopheles, through various tricks, quickly become close to the emperor's court and offer him a rather unconventional way out of the current financial crisis. At the end of his earthly life, the practically blind Faust undertakes the construction of a dam. He perceives the sound of shovels of evil spirits digging his grave on the orders of Mephistopheles as active construction work, while experiencing moments of greatest happiness associated with a great deed realized for the benefit of his people. It is in this place that he asks to stop a moment of his life, having the right to do so under the terms of his contract with the devil. Now he is destined hellish torment, but the Lord, appreciating the doctor’s services to humanity, makes a different decision and Faust’s soul goes to heaven.

Main characters

Faust

It's not just typical collective image a progressive scientist - he symbolically represents the entire human race. His difficult fate And life path are not just allegorically reflected in all of humanity, they point to the moral aspect of the existence of each individual - life, work and creativity for the benefit of their people.

(The image shows F. Chaliapin in the role of Mephistopheles)

At the same time, the spirit of destruction and the force opposing stagnation. Skeptic, despiser human nature, confident in the worthlessness and weakness of people who are unable to cope with their sinful passions. As a person, Mephistopheles opposes Faust with his disbelief in the goodness and humanistic essence of man. He appears in several guises - either as a joker and joker, or as a servant, or as a philosopher-intellectual.

Margarita

A simple girl, the embodiment of innocence and kindness. Modesty, openness and warmth attract the lively mind and restless soul of Faust to her. Margarita is the image of a woman capable of comprehensive and sacrificial love. It is thanks to these qualities that she receives forgiveness from the Lord, despite the crimes she has committed.

Analysis of the work

Tragedy has complex compositional structure- it consists of two voluminous parts, the first has 25 scenes, and the second has 5 actions. The work connects into a single whole the cross-cutting motif of the wanderings of Faust and Mephistopheles. Bright and interesting feature is a three-part introduction, which represents the beginning of the future plot of the play.

(Images of Johann Goethe in his work on Faust)

Goethe thoroughly revised folk legend underlying the tragedy. He filled the play with spiritual and philosophical issues, in which the ideas of the Enlightenment close to Goethe resonated. Main character transforms from a sorcerer and alchemist into a progressive experimental scientist, rebelling against scholastic thinking, which is very characteristic of the Middle Ages. The range of problems raised in the tragedy is very extensive. It includes reflection on the mysteries of the universe, the categories of good and evil, life and death, knowledge and morality.

Final conclusion

"Faust" is a unique work that touches on the eternal philosophical questions along with the scientific and social problems of his time. Criticizing a narrow-minded society that lives by carnal pleasures, Goethe, with the help of Mephistopheles, simultaneously ridicules the German education system, replete with a mass of useless formalities. The unsurpassed play of poetic rhythms and melody makes Faust one of the greatest masterpieces of German poetry.

Time and history of creation

About Doctor Johann Faust existed old legend. This man is real historical figure. According to legend, he traveled through the cities of Germany during the Reformation era. Conflicting information has been preserved about him: some considered him a great doctor and astrologer, others considered him a charlatan. Doctor Faustus practiced black magic and created amazing miracles. Legend attributes Faust's genius to his deal with the devil.

This man has become a hero more than once fantasy stories. An anonymous article was published in Frankfurt am Main in 1587. folk book about Doctor Faustus. Some time later, the English playwright Christopher Marlowe created his own interpretation of this story - the play “ Tragic story Doctor Faustus." For him, the hero seemed like a titan of the Renaissance; the writer emphasized in him a thirst for unlimited knowledge.

Goethe became acquainted with Marlowe's play after seeing a performance by an English traveling troupe, which was performed on the stage of a puppet theater.

At first he conceived this work as a satire on student life. As he delved deeper into the material and reflected on the images of the drama, the writer’s plan changed.

“Faust” becomes for Goethe the work of his entire life: he worked on the tragedy for about 60 years. The work took place in several stages.

Stage I - the time of the emergence of the idea, the first sketches. In 1773, Goethe began work on Faust. In 1773-1775, the so-called “Prafaust” was ready - the basis of the plot of the first part was written.

Stage II refers to the years 1788-1790, when Goethe lived in Italy. He supplements the work he began with several scenes and publishes it under the title “Faust. Fragment".

Stage III - Goethe works on the first part in 1797-1808 and completes it. It is published in its entirety.

Stage IV - the period 1825-1831, the writer’s work on the second part of Faust. During Goethe's lifetime, isolated excerpts of this part were published. In the final version, it was released, according to the will of the author, only after his death.

The tragedy begins with a scene that has nothing to do with the main plot. There is a dispute between the theater director and the writer about how to write a play. The director claims that the viewer is stupid and has no opinion of his own, he is not interested in art. The performance for the viewer is entertainment and a reason to show off your outfit in public. The viewer needs to be entertained and surprised, but there is no point in creating a great work: the public is not able to appreciate it.

The further development of the plot is the poet’s answer: he creates the work as philosophical statement, touching on the deepest foundations of human existence, his relationship with God and the universe.

In the prologue of the tragedy, another dispute occurs - between God and the devil about man, about his role, about his ability to know. This is how the name of Doctor Faustus arises - a man who devoted his entire life to knowledge, but did not find satisfaction and meaning in it.

Goethe's hero Faust, scientist advanced years, appearing after this prologue in the work, looks at the world pessimistically, he is disappointed in his work, in his desire to comprehend God’s plan. He curses everything that exists in the world. He is disappointed by human vices: in everything he sees a manifestation of lies and conceit. He lost faith in everything: in the value of knowledge, help, compassion, in family joys, in love. Doctor Faustus has lost hope and the meaning of life, he is ready to commit suicide.

The hero in the guise of a black dog is Mephistopheles - the personification of cynicism and hatred. He made a bet with the Lord about whether Faust could escape from him, and appeared to tempt the sage. Mephistopheles offers Faust a deal: he makes him young and gives him the opportunity to experience all human joys and temptations until he finds meaning and utters the magic words: “Stop, moment, you are beautiful.” For this opportunity and hope, Faust sells his soul to him and signs a contract. According to the terms of the agreement, Faust's soul goes to Mephistopheles at the moment when Faust exalts any moment of his life.

Mephistopheles gives Faust the opportunity to experience fame, wealth, and many other joys and temptations. But the most important temptation for Faust is love. The hero meets with a pure and an innocent girl Margarita. There arises between them strong feeling. Mephistopheles helps Faust get closer to Margarita. He himself treats Faust’s feelings with extreme cynicism, believing that human love comes down only to carnal attraction.

At the instigation of Mephistopheles, Faust gives Margarita a sleeping pill, which she must add to her mother so that the lovers have the opportunity to see each other in private. The girl's mother dies from this drug. Margarita is pregnant and faces shame. Margarita's brother Valentin is full of desire to take revenge on Faust for the death of his mother and the abuse of his sister. He rushes in pursuit of the offender. Faust and Mephistopheles kill Valentine in a fight and leave the city.

Faust seeks to forget his unfortunate beloved. But one day, while attending a Sabbath on Walpurgis Night, her ghost sees her. Margarita appears to him in the form of a girl with pads on her feet and a thin red line on her neck. Faust rushes to the aid of Margarita, who is in prison for killing the child she conceived from Faust. The girl goes crazy from the suffering she endures. Faust, who sneaked into her cell with the help of Mephistopheles, is unable to convince her to escape with him. He leaves a crazy girl to die in prison. The Lord accepts Margarita’s sinful soul.

In the second part of the tragedy, the action is transferred to the Ancient World. Faust meets the heroes Trojan War. There is a clash of two worldviews: ancient and medieval. By the end of the tragedy, Faust is still disappointed; he curses Care, for which she blinds him.

At the same time, Faust understands that his life experience, knowledge, suffering, and his work can be of great benefit to people. His contract with Mephistopheles is coming to an end. According to the contract, his soul must go to hell. The bet made between Mephistopheles and God about whether Faustus could escape also seemed to be lost. But still, the tragedy ends with the angels taking the soul of Faust from Mephistopheles and taking it to heaven.

Poetics, composition, idea

The genre of the work is characteristic of the Age of Enlightenment: philosophical drama.

The severity of the conflict of the work is determined not only by the clash of human characters, but by the confrontation life positions, values, ideas, principles.

The characters, time and place of action of the drama are abstract and conventional. There are no specific historical signs in them. The heroes of the drama - Faust, Mephistopheles, Margarita, the Lord - are embodied ideas.

The plot of the drama is also constructed according to special laws, since this work is not domestic drama, but philosophical. It does not reflect the relationships of the characters. The main thing in this work is not the events and actions of the heroes, which reveal the external course of events, but the movement of Goethe's thought. “Extra-plot” scenes are also connected with this: the prologue in which the poet and the theater director talk, the prologue in heaven, the Sabbath during Walpurgis Night and other scenes.

Thus, in the prologue in heaven, the choir of archangels creates a cosmic background for what is happening on earth:

Sounding in the harmony of the Universe And thundering like thunder in the course of the spheres, The golden sun invariably Walks along the prescribed path.

The thought of the greatness and infinity of the Universe sounds, oh perpetual motion, in which everything that exists is located, about the eternal struggle between light and dark principles that cause this movement.

This hymn to the universe asks the question: what is man before the greatness of the Creator? The dispute about man, about the meaning of his existence is the main content of the drama.

Goethe, with the help of his heroes, gives different answers to the question of what is the role of man in the universe. Mephistopheles answers this question unequivocally: man is helpless, pitiful, insignificant, even such a sage as Faust. For Mephistopheles, man is a slave of passions. He is proud of his intelligence, but it is empty conceit, leading person into the abyss of cynicism and pride. Reason, Mephistopheles claims, serves a person only to make him “even more animal than any animal.”

Another point of view on the place and role of man belongs to the Lord in Goethe’s drama. He is convinced that Faust, having passed through errors and suffering, will overcome them and find the road to the truth:

And let Satan be put to shame!

Know: a pure soul in its vague quest

Full of consciousness of truth!

In Goethe's drama, God allows Mephistopheles to tempt Faust, that is, everything that happens to the hero is done according to the will of God. He does not interfere in the experiment that the cynical Mephistopheles sets on man, because he knows that man is good by nature.

For the Lord, earthly torments and searches contribute to the improvement of man, his movement towards the truth, his exaltation.

The main character of Goethe's tragedy Faust is not a toy in his hands higher powers. He is endowed with reason, will, and deep feelings. He goes through serious trials in his life.

At the beginning of the drama, we see a man who has lost faith not only in God, but also in science, to which he gave his life.

His speeches criticize the thesis about the omnipotence of science and knowledge - Goethe enters into polemics with the positivist ideas of the Enlightenment. Faust's meeting with the Spirit of the Earth reveals to Faust the truth that man is not omnipotent, but is insignificant compared to the universe. These disappointments and doubts turn out to be Faust's first step on the path to understanding his own essence, the depths of his soul. The development of this thought is the plot of the tragedy.

There is a strong fantastic element in this work. The heroes of the drama, in addition to people, are spirits, witches, mythological creatures, mystical entities - God and the devil.

Fantasticity makes it possible for heroes to move around different countries and eras. Faust turns out to be a universal representative of humanity, the entire space of the world and the entire depth of history are open to him. This image is referred to as " eternal images» world literature.

Of course, Mephistopheles plays an important role in the drama “Faust”. This is the embodiment of doubt, denial, cynicism. Being Faust's companion, he tempts him, seeks to lead him astray from his intended path, and instill doubt in him. He brings Faust to the witch’s kitchen, drugs him with a magic potion, takes him with him to Auerbach’s cellar, arranges for him to meet with Margarita, thereby trying to disrupt the integrity of Faust’s soul, distract him from the search for truth, and drown out the voice of his heart.

The dispute and internal struggle of Faust and Mephistopheles create the main tension of the drama.

Goethe's philosophical drama "Faust" touches on critical issues for a person of any time. While maintaining its intense sound, this work enters into a debate about the role and place of man in the universe with different eras: Antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Age of Enlightenment, and our time. And the final point in this dispute has not been made.

The eternal struggle between good and evil that lives in every person. The words spoken by Goethe are always relevant: “Don’t stop, don’t fall asleep, you need to act, change and enrich yourself together with the world around you”:

Only he is worthy of life and freedom,

Who goes to battle for them every day!

Work on the tragedy "Faust" young J. W. Goethe began in 1771, repeatedly published individual fragments and completed it in the year of his death, sealing the manuscript in an envelope and bequeathing it to be published only after his death.

"Once upon a time Goethe I decided to translate the book of Job for the enlightened European public. He started it in his youth and finished it in old age. The result is the well-known Faust, the same one that our intellectuals admire, for the most part and not suspecting that this is the book of Job translated for them.”

Ukhtomsky A.A. , Intuition of Conscience: Letters. Notebooks. Notes in the margins, St. Petersburg, “Petersburg Writer”, 1996, p. 286.

In the first versions, Faust is a young rebel, striving to penetrate the secrets of nature, to assert the power of his “I” over the world around him...

A very brief summary of the final version of the tragedy “Faust” is as follows: the Lord and Mephistopheles make a bet: whether the latter can or cannot take possession of Faust’s soul. Faust is a scientist. He is tired of what has been achieved (hereinafter the text is given in the translation by N.A. Kholodkovsky)

I understood philosophy
I became a lawyer, I became a doctor...
Alas! with diligence and labor
And I penetrated into theology -
And in the end I became no smarter
What I was before... I am a fool of fools!
I'm a master and a doctor - that's it
Tom is now in his tenth year;
I lead students at random by the nose -
And I still see that knowledge has not been given to us.
My chest ached from burning suffering!
Let me be smarter than various simpletons -
Scribblers, priests, masters, doctors, -
Let me not suffer from empty doubts,
Let me not be afraid of devils and ghosts,
Let me go down to hell itself -
But I don’t know joys
I seek the truth in vain,
But when I teach people,
I can’t even dream of teaching them and improving them!
Moreover, I am poor: I don’t know, poor man,
No human honors, no various benefits...
The dog wouldn't live like that! Years have passed!
That's why I decided to use magic
Surrender: I expect words and strength from the spirit,
So that the mysteries of nature are revealed to me,
So as not to chat while working on trifles,
About what I myself do not know,
So that I comprehend all actions, all secrets,
Worldwide internal communication;
From my lips so that the truth flows -
Not a random set of empty words!

Goethe, Faust, St. Petersburg, “ABC-Classics”, 2009, p. 19-20.

Usually Faust's doubts and searches are interpreted as a search for the meaning of life. Here is a famous passage that is often quoted and cited as an example of reductionism in scientific research:

Mephistopheles:

Appreciate time: days go by forever!
But our order will give you the habit
Distribute activities carefully.
And therefore, my friend, for the first time,
I think it would be useful for you here
A course in logic: although experience is risky,
They will begin to train your mind,
As if laced up in a Spanish boot,
So that he is quiet, without unnecessary thoughts
And without empty impatience,
Crawled up the ladder of thinking,
So that at random, along all paths,
He didn't rush here and there.
Then they will instill in you for the same purpose,
That in our lives everywhere, even in
Clear and simple for everyone,
What were you able to do right away before?
Like, for example, drinking, eating, -
The command “one, two, three” is always needed.
This is how thoughts are fabricated. With this you can
Compare, for example, a weaving loom.
In it, thread management is complex:
The shuttle scurries up and down,
Invisibly the threads will merge into the fabric;
One push - a hundred loops curl.
Like this, my friend,
And the philosopher teaches you:
“This is so and this is so,
And that’s why it’s so,
And if the first reason disappears,
There will be no way for the second one either.”
The disciples are in awe of him,
But they will not be able to weave fabric from threads.
Or here: wanting to study a living object,
To gain clear knowledge about him,
The scientist first expels the soul,
Then the object is dismembered into parts
And he sees them, but it’s a pity: their spiritual connection
Meanwhile, she disappeared, flew away!

Goethe, Faust, St. Petersburg, “ABC-Classics”, 2009, p. 71-72.

Faust sets out his own terms of the contract: Mephistopheles must serve him until the first moment, when he, Faust, calms down, content with what has been achieved... Mephistopheles leads Faust through a series of adventure-tests, many of which are love... At the end of the tragedy, the aged and blind Faust, having received strip of the coast, decides to drain it, make it suitable for human life, here is his last monologue:

There is a swamp up to the mountains, polluting the air,
It’s worth ruining all the work by threatening.
Away from the rotten water stagnation -
This is my highest and final feat!
I will create a vast, new region,
And let millions of people live here,
All my life, in view of the severe danger,
Relying only on your free labor.
Among the hills, in a fertile field,
Herds and people will have freedom here;
Paradise will bloom among my meadows,
And there, in the distance, let it bubble furiously
The sea swell, let it wear away the dam:
Every flaw in it will be corrected instantly.
I am committed to this idea! Life years
It was not in vain that it was clear to me
The final conclusion of earthly wisdom:
Only he is worthy of life and freedom,
Who goes to battle for them every day!
All my life in a harsh, continuous struggle
Let the child, and the husband, and the elder lead,
So that I can see in the brilliance of wondrous power
Free land, free my people!
Then I would say: a moment,
You're great, last, wait!
And the passage of centuries would not be bold
The trace left by me!
In anticipation of that wondrous moment
I am now tasting my highest moment.

Goethe, Faust, St. Petersburg, “ABC-Classics”, 2009, p. 456-457.

Usually this monologue is interpreted as the wisdom of Faust, who realized that it is not pleasure, not knowledge, not wealth, not fame, not love, experienced by him, that grants the highest moment of existence...

The final:

Angels lift Faust - under the nose of Mephistopheles - to heaven.

Faust is a tragedy written by Johann Wolfgang Goethe

"Faust" analysis

Genre is a philosophical tragedy, therefore the main thing in it is not the external course of events, but the development of Goethe’s thought. By the scale of the depiction of reality, the depth of the images and the power of lyricism, the work can be called a poem.

The plot of the tragedy - the first part - is eternal story love, the second is the story of eternity. The first part depicts the “microworld” of a person, his individual, personal life, the second part, the “macroworld”, reflects the socio-political life of humanity.

Issues- life and death, good and evil, the essence of being, the purpose of man in the world, man and nature, man and the universe, knowledge of the world, love, art and its role in society

Subject— a person’s search for the meaning of life and his purpose.

Main character philosophical tragedy in poetry - Doctor Faustus - embodies the social dreams of his time about a comprehensive knowledge of the world. The change from the medieval cultural formation to a new one, the Renaissance and the Enlightenment that followed, is revealed in the best possible way in artistic image a person ready to give his soul for true knowledge. Prototype literary character became the real warlock Faust, who lived at the end of the 15th century in Europe. Goethe's Faust combined the features of all the literary Fausts that preceded him: the God-fighting Faust of K. Marlowe, the Protestant scientist Faust of Lessing, the genius Faust of Klinger. At the same time, the German classic's Faust turned out to be more lively and passionate than his predecessors. Goethe's Faust is, first of all, a poet: a man endowed with an unquenchable thirst for life, a desire to understand the universe around him, the nature of things and his own feelings.

The main character of the tragedy is alien to the bourgeois conventions of his time. He cannot, like Wagner, learn the secrets of existence from books. He needs the free expanse of forests and fields, the magical dances of fairies and witches' Sabbaths of the late German Middle Ages, the bodily sensuality of antiquity, embodied in the most beautiful woman who ever lived on earth, and the effective force of the New Age, capable of subjugating nature. Given by God to be torn to pieces by Mephistopheles, Faust is only partially likened to the biblical Job, who went through a chain of heavy life trials and adversity. Goethe's hero, if he loses anything in the tragedy, is only himself - his best feelings (love for Margaret-Gretchen), his sincere intentions (to prevent a water spill on fertile lands). He's carried away Vital energy Mephistopheles and his own dreams of beauty.

Like the classical heroes of romanticism, Faust is not able to perceive happiness in its earthly form. Carried away by witchcraft dances, he loses his beloved and daughter. He prefers happiness with Elena, but even here the hero will be disappointed: the legendary heroine is just a myth, a shadow of bygone times. Having emerged from Hades, she descends into it again after her deceased son, leaving Faust to his era. At the same time, Goethe’s hero, despite all the satanic temptations, does not lose his “good spiritual thoughts.” Making mistakes and sinning, he is not afraid to admit and try to correct his mistakes, he does not stop in life search and thereby pleases the Almighty, who declared at the beginning of the tragedy: “He who seeks is forced to wander.” And Faust is saved precisely because his life was “passed in aspirations” that allowed him to get closer to the truth, strengthen himself spiritually, and understand that the main thing is action that brings goodness and freedom to people.

Goethe's famous tragedy is a unique work that raises to the surface of the reader's perception not only eternal philosophical questions, but also a number of social and scientific problems of its time. In Faust, Goethe criticizes a narrow-minded society that lives by greed and sensual pleasure. The author, represented by Mephistopheles, heartily mocks the German system higher education, built on methodically attending classes and compiling notes that no one needs. Scientific issues were reflected in the philosophical dispute between Anaxagoras and Thales, who defended different points of view of the origin of the world - volcanic and water.