In this blog post, I’ll explain how to approach Goethe’s “Faust” without feeling overwhelmed and provide a simple overview of the basic background of the work and its author.
Faust: There’s No Need to Be Intimidated
At some point in life, everyone hears about Goethe, the world-renowned poet from Germany, 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 eventually, you might end up buying the book. However, it’s common to read only a little before setting it aside. This is because it is a play, not a novel, and the dialogue is written in verse, making it difficult to grasp the meaning at first.
This is not a story I have imagined. Since the confessions I’ve heard from people around me—even those who studied German literature—were similar, I’ve generalized the situation to illustrate the point.
In fact, “Faust” is not a book you can easily read under a beach umbrella. To truly savor this work, you need a certain amount of time and mental space, and having some prior knowledge makes 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.
In fact, I’d say you can read it just like you would the Bible. I don’t mean the content is the same as the Bible; I mean there’s no need to read it cover to cover in one sitting. 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 a few times like this, the work will start to feel familiar, and little by little, you’ll find yourself seeking out specific scenes to read sporadically.
One more tip: it’s a good idea to keep the book in a prominent 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. After repeating this a few times, you’ll soon be able to say you’ve “read Faust.”
Again, don’t try to conquer “Faust” from start to finish in one go; just read wherever your heart leads you. For example, you could start reading from the part where Faust first speaks to Gretchen in the “Street” scene; if you get bored, just close the book, and next time, try opening it to the very last line of the work. Don’t be too intimidated—just start with a lighthearted attitude.
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, 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 Caspar 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 an emotional and 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 and 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 a cultural hub in 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 self-assured young artist, could not abandon the expression of his passion and emotions. He began his creative work during this period, writing his first play, ‘The Lover’s Whim’, in 1767.
In 1768, he interrupted his studies due to a severe illness and returned to his hometown, where he also 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 views. In 1769, he completed the comedy ‘The Conspirators’.
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 of the literary movement known as Sturm und Drang. His 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 took off in earnest—including his appointment as Minister of Finance—and his literary output temporarily slowed. Although he conceived several works, progress was slow due to the heavy workload of his official duties, 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 the maturation of his art from the passion of the Sturm und Drang movement toward Classicism, which sought harmony and balance. During this time, he made progress on various works, including the poetic adaptation of ‘Iphigenia’ and the completion of ‘Egmont’, and 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, ‘Tasso’ was completed and his son August was born. However, the French Revolution of 1789 evoked mixed feelings in Goethe. He was outraged by the corruption of the Ancien Régime, yet 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 and indirectly related to it—such as the play ‘The General of the People’ (1793), the epic poem ‘Hermann and Dorothea’ (1796–1797), and the war chronicle ‘Campaign in France’ (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, he 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 I 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 Apprenticeship” (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 his youth, figures like Heine criticized Goethe as a self-centered writer who turned a blind eye to real-world problems and immersed himself in aesthetic indulgence. 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 scale of the questions posed by the colossal figure and body of work that is Goethe.
