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Goethe’s Faust
Urfaust
Die erst 1887 aufgefundene Abschrift der frühesten Fassung des 'Faust', seitdem 'Faust in ursprünglicher Gestalt' oder kurz 'Urfaust' genannt, brachte Goethe schon aus Frankfurt mit, als er 1775 nach Weimar übersiedelte. Der 'Urfaust' stellt den Anfang einer rund sechzig Jahre dauernden Beschäftigung Goethes mit dem Faust-Thema dar, ist aber innerhalb des Faust-Komplexes auch eine Stufe von hoher konzeptioneller Eigenständigkeit.
71 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1775
11 people are currently reading
482 people want to read
About the author
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
13.3k books6,913 followersA master of poetry, drama, and the novel, German writer and scientist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe spent 50 years on his two-part dramatic poem
Faust
, published in 1808 and 1832, also conducted scientific research in various fields, notably botany, and held several governmental positions.
George Eliot called him "Germany's greatest man of letters... and the last true polymath to walk the earth." Works span the fields of literature, theology, and humanism.
People laud this magnum opus as one of the peaks of world literature. Other well-known literary works include his numerous poems, the Bildungsroman Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and the epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther .
With this key figure of German literature, the movement of Weimar classicism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries coincided with Enlightenment, sentimentality (Empfindsamkeit), Sturm und Drang, and Romanticism. The author of the scientific text Theory of Colours , he influenced Darwin with his focus on plant morphology. He also long served as the privy councilor ("Geheimrat") of the duchy of Weimar.
Goethe took great interest in the literatures of England, France, Italy, classical Greece, Persia, and Arabia and originated the concept of Weltliteratur ("world literature"). Despite his major, virtually immeasurable influence on German philosophy especially on the generation of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling, he expressly and decidedly refrained from practicing philosophy in the rarefied sense.
Influence spread across Europe, and for the next century, his works inspired much music, drama, poetry and philosophy. Many persons consider Goethe the most important writer in the German language and one of the most important thinkers in western culture as well. Early in his career, however, he wondered about painting, perhaps his true vocation; late in his life, he expressed the expectation that people ultimately would remember his work in optics.
George Eliot called him "Germany's greatest man of letters... and the last true polymath to walk the earth." Works span the fields of literature, theology, and humanism.
People laud this magnum opus as one of the peaks of world literature. Other well-known literary works include his numerous poems, the Bildungsroman Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and the epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther .
With this key figure of German literature, the movement of Weimar classicism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries coincided with Enlightenment, sentimentality (Empfindsamkeit), Sturm und Drang, and Romanticism. The author of the scientific text Theory of Colours , he influenced Darwin with his focus on plant morphology. He also long served as the privy councilor ("Geheimrat") of the duchy of Weimar.
Goethe took great interest in the literatures of England, France, Italy, classical Greece, Persia, and Arabia and originated the concept of Weltliteratur ("world literature"). Despite his major, virtually immeasurable influence on German philosophy especially on the generation of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling, he expressly and decidedly refrained from practicing philosophy in the rarefied sense.
Influence spread across Europe, and for the next century, his works inspired much music, drama, poetry and philosophy. Many persons consider Goethe the most important writer in the German language and one of the most important thinkers in western culture as well. Early in his career, however, he wondered about painting, perhaps his true vocation; late in his life, he expressed the expectation that people ultimately would remember his work in optics.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
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May 9, 2022gerizekalı oldugum için hiçbir şey anlamıyorum sanki
November 19, 2023
all i'm saying is men suck actually
also mephistopheles slays
also mephistopheles slays
March 3, 2025
rozhodně souhlasím s karlachem, že tahle verze je modernímu čtenáři bližší tím, jak syrová a bezprostřední je. zároveň všechny pasáže o studiích jsou banging
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April 10, 2017Da das Buch nur eine Urfassung ist und sich zum finalen Stück, Gott sei Dank, noch einiges änderte, spare ich mir eine Bewertung.
Es war aber schön die ersten Anläufe zu sehen und die sprachlichen Besonderheiten zu analysieren.
Es war aber schön die ersten Anläufe zu sehen und die sprachlichen Besonderheiten zu analysieren.
November 4, 2023
Cool maar ik neem aan dat de echte versie beter is.
April 17, 2019
Hannes Demming hät de Urfaust för de nedderdüütske bühne Mönster üöversettet un dat stük een vüör-, twisken- un achterspeal geaven. Düsse passagen passet sik naadlöss in't Geheel in. De üöversetten is döörgaans van hauge kwalitayt un besinnt sik op öldere spreakwiesen un wöör. Blouts de „Hiär“ hät een råre tendens haug te küern (wel wit wuso). Wittse äs nich meer wyder is der in't achterdeel van't book een tayn-syden-lang nåkyksel, wat för süke so as ik, de no an't learen sünd, nich layg is.
Ümdat düt stük för de mönsterske bühne konsipeert worden is, sünd auk een pår elemente infloten, de de regioon reflekteert.
Ümdat düt stük för de mönsterske bühne konsipeert worden is, sünd auk een pår elemente infloten, de de regioon reflekteert.
February 27, 2020
Como não tem muita indicação de palco, muita coisa fica confusa. Demorei pra entender o que tava acontecendo, daí fui bem até o final, quando me perdi de novo. A edição também não me ajudou muito, as páginas em branco no final me confundiram mais do que me ajudaram - apesar de ser legal ver as imagens de montagens, cartazes e comentários da tradutora que ajudam no começo.
Acho que deve valer mais ver uma montagem do que só ler a peça. Mas, dito isso, dei gostosas gargalhadas.
Acho que deve valer mais ver uma montagem do que só ler a peça. Mas, dito isso, dei gostosas gargalhadas.
February 22, 2015
Mais um livro onde a sinopse existe mas é tão rara de se encontrar...! Especialmente em inglês ou em português. Aproveito já para vos contar os rodeios desta leitura - foi feita de forma académica, acompanhada pelo regente da cadeira, e foi toda em alemão; portanto, o que vos poderei dizer é que não é,de todo, uma leitura fácil, mesmo sendo em inglês (dei uma espreitadela na versão inglesa e assustei-me). Apesar destes pormenores, é um dos maiores clássicos europeus e, mais concretamente, alemães, e é uma pena não o ler, até porque trouxe temas que agora são bastante explorados.
A história fala-nos de um professor académico que se sente limitado pela sua condição humana e que já viu e experimentou tudo - decide então comunicar com o outro mundo e tentar subir de posição; conseguindo fazer um contrato com o diabo, este promete-lhe ficar seu servo se não lhe conseguir mostrar algum prazer na vida que Faust ainda não tenha vivido. O prazer vencedor desta aposta foi o amor (algo cliché mas morbidamente bonito neste caso).
Apesar da leitura não ser fácil, o livro não é grande e a maioria das versões apresenta logo a continuação (este livro foi o primeiro estudo que Goethe fez da história), o que é excelente considerando que poderemos ler mais cenas para nos ajudarem a compreender melhor o enredo sem ter de comprar individualmente cada livro. As personagens são, na minha opinião, a melhor parte desta história - o desenvolvimento de Faust é o mais cru, mais abrupto e, apesar de bem feito, mais inconsistente. Sem saber o que realmente deseja na vida, assume os seus desejos animalescos e segue as suas vontades sem pensar em qualquer tipo de consequências; achei-o imaturo, irracional e egoísta, o que acabou por nao me fazer gostar do personagem, apenas refletir sobre o seu comportamento. Quanto a Gretchen, considero-a a personagem principal - tem um crescimento ao longo do texto tremendo, algo que me deixou triste e com uma certa pena da personagem (faz sentido ter pena de personagens? :-P). Penso que Gretchen tem um papel importantíssimo pois tanto representa a importância que a mulher começa a ter na sociedade ao poder escolher o que quer fazer, mesmo essas escolhas podendo arruiná-la; a personagem é também uma metáfora para o que o nosso crescimento é - a perda de inocência, a morte de parte de nós, a noção dos nossos atos,etc.
No geral, é um livro com muita matéria para se analisar e nos fazer enriquecer, penso que notou pelo tamanho desta review! Vale a pena perder algum tempo neste livro e perceber como é que as mentalidades foram mudando até chegarmos ao século XXI.
A história fala-nos de um professor académico que se sente limitado pela sua condição humana e que já viu e experimentou tudo - decide então comunicar com o outro mundo e tentar subir de posição; conseguindo fazer um contrato com o diabo, este promete-lhe ficar seu servo se não lhe conseguir mostrar algum prazer na vida que Faust ainda não tenha vivido. O prazer vencedor desta aposta foi o amor (algo cliché mas morbidamente bonito neste caso).
Apesar da leitura não ser fácil, o livro não é grande e a maioria das versões apresenta logo a continuação (este livro foi o primeiro estudo que Goethe fez da história), o que é excelente considerando que poderemos ler mais cenas para nos ajudarem a compreender melhor o enredo sem ter de comprar individualmente cada livro. As personagens são, na minha opinião, a melhor parte desta história - o desenvolvimento de Faust é o mais cru, mais abrupto e, apesar de bem feito, mais inconsistente. Sem saber o que realmente deseja na vida, assume os seus desejos animalescos e segue as suas vontades sem pensar em qualquer tipo de consequências; achei-o imaturo, irracional e egoísta, o que acabou por nao me fazer gostar do personagem, apenas refletir sobre o seu comportamento. Quanto a Gretchen, considero-a a personagem principal - tem um crescimento ao longo do texto tremendo, algo que me deixou triste e com uma certa pena da personagem (faz sentido ter pena de personagens? :-P). Penso que Gretchen tem um papel importantíssimo pois tanto representa a importância que a mulher começa a ter na sociedade ao poder escolher o que quer fazer, mesmo essas escolhas podendo arruiná-la; a personagem é também uma metáfora para o que o nosso crescimento é - a perda de inocência, a morte de parte de nós, a noção dos nossos atos,etc.
No geral, é um livro com muita matéria para se analisar e nos fazer enriquecer, penso que notou pelo tamanho desta review! Vale a pena perder algum tempo neste livro e perceber como é que as mentalidades foram mudando até chegarmos ao século XXI.
September 4, 2010
Für jeden der einen Geschmack auf Faust haben will ohne viel Zeit aufzuwenden, der ist gut beraten mit dem Urfaust. Mir persönlich fehlt das gewisse etwas, aber als Einführung in den Fauststoff wirklich sehr hilfreich.
Der Unterschied zur Endversion ist das Fehlen von einigen Szenen. So zum Beispiel der Vertrag zwischen Faust und Mephisto, aber auch der Prolog im Himmel und diverse andere Szenen fehlen. Dieses Stück hat ganz deutlich den Schwerpunkt in der Liebesbeziehung zwischen Faust und Gretchen. Im Faust I ist dies auch der Fall, aber die Stimmung ist bedrückender aufgrund des Deals mit dem Teufel.
Mephisto ist auch hier wieder Mal äußerst gerne zu Scherzen aufgelegt. Das Gespräch zwischen ihm und Marthe ist einfach famos. Nicht zu vergessen seine Tricksereien mit dem jungen Studenten.
Was mir aber gefiel ist der Einsatz von Magie seitens Faust. In Auerbachs Keller ist es Faust der tief in die Trickkiste greift und nicht Mephisto. Auch war die Szene zum Großteil in Prosa geschrieben. Einerseits willkommen andererseits etwas Störend, wenn man sich an die Verse bereits gewöhnt hat.
Zu bemängeln war natürlich das Fehlen diverser Szenen und die dadurch entstandenen Plot-holes. Auch war mir die Rechtschreibung etwas Suspekt. Gretgen statt Gretchen?
Wie schon erwähnt für jemanden kurzentschlossenes ein schneller Einblick in einer der besten Stücke deutscher Literatur. Faust-lite!
Der Unterschied zur Endversion ist das Fehlen von einigen Szenen. So zum Beispiel der Vertrag zwischen Faust und Mephisto, aber auch der Prolog im Himmel und diverse andere Szenen fehlen. Dieses Stück hat ganz deutlich den Schwerpunkt in der Liebesbeziehung zwischen Faust und Gretchen. Im Faust I ist dies auch der Fall, aber die Stimmung ist bedrückender aufgrund des Deals mit dem Teufel.
Mephisto ist auch hier wieder Mal äußerst gerne zu Scherzen aufgelegt. Das Gespräch zwischen ihm und Marthe ist einfach famos. Nicht zu vergessen seine Tricksereien mit dem jungen Studenten.
Was mir aber gefiel ist der Einsatz von Magie seitens Faust. In Auerbachs Keller ist es Faust der tief in die Trickkiste greift und nicht Mephisto. Auch war die Szene zum Großteil in Prosa geschrieben. Einerseits willkommen andererseits etwas Störend, wenn man sich an die Verse bereits gewöhnt hat.
Zu bemängeln war natürlich das Fehlen diverser Szenen und die dadurch entstandenen Plot-holes. Auch war mir die Rechtschreibung etwas Suspekt. Gretgen statt Gretchen?
Wie schon erwähnt für jemanden kurzentschlossenes ein schneller Einblick in einer der besten Stücke deutscher Literatur. Faust-lite!
July 14, 2016
Quite short but very good! The ending was very creepy!
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October 9, 2020*No rating, read for college
July 24, 2022
✨️Ladies and Gentleman, I would like to present to you: How to act out an old man's perversion in a book✨️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2022
Faust 1 director's cut
January 4, 2023
slayed
April 1, 2023
Kurz und tragisch.
November 17, 2023
Curtia de beber uma jola com o Mefistófeles
November 15, 2023
The magic of classics is that everything goes back to the most simplified nature yet the most powerful. The introduction by Douglas Scott compared Urfaust and Faust Part 1 and 2. Looking forward to reading Faust Part 1 and 2 and wanted to see it for myself, not only for the missing stories from Urfaust but the different perspective from a much older Goethe.
February 26, 2016
Reviewing in English for consistency with my stream.
Having survived reading both the Fausts, I ran across this in the Zürich Brockenhaus and thought I ought to complete the set. It is a shorter and a simpler read than Goethe's later classics, and in some ways I have to say I prefer it. The German is at a fairly advanced level and rather archaic, but should not defeat an advanced student or a fluent second-language speaker.
Faust II has occupied generations of fractious academics with its layers of opacity, but this version is rather straightforward. Faust conjures a demon, commands it to show him a good time, and in the adventures he encounters Gretchen, and the two fall in love. Thus far it is close to the later, completer form, but it diverges in Gretchen's short journey to destruction. The demon tricks Faust into offering her a sleeping draught so that she can lull her mother and allow the lovers to complete their tryst. The draught is actually a deadly poison, and Gretchen is tried for the murder of her mother, baying crowds on the streets seeking revenge. The demon accompanies Faust to the cell, but Gretchen in her despair declines to follow him to safety and is executed before his eyes. He registers a protest with the demon, who asks him what he expects: "I'm a demon. We're demonic."
Roughly translated.
This is a brief and fairly easy read, and a rare, fascinating glimpse at an earlier stage of what was to become a classic. If you follow Goethe and have read Faust and Faust II, it is well worth taking the extra few hours to get to know this prototype.
Having survived reading both the Fausts, I ran across this in the Zürich Brockenhaus and thought I ought to complete the set. It is a shorter and a simpler read than Goethe's later classics, and in some ways I have to say I prefer it. The German is at a fairly advanced level and rather archaic, but should not defeat an advanced student or a fluent second-language speaker.
Faust II has occupied generations of fractious academics with its layers of opacity, but this version is rather straightforward. Faust conjures a demon, commands it to show him a good time, and in the adventures he encounters Gretchen, and the two fall in love. Thus far it is close to the later, completer form, but it diverges in Gretchen's short journey to destruction. The demon tricks Faust into offering her a sleeping draught so that she can lull her mother and allow the lovers to complete their tryst. The draught is actually a deadly poison, and Gretchen is tried for the murder of her mother, baying crowds on the streets seeking revenge. The demon accompanies Faust to the cell, but Gretchen in her despair declines to follow him to safety and is executed before his eyes. He registers a protest with the demon, who asks him what he expects: "I'm a demon. We're demonic."
Roughly translated.
This is a brief and fairly easy read, and a rare, fascinating glimpse at an earlier stage of what was to become a classic. If you follow Goethe and have read Faust and Faust II, it is well worth taking the extra few hours to get to know this prototype.
June 23, 2024
"But you will never know another's heart, unless
You are prepared to give yours too."
Urfaust offers a direct, powerful, and emotionally charged experience on ambition, desire, and in general the human condition.
Vote: 8/10
Related Books:
Faust, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
You are prepared to give yours too."
Urfaust offers a direct, powerful, and emotionally charged experience on ambition, desire, and in general the human condition.
Vote: 8/10
Related Books:
Faust, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
November 8, 2013
Ik ben benieuwd naar meer; voor mij was deze Oerfaust een fijne kennismaking met "het echte", latere werk. Hoewel het moeilijk te begrijpen zou zijn, wil ik me daar al langer op wagen.
May 28, 2024
Not great not terrible. I don’t remember much from it to be honest. But also… I’m not a huge fan of it
May 1, 2017
Dit boek in een dag uitgelezen. Het is kort, maar heel meeslepend. Tegen mijn verwachting werd ik in het verhaal getrokken; knap voor een toneelstuk, dat ook nog eens voor het grootste gedeelte op rijm is gezet. Het is knap mysterieus en dramatisch. Ik vind het erg genuanceerd dat Goethe de schokkende gebeurtenissen eerder verondersteld dan letterlijk beschrijft. Verder had ik het gevoel dat hier een virtuoos schrijft die levensvragen, nihilisme, geloof, wanhoop, liefde en satire op een onnavolgbare manier met elkaar tot iets smeedt. En dit klinkt alweer hoogdravend terwijl deze oerversie heel makkelijk leest en goed te volgen is. Een paar scène's waren emotioneel. Toch wel benieuwd geraakt naar de geauthoriseerde versies I en II...
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews