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books2023-07-01 04:45 pm
crystalis39) wrote in books2023-07-01 04:45 pm
Entry tags:
Goethe's Faust
Faust has been on my bucket list for a very long time. Ever since I was a wee lass who just finished Madoka almost ten years ago. But I never got around to it until now. I read both parts over the past couple of days. They were fun reads, but I liked the first better than the second. Some thoughts under the cut.
So when I first decided to actually read the Faust duology (I'm specifically referring to Goethe's version, though the general mythos has been around longer), I actually didn't know it was written as a play! Like, to be performed and stuff. I really like theatre (particularly musicals, though this is not one), so that was a pleasant surprise. So it's basically a script, a fairly easy read.
The thing to remember about classic literature is that it's not, like, inherently stuffy or pretentious or anything like that. What's considered classic today was basically just what was popular at the time (or at the very least, cult hits). Faust is a very funny play. I love the dynamic between Faust and Mephistopheles. The sillies. My skrunklies.
Part 1 is pretty small in scope - most of it is about Faust pursuing this woman named Gretchen, while Mephistopheles acts as his terrible, terrible wingman. It's delightful. Doesn't end too well for Gretchen, though. Part 2 is much bigger. Basically Faust acquires a taste for MILFs and gets isekai'd to ancient Greece in pursuit of Helen of Troy. It doesn't end well for Helen, Faust goes back to modern Germany and becomes a landlord to cope. Mephistopheles makes capitalism worse. Faust gets a change of heart about the whole evil landlord stuff and decides to make things nicer for his tenants. Doing good feels good, so Mephistopheles thinks he won, but then God's like "nuh-uh!". That's that. Unfortunately I am not a Greek historian or anything so I definitely missed some deepcut references that would've improved my enjoyment of Part 2. As it stands, though, it's fine. It retains the humor of the first part, at least!
So like, pretty good. I'll read Don Quixote next.
So when I first decided to actually read the Faust duology (I'm specifically referring to Goethe's version, though the general mythos has been around longer), I actually didn't know it was written as a play! Like, to be performed and stuff. I really like theatre (particularly musicals, though this is not one), so that was a pleasant surprise. So it's basically a script, a fairly easy read.
The thing to remember about classic literature is that it's not, like, inherently stuffy or pretentious or anything like that. What's considered classic today was basically just what was popular at the time (or at the very least, cult hits). Faust is a very funny play. I love the dynamic between Faust and Mephistopheles. The sillies. My skrunklies.
Part 1 is pretty small in scope - most of it is about Faust pursuing this woman named Gretchen, while Mephistopheles acts as his terrible, terrible wingman. It's delightful. Doesn't end too well for Gretchen, though. Part 2 is much bigger. Basically Faust acquires a taste for MILFs and gets isekai'd to ancient Greece in pursuit of Helen of Troy. It doesn't end well for Helen, Faust goes back to modern Germany and becomes a landlord to cope. Mephistopheles makes capitalism worse. Faust gets a change of heart about the whole evil landlord stuff and decides to make things nicer for his tenants. Doing good feels good, so Mephistopheles thinks he won, but then God's like "nuh-uh!". That's that. Unfortunately I am not a Greek historian or anything so I definitely missed some deepcut references that would've improved my enjoyment of Part 2. As it stands, though, it's fine. It retains the humor of the first part, at least!
So like, pretty good. I'll read Don Quixote next.