Faust (Lenau)

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Title page of the first print

Fist. A poem is a verse epic by Nikolaus Lenau . It was created in 1836 during the Biedermeier period .

“Faust is indeed written by Goethe, but therefore not a monopoly of Goethe from which everyone else would be excluded. This Faust is common property of mankind. "

- Lenau : November 27, 1833, letter

shape

Lenau uses very pictorial language that transports or underlines emotions. The text is divided into dialogues (drama) and narrative passages (epic). The work was created between 1833 and 1835 as a contrast to Goethe's Faust. In terms of content and language, it is similar to Goethe's Faust, but Lenau interprets the Faust material differently, his Faust differs significantly from the model.

people

fist

Lenau's Faust is very different from his role model. His Faust does not stand for all people, but is a reflection of his Creator, who wavered between a bitterly felt atheism and a pantheism, which consumed doubts and who had the feeling throughout his life that he was excluded from all world and all human ties. Faust is a weak person who is easily influenced. He becomes Mephistopheles' tool.

Mephistopheles

The devil is omnipotent here and is not subordinate to God as with Goethe. He is the personified intelligence, without any feeling or emotion. Mephisto skillfully manipulates Faust, who cannot escape his clutches. He is a philosopher and enlightener. In contrast to Goethe's figure, he wins.

content

Faust is a man of deep mind and pure will. The devil promises to lead him to knowledge and truth if he confides in him. Faust signs the contract and is ready to throw a Bible into the fire. More difficult for him than turning away from God is the solution from nature, in which he previously believed to find the secrets of creation.

Mephisto plunges him into lust, true love and ultimately murder, but these experiences only cover up his loneliness for a short time. He realizes that even his "girlfriend" nature has become alien to him, so he separates himself from his home and his mother's grave, he wants to go to the "solitude of the sea". Mephisto keeps Faust before his eyes the complete autonomy of the ego as the highest freedom. Faust triumphs over the storm at sea and is not subject to anyone, but he has to realize that he is completely lonely and stabs himself. In the end he came to the view that it was only a dream of God and never separated from it and could therefore “dream a knife into one's heart” without it being of any importance. Mephisto, who has the last word, contradicts this after Faust stabbed himself; he had now finally triumphed over Faust.

interpretation

Faust longs for God, who holds and understands him, but at the same time wants to be independent and godlike himself. From this conflict arises the longing for doom. Lenau's Faust, like his role model, vacillates between two poles, between atheism and pantheism, between civilization and nature, etc. But God does not save him, this realization makes the work hopeless and sad. It reflects Lenau's Weltschmerz. His Faust is more a way for Lenau to express himself than, like Goethe's work, a food for thought for humanity.

music

The episode about the dance in the village tavern inspired Franz Liszt to write one of his most famous solo piano works, the Mephisto Waltz No. 1 .

Settings

Friedemann Holst-Solbach (2014): "The Contract" - Opera in 3 acts. (Faust - a poem, partly set to music and underlaid). Libretto: Erich Schwarz. Content: overture and prologue. Act I: 'The Pact with the Devil' with 2 pictures. Act II: 'The Journey' with 5 pictures. III. Act: 'Die Seereise' with interlude and 2 pictures. Epilogue. The piano reduction has 177 pages including a twelve-page libretto with suggestions for direction. Piano reduction: ISMN 9-790-50072-609-8. The score and individual parts are available as loan material. © 2014 by Edition Meisel GmbH, Berlin.

expenditure

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