Goethe's Faust

High school (ages 12+)
Art & Creativity

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/goethe-s-faust

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who wrote Goethe's Faust?Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
2. What is the composition period?Approximately 1772 to 1831
3. What is the publication dates?Faust, Part One: 1808. Faust, Part Two: 1832 (posthumous)
4. What is Goethe's Faust about?It is a story about a very smart man named Dr. Faust who makes a deal with the devil to get more knowledge and fun. The deal brings him exciting adventures but also many problems.
5. Who is Mephistopheles?Mephistopheles is the devil who offers Faust a bargain. He promises to give Faust all the pleasures and knowledge he wants, but in return Faust must give him his soul.

Faustian Bargain: A deal in which a person trades their soul or moral integrity for worldly gain or knowledge.
Archetype: A recurring symbol or motif in literature that represents universal patterns of human nature.
Existentialism: A philosophical outlook emphasizing individual existence, freedom, and choice, often in the face of a meaningless universe.
Allegory: A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.