Readers Zone discussion

Hi peeps! Please join in the reading of Doctor Faustus which starts tomorrow and continues until the end of November :) We are aiming to read the three versions of Faustus:
1-Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe.
2- Goethe's Faust.
3- Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann.

That is some heavy reading :) especially Goethe!

Hey Salama! So pleased to have you here :) and yes it's a heavy reading but we have a bunch of bookworms here. To be honest, this is my second reading but I promised one of my GR friends to read and discuss all the 3 versions of The myth of Faust.

Hi everyone! Pleased to meet you. I have to study modernist literature so I will enter discussions on that topic. I am very busy but I will try. Best

Hola! Mucho gusto, Jorge :)
Actually this thread is about doctor Faust, but I'll start a different thread about modernism.

I've downloaded all three. I'm not sure how viable it is to finish all three before Dec but I'll give it a try. Looking forward to the discussions!

Yeah ! You'd better try to finish them before the deadline! I trust that you can do it! Could you plz share the links for those who would like to join us?

Hi! How is it going? Unable to sleep, I decided to share something with you all! Before starting our own discussions, I'd like to shed some light on the source of the myth of doctor faustus.
According to norton anthology immediate source of Christopher Marlowe's play is the German narrative called in its English translation The History of the Damnable life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus.
In many references the book is believed to have been composed by a man named john spie. This book was popularly called The German FaustBook. This book tells the story of insatiable man who desires to fly over the whole world and to know the secrets of heaven and earth. Obsessed with forbidden knowledge, Faustus studies necromancy & conjures the devil and makes a pact with Mephistopheles, promising his soul to lucifer in return for 24 years of Hedonistic delight & intellectual satisfaction.


1592 This book was adopted into English by a man known as P.F. Gent. Later, this English version of the German myth became the source of Christopher Marlowe and his contemporaries!

Hi Manal and everybody.
Christopher Marlowe is one of my all time favorite writers. I have read Dr. Faustus in the past as part of a class assignment and I enjoyed tremendously!

Looking forward to reading the other works you have listed though I am not sure I'll be done with them before December. Seems like a very short deadline.

Oh well....Less talking, more reading!

Hey Sarah! I'm so glad to have you with us :) who doesn't love Marlowe? I really enjoy his writings.
Another thing I'd like to announce is that the deadline for our reading is extended to the end of December. I'm pretty sure that some of you are almost finished but let's give a chance to our new members.

The links for whoever hasn't gotten them yet:

Marlowe's:
http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis...

Geothe's:
http://www.iowagrandmaster.org/Books%...

Mann's:
https://kickass.so/thomas-mann-doctor...
The best I found was a torrent.

Pleasant reading, folks!

Thanks a lot Hani :)

Allow me to start this discussion. I won't open a new thread. My OCD simply will not allow it as clutter is not my thing lol.

I will start with Goethe's Faust.

1. Goethe:

Part I was good. I really liked it. I must admit I was engrossed with the description and could almost taste the dirt and dust and smell the old books piled one on the other in Faust's chamber as he spoke of it. That's how strong the writing was in my opinion. Goethe portrayed Faust as a sad old man deep in depression and regret which I also loved. I always thought of Faust as a melancholic old fool anyway lol.

His Mephistopheles was amazing. The only reason why I continued on to part II was because of him. Had I known his character would turn into something boring I would have stopped at the end of part I, but I make it a point to finish everything even if it kills me. So on to part II

Part II: I HATED IT!!!
All the mythological creatures! Really? Did we need them? I honestly skipped acts just to be done with them. Did I miss anything of the story by doing that? NO. I hated the whole idea of Part II. It was confusing and I really did not understand it. I had to rely on notes from google for this. Also Helen?!! Really? Did we have to make it a love story?!! Ugh I was so disappointed in it I wished Mepha would just carry him off to hell already!

Which leads us to the ending............I did not like the ending :-(.

General point of view: The writing was great I loved the flow of the words and the description as I mentioned above. However, i did not like the concept of part II. Maybe if it was played out in front of me I would appreciate it more.

2: Thomas Mann:

Sorry, I did not read it. I had to cleans my brain from the disappointment above and really couldn't take any more Faustus after that lol

3: Marlowe:

I reread Dr. Faustus and as much as I loved the story line and the ending, also having a good angel and a bad angel to represent inner struggles really helped improve the story in my opinion. However, after reading Goethe's Mepha, I found Marlowe's to be somewhat lacking or flat in comparison. Funny how reading something else of the same story can change one's opinion of the first.

The ending is one of my favorite endings in all literature. which really represents reality. A person only gets a few chances to repent or, in reality, apologize for doing wrong before the other person turns their back from them for ever in disappointment. This is how I view it anyway.

So, which one did you like the most and why?

Thumps up! Great Job Sarah! Well to me it's hard to tell which one is better! I find all of these versions of Faust amazing! For those who did not read the plays yet, I suggest you read about drama before Shakespeare & Marlowe! Do you guys have any idea about the types of drama before Shakespeare?