Faust 161-319

This section of your reading contains lots of scenes and a whole lot happens on Faust's adventures. I want you to sum up your scene in the post and also analyze some parts that you find particularly interesting.

Do your post on the NEXT scene- SO the first student will post on Witch's Kitchen, then A Street, then Evening, and so on. There are a total of 11 scenes in the section after Auerbach's Cellar, so I'd like the last 4 people to post to choose one of the previous posts/scenes to build off of and add something brilliantly new!

Here's my sample post on the first scene in the section: Auerbach's Cellar in Leipzig

This is a funny scene in a tavern where Mephistopheles takes Faust to see "convivial society". Basically there's lots of rowdy drinking, spilling, singing, and joking around- normal stuff until the devil and Faust head in to join the party.

I think this is supposed to be funny on lots of levels- first of all, just the common guys and their pranks, blubbering, and drinking songs are pretty silly. Then it goes a step further when they drunkenly decide to play pranks on the two strangers; of course the joke's on them because they're messing with the devil in disguise. You know Mephisto's not going to lose when it comes to this kind of rabble-rousing. He pulls out a song that's way better than any of the drunks', then he does a crazy trick where he draws wine- any kind of wine a person desires- from a table (oh, and when the wine spills it turns to fire), and finally he and Faust ride off on a flying keg barrel.

I think the most interesting part of the scene is Mephisto's drinking song about the king's flea dressed in the most expensive silks, and becoming minister of state. I can't help but think that every time satan speaks of insects he's also refering to humans (like the chirping grasshopper from the beginning of the play). It also seems that the drunk men are acting like irritating fleas who eventually get grabbed, caught, nipped and cracked, like the fleas ultimately do by the higher power of humans.

Overall I liked this scene because of the fantastical elements and magic- Faust got out of the house, Mephisto showed off what he can do (perhaps showing Faust that betting his soul was worth the price), and the good and bad sides of partying (mostly bad- hangovers, acting like an idiot, etc.) were shown.

There were also a few parallels with The Tempest. Not only is there drinking that makes people act and look like idiots in both plays, but each group of drunks is unknowingly up against a higher supernatural power- it's impossible for them to win and the drinking makes it even worse. Drinking seems to exacerbate the faults of base humanity.

I think that there is also a class commentary in both plays- people strive (and fail) to be more than what they are. This correlates with the humans as insects motif- perhaps the ultimate "class system" is humans being lower than God or gods, yet aspiring to gain that omniscient power.

Remember to sign your name & don't be afraid to build off of others' ideas!

Oh- and Gretchen is a nickname for Margaret, in case you're confused. :)

Faust through p 161

For this post, I'd like you to select a passage from your assigned section of the reading that you find particularly important / interesting / central to meaning.

Type the passage (including citation, of course) and then analyze the heck out of it.

Look at the language and overall connections to the text. What questions does it bring up? Does it have multiple meanings? What Romantic themes are present? Is there a significant motif? Do you see any parallels with other texts we've read?

Don't use the same passage as someone else; however, feel free (and encouraged to)build on / respond to some of your peers' blogs.

Also, be sure to sign your name (first and last initial) at the end!

Faust Vocabulary (do TWO by the time we finish the play)

For Faust you're required to make at least TWO vocabulary posts during the course of the play.

Each post should look like this:

Word (that you didn't know the definition of or were unsure of)

Context (give the sentence that it appeared in)

Definition (after looking up meanings, write a definition of the word in your own words)

Sentence (come up with your own interesting sentence that uses the word in context)

Be sure you don't repeat a word that's already been done, and be sure to sign your name at the end!

Wordsworth Poem Analysis

Choose ONE of Wordsworth's poems from the packet ("We are Seven," "Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey," "Nutting," or "Lines Written in Early Spring"), and choose three lines (or three small line groupings) to dissect (meaning analyze inside-out).

Analyze for wording, literary elements, symbols, themes, Romantic elements, direct connections with the preface to Lyrical Ballads and more.

See my example, and be sure to sign your name!