Faust Part I (Annotated Edition)

The narrative of Faust begins in Heaven. While angels worship The Lord for his creation, Mephistopheles, the Devil, complains about the state of affairs in the world. Mankind is corrupt, he claims, and he revels in the evil and disaster that he is able to cause. Mephistopheles makes a bet with The Lord that he will be able to turn one of his servants, Dr. Faust, over to sin and evil. The Lord agrees, claiming that Faust will remain a loyal follower.The play introduces Faust while he sits in his study in despair over his life. He has been a scholar and an alchemist, and he feels as though he has come to the end of all knowledge. Books and chemistry can no longer define his life for him, and he longs to live a life in harmony with Nature and with the universe. He summons a Spirit to come and be with him, but this only reinforces the fact that he is human and not spirit and therefore cannot share the Spirit's higher knowledge. In his despair, Faust brews a poison to commit suicide. Just as he is about to take the poison, a chorus of angels appears announcing Easter day and stops him from completing the act.