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te la metto in inglese e italiano xke visto ke hai scritto il titolo in inglese magari ti serve così :

Faustus, a learned scholar of Wittenberg, has an insatiable thirst for knowledge. When the play opens, Faustus is seen in his study examining the various branches of knowledge he has studied in the past: logic, philosophy, medicine, law and theology. Dissatisfied with all these, he turns to the dangerous practice of necromancy, or black magic. With the help of his servant, Wagner, he summons Valdes and Cornelius and requests them to initiate him into the rudiments of magic. Faustus begins his experiments by conjuring up spirits. Mephistophilis appears before him, but Faustus is so shocked by his horrible appearance that he asks him to go away and come back again in the guise of a friar. Faustus then learns that it was not his invocation that produced Mephistophilis, but the curses he heaped on the holy trinity. Faustus asks Mephistophilis to return to the mighty Lucifer and meet him again in his study at midnight to enact the pact.

Faustus is then subject to a spiritual conflict. The two angels arrive. The Good Angel admonishes him to leave the black arts and concentrate on “heaven and heavenly things.” The Bad Angel advises him to “think of honor and of wealth.” Faustus dreams of the power and wealth that will soon be his. Mephistophilis arrives to inform Faustus that Lucifer needs a declaration from him to be signed in blood. Faustus signs a contract by which he agrees to give his soul to Mephistophilis in return for twenty-four years of faithful service. He is, however, upset by several bad omens. To divert Faustus, the three devils (Mephistophilis, Beelzebub and Lucifer) arrange for some entertainment: a parade of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Then Mephistophilis takes Faustus to Rome. In the Pope’s private chamber, both of them play practical jokes on the Pope. At the court of Emperor Charles V, Faustus punishes a skeptical courtier by putting horns on his head. He then produces the apparitions of Alexander the Great and his paramour and that of Darius, King of Persia. At the court of the Duke of Vanholt, Faustus, with the help of Mephistophilis, produces grapes in January.

The twenty-four years allotted to Faustus are now almost over, and Faustus expects the devil to come at midnight to claim him. To entertain his scholar friends, Faustus summons the spirit of Helen of Troy from the underworld. But nothing can save Faustus now. The old man witnesses Faustus’ exclusion from “the grace of heaven.” The Bad Angel warns Faustus to be ready to “taste hell’s pains perpetually.” The Good Angel tells him that “the jaws of hell are open” to receive him. Faustus has only an hour to live. He dreads the moment of damnation. Faustus begs for relief from the eternal torment in store for him and wishes that he were a beast without a soul. The clock strikes twelve. In the midst of thunder and lightning, devils come and carry Faustus away to hell.

THEMES

Major

The major theme of Doctor Faustus is the pride which goes before a fall. Faustus’ sin is not his practice of necromancy, but his denial of God’s power and majesty. His pride is the source of his damnation. All the other sins committed by him are various aspects of the sin of pride. Even his despair in the last scene of the play is another aspect of his pride because it prevents him from asking for God’s forgiveness. Faustus’ despair denies God’s mercy.

Minor

One of the play’s minor Themes is Faustus’ quest for knowledge. He examines all the orthodox branches of knowledge and finds them wanting. He chooses magic, for it promises “a world of profit and delight, /Of power, of honor, of omnipotence.” For twenty- four years, he seeks experience of all kinds. However, finally, his knowledge brings him despair instead of freedom.

Another minor theme of the play is the quest for power. Faustus’ power exists more in his imagination than in fact. When he performs magic, the audience gets the impression that he is a practical joker or a court entertainer. It is true that he plays pranks on the Pope, produces the spirits of Alexander, his paramour, Darius and Helen of Troy. It is also true that he produces grapes out of season for a pregnant duchess. All these performances are far removed from his first confident assertion that “a sound magician is a demi-god.” Faustus’ power is illusory, since at each stage he depends upon Mephistophilis.

PLOT (Structure)

Doctor Faustus is a well-constructed play. In the opening of the play, the audience is given the exposition: an explanation of the subject matter of this tragedy. Faustus the man is presented by the Chorus. In the first act, Faustus surveys different branches of knowledge and chooses to practice the black arts. In this section of the play, Faustus has a foretaste of what magic can do for him when he commands Mephistophilis to perform certain magical feats, with which the action rises.

The climax is reached in Act II, Scene 1, in which Faustus signs a pact with Lucifer. Following this pact, the audience sees a series of demonstrations of Faustus’ magical powers. The action falls in Act IV, in which Faustus as a magician, is challenged by Benvolio, as well as Robin, Dick, the horse dealer and other plebeians.

The outcome of the protagonist’s pact with the devil is seen in Act V. In this act the devils come and carry Faustus away to hell. Faustus is perpetually damned. The Epilogue presents the moral of the play. Men should not delve into forbidden territories. They should go only where “heaven permits” one to tread.

Throughout the play the comic scenes parody Faustus’ magical feats, which are imitated by the clown. They serve as a sub-plot that runs parallel to the main plot of the play.

Il dramma narra la storia di Faust, uno studioso così avido di sapere da non accontentarsi del sapere accademico, della medicina e della teologia, avventurandosi nel campo della magia nera (che il personaggio chiama "metafisica dei maghi"). E siccome la ricerca autonoma e libera della verità (la filosofia o la scienza) era stata da sempre in contraddizione con la teologia dogmatica, che invece reclama obbedienza (si pensi ad Adamo, ad Icaro o a Prometeo), Faust assume le sembianze di un negromante, perché poco più che stregoni venivano visti gli scienziati ed i filosofi della natura nell'epoca dei conflitti religiosi in Europa. Dopo aver compiuto un'invocazione nel suo studio, gli appare il diavolo Mefistofele con il quale stipulata un patto: Faust avrà la conoscenza ed i servizi del servo di Lucifero per 24 anni, dopo i quali il diavolo avrà la sua anima. A questo punto, Faust prova un momento di liberazione che assomiglia ad un desiderio sconfinato d'onnipotenza. Tuttavia, sebbene egli faccia grandi progetti per il proprio immediato futuro, e sebbene sogni di utilizzare le abilità acquisite per ottenere potere e gloria, riesce solo a compiere piccoli atti di bassa levatura. Dapprima fa apparire a sé i sette vizi capitali, poi si prende gioco della corte di Roma, liberando Bruno, principe di Sassonia, prigioniero del Papa. Successivamente, utilizza trucchi da prestigiatore per stupire un principe tedesco, beffare un mercante di cavalli e poco altro.

Frontespizio dell'opera in un'edizione del 1620Durante tutta l'opera, Faust viene continuamente consigliato da due angeli, uno buono e uno malvagio, simboleggianti i due lati della natura umana (ciò ricorda molto l'opera Paradiso Perduto di John Milton). E sebbene l'angelo buono riesca più volte ad insinuare in Faust il dubbio sulla sua scelta, le minacce di Mefistofele e le apparizioni di Lucifero lo fanno presto desistere dal proposito di rompere il patto.

Prima di morire fa apparire a sé la mitica Elena di *****, con la quale si stringe in un appassionato abbraccio in uno dei momenti più appassionati e poetici del dramma. L'abbraccio è sacrilego (Elena viene evocata dal diavolo ed è lei stessa un demonio, per cui l'amplesso conferisce a Faust natura demoniaca) e mistico insieme. Elena, infatti, rappresenta la Sapienza (da sempre raffigurata, come lo è qui, come "l'orgoglio delle opere della Natura") con cui il filosofo si congiunge tradizionalmente in un abbraccio erotico.

Nell'ultima ora della sua vita, Faust dà vita ad un famosissimo monologo, nel quale l'opera raggiunge un altissimo livello di poesia.

Su Amazon ci sono diversi libri che trattano il tema magia nera. Ti consiglio di visitare questa pagina del loro sito in cui c'e' un elenco e in cui potrai leggere recensioni, giudizi e commenti che ti aiuteranno a rispondere alle tue domande.

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