Commentary/Notes to Faust Part 2

[WoodMarc]

Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone could suggest a good commentary to Goethe's Faust Part 2, which I am trying to read but am finding a bit overwhelming. I had a look at the Norton one, but the notes are not as useful to me as I had hoped. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Marcus

[cafolini]

Keep in mind that for Goethe Faust is extremely stupid.
Faust is not concerned with possibilities. He's miserable one way or the other. He would love to be the master in all respects, but he can't. So he suffers when things are going well because he's not the one who calls for it. He suffers when things are not going well because of the same motive. If Faust could be the master, he would be happy to burn in hell as payment.
Goethe is the very first one in history to reveal the devil as unimportant and utterly stupid.

[Scardanelli]

I would suggest Marshall Berman's All that is solid melts into air, a quite remarkable piece of literary criticism, by the way. There's a chapter dedicated to Faust, which provides an interesting reading key and some deep insight on Goethe's masterwork within its historical context.

[chrisvia]

There is a chapter dedicated to Faust Part 2 in Harold Bloom's The Western Canon that I found very good. It is discussed within the context of the canon as a concept, so there are constraints to the criticism, but I still think it will help make the text a little more palatable for you.

[Corona]

I'm reading some of Rudolf Steiner's conferencies on Faust(both parts) and they prove to be excellent readings of the work.
The italian edition I've got of Faust has a great commentary by Guido Manacorda, but I guess it's not findable in other languages!
Although I don't agree with Bloom on many points, his criticism of the Faust Part II could give some insights, as well.

[chrisvia]

Although I don't agree with Bloom on many points, his criticism of the Faust Part II could give some insights, as well.

I could have stated the exact same qualification of my Bloom suggestion!

[Corona]

You can find Berman's essay on the web, as well.

[WoodMarc]

Super, many thanks for these suggestions, will check them out give the wretched thing another go :-)