“Prologue in Heaven”
E635633
“Prologue in Heaven” is the opening heavenly scene in Goethe’s Faust, Part One, in which God and Mephistopheles discuss and wager over the fate of Faust.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Prologue in Heaven | 1 |
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
dramatic prologue
ⓘ
part of literary work ⓘ scene ⓘ |
| appearsIn | Faust: Der Tragödie erster Teil NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| author | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| centralTheme |
divine justice
ⓘ
human striving ⓘ problem of evil ⓘ theodicy ⓘ wager over Faust’s soul ⓘ |
| creator | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| discussesCharacter | Faust NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| dramaticFunction |
contrasts divine order with Mephistophelean skepticism
ⓘ
establishes cosmic perspective on Faust’s fate ⓘ |
| featuresCharacter |
Gabriel
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
God NERFINISHED ⓘ Mephistopheles NERFINISHED ⓘ Michael NERFINISHED ⓘ Raphael NERFINISHED ⓘ The Lord NERFINISHED ⓘ archangels ⓘ |
| genre |
philosophical drama
ⓘ
tragic drama ⓘ |
| hasAdaptation |
opera and musical settings of Faust
ⓘ
various stage productions of Faust ⓘ |
| hasForm | verse ⓘ |
| influences | later depictions of the devil’s wager motif ⓘ |
| language | German ⓘ |
| literaryMovement | Weimar Classicism NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| literarySignificance | one of the most famous prologues in Western drama ⓘ |
| narrativeFunction |
frames Faust’s story as a divine experiment
ⓘ
introduces conflict between God and Mephistopheles ⓘ |
| originalTitle | Prolog im Himmel NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| partOf |
Faust
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Faust, Part One NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| philosophicalContext |
Christian theology
ⓘ
Enlightenment thought ⓘ German Idealism NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| plotElement |
God expresses confidence in Faust’s striving nature
ⓘ
Mephistopheles wagers he can lead Faust astray ⓘ |
| positionInWork | opening scene ⓘ |
| relatedConcept | Book of Job NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| setting | Heaven NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| timeOfCreation | late 18th century ⓘ |
| timeOfPublication | 1808 ⓘ |
| workCountryOfOrigin | Germany NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Prologue in Heaven