“Night”

E635634

“Night” is an early, pivotal scene in Goethe’s *Faust: Part One* in which Faust, alone in his study, despairs over the limits of human knowledge and contemplates suicide, setting the stage for his pact with Mephistopheles.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Night (scene in Faust) 0

Statements (43)

Predicate Object
instanceOf dramatic scene
literary scene
appearsIn Faust NERFINISHED
chronologicalPosition early scene in Faust: Part One
containsMotif contemplation of suicide
invocation of supernatural powers
rejection of book learning
scholar in his study
yearning for infinite experience
countryOfOrigin Germany
creator Johann Wolfgang von Goethe NERFINISHED
dramaticRole establishes tone of existential crisis
pivotal turning point in Faust’s life
featuresCharacter Heinrich Faust NERFINISHED
hasForm verse drama
hasInterpretation allegory of modern intellectual crisis
critique of purely rational knowledge
hasTitleInOriginalLanguage Nacht NERFINISHED
influencedBy Enlightenment debates on reason and faith
language German
literaryPeriod Weimar Classicism NERFINISHED
mainCharacterEmotion despair
frustration
longing
medium theatre
narrativeFunction exposition of Faust’s inner conflict
preparation for Faust’s pact with Mephistopheles
partOf Faust: Part One NERFINISHED
precedes Faust’s encounter with Mephistopheles NERFINISHED
relatedWork Faust: Part Two NERFINISHED
setting Faust’s study
studiedIn German literature courses
comparative literature courses
theatre studies
theme conflict between reason and emotion
crisis of faith
despair
disillusionment with scholarship
limits of human knowledge
pact with demonic forces
suicidal contemplation
yearning for transcendence
timeOfAction night

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Faust, Part One containsSection “Night”