Faust legend

E72997

The Faust legend is a classic European tale about a scholar who makes a pact with the Devil, trading his soul for knowledge, power, or worldly pleasures, and suffering tragic consequences.

Aliases (1)


Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf European legend
cautionary tale
cultural motif
legend
associatedWithGenre folklore
morality tale
myth
tragedy
centralTheme bargain for knowledge
bargain for power
bargain for worldly pleasure
consequences of overreaching ambition
damnation
hubris
limits of human knowledge
moral responsibility
pact with the Devil
temptation
culturalImpact provided the term "Faustian" for morally compromising ambition
developedFrom stories about Johann Georg Faust
hasAdaptation Arrigo Boito
surface form: "Arrigo Boito's opera Mefistofele"

Charles Gounod
surface form: "Charles Gounod's opera Faust"

Christopher Marlowe
surface form: "Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus"

Faust, Part One
surface form: "Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust"

many film adaptations
many modern literary retellings
many theatrical adaptations
hasAntagonist the Devil
surface form: "Mephistopheles"

the Devil
hasMainCharacter Faust legend
surface form: "Faust"

Faust, Part One
surface form: "Faustus"
hasMoral warning against making deals with the Devil
warning against unchecked ambition
warning against valuing power over morality
hasOutcome loss of the soul
tragic consequences
influencedConcept Faustian bargain
Faustian pact
influencedWork Doctor Faustus
surface form: "Doctor Faustus (novel)"

Faust, Part Two
surface form: "Faust: Der Tragödie zweiter Teil"

Faust, Part One
surface form: "Faust: Eine Tragödie"

Historia von D. Johann Fausten
The Master and Margarita
Doctor Faustus (opera)
surface form: "The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus"

various films
various operas
various plays
originatesIn German folklore
setIn Germany in many versions
timePeriodOfOrigin early modern period

Referenced by (5)

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

Doctor Faustus basedOn Faust legend
The Devil and Tom Walker basedOn Faust legend
Faust legend hasMainCharacter Faust legend
this entity surface form: "Faust"
Manfred influencedBy Faust legend
this entity surface form: "Faust"