Faust: Night (1)

Summary

Faust languishes in his study in a state of ennui. He has studied it all, received every degree, and still feels he knows nothing. All of this effort has lost him his "mirth" (l. 134). He has now turned to "magic" to do what science and philosophy could not: "penetrate the power / That holds the universe together" (ll. 147-148). This seems to suggest something ineffable, beyond human reason and control — perhaps magical, mysterious, dangerous, and evil?

Works Cited

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