Faust and the bible

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The aim of this study is to fill a gap in the interpretation of Goethe's «Faust» by providing the first full-length analysis of the poet's linguistic and thematic borrowings from the Bible and from Christian religious tradition written - in contrast to much of the earlier work in this field - from a non-sectarian point of view. It takes the form of a commentary on the drama, in which religious themes are identified and discussed with the object of determining their functions in Goethe's work. Inevitably, close attention is paid to earlier «Faust» scholarship, and the author has endeavoured to reappraise some of the major controversies in «Faust» criticism in the light of his own findings.