![]() ![]() With the exception of Frankenstein, published by Mary Shelley in 1818, it is difficult to think of a more enduring modern legend – both stories reflect unease about the dawning of a new world, full of possibility and anxiety. The project dominated his intellectual life: the first part of his dramatic poem, Faust, appeared in 1808 the second part was completed in 1831, the year before his death. ![]() The most influential interpretation of the Faust legend was written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832). ‘The greatest film-maker who ever lived’ At approximately the same time, the legend of Pan Twardowski, a sorcerer who sold his soul to the devil, began to take root in Polish folklore. A chapbook speculating on his infamous exploits circulated in the late 16th Century, inspiring Christopher Marlowe’s play The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, first performed in London around 1592. ![]() The legend is loosely based on the life of Johann Georg Faust (c 1480–1540), an alchemist and practitioner of necromancy, a form of ‘black magic’. ![]()
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