“Faust” by J. W. Goethe in His Thematic and Poetic Projection on “Italian Journey”

The article establishes links between specific observations and reflections of the poet during his stay in Italy in 1786–1788 and the corresponding plot episodes, problem-thematic knots and poetic devices in Faust, in particular: the emergence of the “general plan” of the work, the orientation towards the “theatricality” of the whole, the use of stage “extras”, a combination of grotesque and caricature, serious and comic pathos, carnival “animation”, dialogue between actors and the public, landscape and coloristic techniques, historical allusions and specific geographical observations in ancient scenes, etc. The article suggests that there was no insurmountable barrier between the early, “Sturmer” and mature periods of the poet’s work. This is what allowed the poet to sensibly perceive his Italian impressions not in terms of French and German classicism, but in the form of a new direction – the “Weimar classics”: Kant, not Descartes; Greece, not Rome; myth, not history; nature, not morality. In terms of this argumentation, the “Italian Journey” itself receives an interpretation in the article that differs from “classicismocentrism”. The new poetic style of Goethe was intended to embody the fullness of the spiritual and physical being of man, which was gradually lost in the process of bourgeoisification of European culture.