Mephistopheles ( / ˌ m ɛ f ɪ ˈ s t ɒ f ɪ ˌ l iː z / , German pronunciation: [mefɪˈstoːfɛlɛs] ), also known as Mephisto , is a demon featured in German folklore . He originally appeared in literature as the demon in the Faust legend and has since become a stock character appearing in other works of arts and popular culture .
6-451: Mephisto or Mephistopheles is one of the chief demons of German literary tradition. Mephisto or Mephistopheles may also refer to: Mephistopheles The name Mephistopheles is a corrupted Greek compound . The Greek particle of negation (μή, mē ) and the Greek word for " love " or "loving" (φίλος, philos ) are the first and last terms of the compound, but the middle term
12-565: A devil who walks up and down on earth to tempt and corrupt any man encountered. He appears because he senses in Faustus' magical summons that Faustus is already corrupt, that indeed he is already 'in danger to be damned'." Mephistopheles is already trapped in his own Hell by serving the Devil. He warns Faustus of the choice he is making by "selling his soul" to the devil: "Mephistophilis, an agent of Lucifer, appears and at first advises Faust not to forego
18-689: A wood outside Wittenberg . From the chapbooks, the name entered Faustian literature. Many authors have used it, from Goethe to Christopher Marlowe . In the 1616 edition of Marlowe's The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus , Mephostophiles became Mephistophilis . Mephistopheles in later treatments of the Faust material frequently figures as a title character: in Meyer Lutz 's Mephistopheles, or Faust and Marguerite (1855), Arrigo Boito 's Mefistofele (1868), Klaus Mann 's Mephisto , and Franz Liszt 's Mephisto Waltzes . There are also many parallels with
24-403: Is more doubtful. Three possible meanings have been proposed, and three different etymologies have been offered: It is likely that the name was invented for the historical alchemist Johann Georg Faust by the anonymous author of the first Faustbuch (published 1587). Mephistopheles is associated with the Faust legend of an ambitious scholar, based on the historical Johann Georg Faust . In
30-470: The character of Mephistopheles and the character Lord Henry Wotton in The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde . Although Mephistopheles appears to Faustus as a demon – a worker for Lucifer – critics claim that he does not search for men to corrupt, but comes to serve and ultimately collect the souls of those who are already damned. Farnham explains, "Nor does Mephistophiles first appear to Faustus as
36-400: The legend, Faust makes a deal with the devil at the price of his soul, Mephistopheles acting as the devil's agent. The name appears in the late-sixteenth-century Faust chapbooks – stories concerning the life of Johann Georg Faust, written by an anonymous German author. In the 1725 version, which Goethe read, Mephostophiles is a devil in the form of a greyfriar summoned by Faust in
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