Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust is an exceedingly long, complex and allusive work. In this lesson plan, optional readings from J.M. van der Laan's accessible but scholarly interpretation Seeking Meaning for Goethe's Faust are recommended as homework. These readings can be used to facilitate students' comprehension of the text as a whole by further breaking down the themes of the First Part and explaining their relationship to the lesser-understood Second Part (which students may not otherwise have a chance to read).
Apart from this, students are likely to be familiar with the overall outline of the Enlightenment in Europe, as well as the period of Romanticism that followed it. In...
