Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust, a two-part dramatic masterpiece, is rooted in the German legend of a scholar who sells his soul to the devil. Goethe began Faust, Part One in the 1770s, publishing it in 1808, depicting Faust’s pact with Mephistopheles and his tragic love for Gretchen. Faust, Part Two, completed in 1832, expands into a vast allegory of human striving, blending mythology, philosophy, and romance as Faust seeks ultimate knowledge and beauty, culminating in his redemption. Inspired by the 16th-century Faustbuch and Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, Goethe’s work, written over decades, reflects Enlightenment and Romantic ideals, cementing its status as a cornerstone of German literature.