In the following essay, Wutrich traces the evolution of the Promethean myth in classical drama and suggests that elements of this myth converged with the legend of Faust the magician, so that by the sixteenth century, artistic interpretations of the Faust legend, and in particular Christopher Marlowe's drama Doctor Faustus, contained aspects of both archetypal stories.

In the following excerpt, Ward examines in detail the origins of the Faust legend, including its basis in fact and its manipulation by proponents of the Reformation. He concludes with a discussion of possible source material for Christopher Marlowe's play, Dr. Faustus.

In the following essay, Haile pieces together several variations of the German Faust Book in order to establish as accurately as possible the original, uncorrupted version of that text.

In the following excerpt, Palmer and More present testimony and hearsay from the sixteenth to the seventeenth centuries concerning the actual existence and career of Faust; they note that the fantastic nature of the "evidence" increases during the second half of the sixteenth century.

Allen suggests that the Faust legend as it developed in Germany in particular appeared during the Reformation as a Lutheran response to the Catholic Golden Legend, a popular rendition of the lives of the Saints, which Martin Luther condemned as idol worship.

In the following essay, Pott discusses adaptations of the Faust legend in Dutch drama.

In the following excerpt, Baron discusses the literary tradition of pacts with the devil that preceded the first known instances of the Faust legend in print.

In the following essay, Watt demonstrates that through his play Doctor Faustus, Christopher Marlowe guaranteed the longevity of the Faust legend while altering it to suit Renaissance tastes as well as his own individuality and Faustian-like temperament.

In the following excerpt, Baron discusses the historical background of the idea of a pact with the devil, as well as the case of the highly educated and initially well-respected doctor of law, Dietrich Flade (who was burned for witchcraft in 1589), to draw connections between the witch hunts of late-sixteenth-century Europe and the enduring Faust legend.

In the following essay, Baron discusses the evolution of the Faust legend from its inception through its transformation into both a tale of warning against Renaissance humanism and its veneration of the heroes of classical antiquity; and as a Protestant condemnation of the Catholic Church.

In the following excerpt, Smeed traces the development of the Faust character in literature: from a wicked, grasping trickster, to an overreacher lusting for knowledge, to a noble character striving for a knowledge that will correct the injustices of the world.

In the excerpt below, Haynes contrasts the sinister medieval view of Faust as a black hearted alchemist with more benign Renaissance humanist interpretations that see Faust as an inquisitive mortal striving to surpass his human limitations.

In the following essay, Stern discusses the original publication of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust in America during the nineteenth-cenitury Transcendenitalist literary movement. Stern also comments on the resonance of the Faust myth in the American mind.