Faust Chapter Summary & Analysis - Prelude in the Theatre Summary

Prelude in the Theatre Summary

The Prelude in the Theatre takes place between a Director, a Clown, and a Dramatic Poet.

The Director addresses the Clown and the Poet. The Director declares that the Clown and the Poet have been with him through thick and thin. The Director asks the men if it is possible to take their play and make it new somehow so that it will be received well in Germany. The Director hopes the theatre going crowd will be so enamored of the play that they will flock to the theatre as if they were starving and the behind the door there is a bounty of food.

"They fight and push each other, coax and vex,

And, as in famine time, for bread at baker's door,

To get a ticket almost break their necks."

(The Prelude in the Theatre, p. 71)

The Poet says that producing a play for the crowds...
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