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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why has the emperor requested Faust to conjure Helen and Paris?

2. What is the setting of Scene 3 in Act II?

3. What does Faust distribute to the crowd in Scene 3 of Act I?

4. Where does the prophetess instruct Faust to look for Helen in Act iI?

5. What instrument accompanies the garden girls in Scene 3 of Act I?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Mephistopheles upset that Faust tells the emperor he can conjure the spirits of Helen and Paris?

2. Why is Mephistopheles unable to see into Faust's dreams?

3. What is the subject of the prologue of Scene 3 by the Thessalonian witch, Erichto?

4. What dichotomy is alluded to between the court of the emperor and the people of the kingdom in Scene 2?

5. In the philosophical debate featured in Scene 3 of Act II, what does Thales believe is the origin and basis of nature and matter?

6. What are the Mothers that Faust visits in Scene 5?

7. What is the primary focus and pursuit of the emperor?

8. Describe the pleasing landscape that Faust finds himself in at the beginning of this work (Act I).

9. What is a homunculus and how is it made?

10. Explain the circumstances at the end of Scene 7 of Act I, that lead to Faust being found unconscious on the floor.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A recurrent theme in Faust is that of power, and how characters desire or gain power. Compare and contrast the pursuit of power as exhibited by two different characters and how it either shifts throughout the novel or remains the same.

Essay Topic 2

Describe how the Christian conception of good and evil is contrasted with the conception of good and evil as held by the Greeks in the novel. Use specific textual examples to illustrate the different stances and beliefs of these two paradigms.

Essay Topic 3

One theme that is accentuated by Goethe throughout Faust, but particularly in the masquerade carnival of Act I, is that of the establishment of social classes and the stereotypes that exist within them. Discuss at least three instances where this theme is displayed and comment on what societal commentary Goethe may be making by using this theme.

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