Untersuchungen über Goethes Faust in seiner ältesten Gestalt

This scholarly dissertation, presented in 1892 for a doctoral degree at the University of Gießen, opens a careful investigation of the oldest surviving version of Goethe’s Faust. The author begins by reassessing the opening monologue and the “earth‑spirit” scene, arguing that earlier research has fragmented the work by imposing external analytical frameworks rather than following the poet’s own creative logic.

Through a close reading of the manuscript fragments—augmented by the recently uncovered Göchhausen copy—the study seeks to restore the internal coherence of the early Faust and to place it alongside Goethe’s other youthful writings. It emphasizes the need to understand the poem as a living thought process, tracing how the young Goethe’s philosophical and literary influences shaped the text’s development.

The work also situates the early Faust within the broader intellectual climate of the late 18th century, comparing it with contemporary voices such as Herder. By doing so, it offers listeners a nuanced portrait of how Goethe’s first dramatic experiments evolved into the masterpiece that would later dominate German literature.