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Faust as puppet theatre: its sacro-profane origins and influences on literary tradition

In this article we intend to present the history of Faust through the puppet theatre tradition and its influences on literary works concerning the heretic doctor. Based on a true character, the legend of Faust goes back to the time of Lutheran reform. Since Spies’ Volksbuch, Faust worked as a warning example to the newborn belief that found in the technique of Puppet Theatre the ideal way to spread its ideology. Later on, warning became entertainment and also fascination towards this character, which gained fame with his fusion to the amusing Kasperltheater tradition. Following the traces of this evolution we can surely understand some of the directions the legend took in literary works such as Goethes’s Faust and Thomas Mann’s Doktor Faustus.

Faust; Animation Theatre; - Kasperltheater


Universidade de São Paulo/Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas/; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Língua e Literatura Alemã Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto, 403, 05508-900 São Paulo/SP/ Brasil, Tel.: (55 11)3091-5028 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
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