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AUDIENCE COMMENTS |
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An opportunity for the audience to have their say on In Our Time. |
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THE FAUST LEGEND
Marionettes -faust
I was listening to the last `In our time` debate on Faust- and one of the contributors commmented on the way theatre in europe at one time could not express blasphemous ideas - such as those suggested by the character of faust- yet it was acceptable for those themes to be explored with marionette puppets for adults. I am a puppeteteer in the uk and know how difficult it is to translate an idea to an adult audience through this medium, and yet generally in europe this problem does not exist- and puppetry is an acceptable adult theatrical device even today. I wondered whether this might be as a result of the time and incidents related to in your programme that this is the case? yours; jonathan Hayter
J Thomas 2nd Law of thermodynamics
Great programme - one of the best. I am however puzzled by the discussion of evolution in the programme and in the discussions here (about the energy from the sun etc.). Do the formulations of the law really speak at all to this issue? To take an example, suppose that a random gene mutation occurs which leads to a slightly better adapted (possibly more complex) offspring. In what sense does this change correspond to any of the entropy concepts in the law? If it doesn´t, I don´t see how there can be any relation or apparent contradiction between the second law and evolution. (It may be that the new genetic code is more ordered in some sense, but I would guess that no proof of the law uses that form of order, or uses a model compatible with natural selection.) Can anyone enlighten me?
nathan. FAUST
I was very surprised that there was no mention of Mikhail Bulgakov's novel 'Master and Margarita' which is certainly one of the major versions of Faust. This version draws on the old Gnostic material in telling a Faust as artist story and subversively commenting on the politics of Stalinist Russia. It was a major and unfortunate omission from an otherwise excellent program. (here is just one link for any who are interested http://cr.middlebury.edu/public/russian/Bulgakov/public_html/)
michael rigelsford (liverpool, uk)
an exhilarating chronological canter through the legend of faust, 'twas: thanks to all. of course there are big time constraints but i did miss specific mention of the so-called 'part II' of goethe's versions, and would have especially welcomed attention to goethe's gretgen/gretchen (cf. gounod's 'faust', too). jolly yuletide!
John Churcher - Faust
I am astonished that Melvyn Bragg could present his otherwise admirable survey of the Faust legend without ever mentioning Oswald Spengler's monumental philosophy of history the 'Decline of the West'A work which persuasively argues that Western civilisation's overweening urge to exploit the resources of the entire earth and beyond makes Faust the central myth of our culture. Even if the book's argument that civilisations rise and fall to a set pattern without exception had been disproved, it would have still merited inclusion, like Mann's novel - if only as a period piece. Unfortunately Spengler's central thesis has not been refuted. The EU, with its declining population, is busily building the Universal State that he predicted. While at the same time the microchip ensures that "Faustian man" continues to be "the slave of his creation ... driven by the machine on to a path where there is no standing still and no going back."
Osman Durrani (contributor), Faust
Replying to Ian Mac Dowall: You question our 'constant reference to "Germany", although at the time of Faust, Germany did not exist.' You are right and wrong at the same time. The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation was founded in the Middle Ages and dissolved by Napoleon in 1806. It was this German Empire that summoned Martin Luther to an 'Imperial Diet' at Worms in 1521 on charges related to his supposed heresy. And it was the same German Empire for which Goethe worked in Wetzlar (where the Empire had its legal offices) in 1772. Thus Germany did exist as a legal, geographic, linguistic and cultural entity at the time of Faust and beyond. But it was more in the nature of an umbrella-like superstructure, as local rulers, from 1555 onwards, assumed increasing powers in the regions, eventually setting up kingdoms within the Empire (as Prussia did). It was to the local rulers that the populace owed their political allegiance (often very reluctantly) in the first instance. A similar kind of fragmentation occurred in Italy, yet no one would say that 'Italy did not exist', would they? Ironically, the 'Empire' was at its most robust at the time of Maximilian I (1493-1519), i.e. precisely when Faustus was assumed to have been alive.
James Orr, In Our Time
May I second those fervent requests to the In Our Staff team to work as hard as they can to make the plethora of insightful IOT archived programs available in MP3 format as soon as resources permit?
niall
I thought the "original" pact with the devil was in the Garden of Eden? This was a brilliant programme. It would have been interesting to hear more views on what it is about the will for knowledge that is so problematic. This was touched on in the science/religion debate but I felt that it was only dealt with fleetingly (45-minute show). Another interesting avenue to wander up would have been the relationship between the Faustian pact and the Greek maxim "know yourself".
Jeremy. FAUST
This fascinating discussion brought together, for me, two subjects: One current - Lady Warnock's recent contribution. And a BBC play from 34 years ago: Wine of India - a "play for today". Does Lord Bragg or anyone on the production team recall that play and its alarming view of the future. Join all this with Oscar Wilde's famous story and you have yet more to worry about
Faust and the modern age
I missed a bit of this programme (as was underground) so apologies if this was said. It occurs to me that Faust's search for academic knowledge and witnessing the great scenes of history would be aplauded now and not worthy of an eternity in hell (otherwise it would be hot in the In Our Time studio). The shifting nature of what is good and bad. If he were a modern day pact maker he wouldn't give these things a thought. Money, fame and sex would be the only requests. Also, isn't it nice that the story doesn't have a happy ending and that he does indeed go to hell. Hollywood films are very dull as you always know there's a happy ending. Did Marlow write Spooks I wonder?
Ian Mac Dowall - Today's programme about Faust
This was a very interesting and informative discussion, very well presented. However, constant reference to "Germany" was made, although at the time of Faust, Germany did not exist. According to my history books and maps, Germany as a country only exists since 1871. Previous to that there were of course several German speaking states of which perhaps the best known were Prussia and Barvaria. Please correct me if I am wrong!
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