The classic myth retold with a modern meaning. Faustbook is a narrative poem in the manner of a five act play with excursus, retelling the modern legend of Faust or Faustus, the heretical necromancer of Reformation Germany who, it is said, summoned a demon from Hell. The demon, Mephistophiles, offered Faustus all that he might wish to know in exchange for his soul, to be surrendered upon his death. The retelling is meant to invoke the original legend but also to vivify other lore of our Christian and pagan heritage, as well as contemporary science and philosophy. For its author, and for its intended audience, it is meant to explore the modern anxiety for spiritual meaning in a world that has lost traditional theistic spiritual meaning.
