Mephistopheles

Literature offers a great beginning to anything. From literary whole shebang come so many ideas and characters that hobo fill up ones imagination and carry on a certain tradition for ages. Many supernatural characters, like demons, have lastly been carried over from old literature. An example of one would be Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles is one of the seven chief demons from hell (Faust). He was originally featured in European literature traditions, German to be exact (Wikipedia). He starts as a cruel and cold-hearted fictional character, in the Legend of Faust, and carries on making appearances in other novels, plays, and songs.The attain Mephistopheles came from Hebrew, where Mephitz means destroyer and tophel means liar (Etymonline). Others believe Mephistopheles may also mean he who shuns the light (White Roses Garden). The Legend of Faust by Johann Wolfgang van Goethe, written in 1773, introduces the character of Mephistopheles (Donald Tyson). Mephistopheles is a shape shif ter who can shape into many forms, and his main purpose in the legend is to destroy and tempt Faust (White Roses Garden).Basically, he tries to dupery Faust into selling his soul (Faust). Through Goethes book, he is known as a fallen angel as he clearly states to Faust (Faust). A new-made comer in the infernal hierarchy, Mephistopheles never became an integral part of the tradition of magic and demonology that predated by him for thousands of years. Mephistopheles achieves tragic grandeurs as he is torn between wicked pride and dark despair (Encyclopedia Britannica). Other than the Faust legend, the name Mephistopheles is mentioned in various forms of modern culture. He takes place as Mephistophilus in Shakespeares Merry Wives of Windsor (Act 1, Sc 1, line 128) and in a book by John Banville (1911 Encyclopedia).The name Mephistopheles has been mentioned in songs by Radiohead, Watain, the Police, and much more. He is all too familiar in television and movies like SNL, Family Guy, South Park, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Ghost Rider. Mephistopheles also occurs in video games, board games, operas, comics, stage plays, and other literature (Wikipedia). Mephistopheles is one of the demons of hell correspond to Christian literature and legend. He is mentioned in virtually every version of the Faust story as the infernal agent who entices the scholar to sell his soul to the morning star (White Roses Garden).This name has become well known and been mentioned in several forms of modern and pop culture (Faust). The host of hell has also inspired numerous plays, paintings, and works of music (White Roses Garden). Mephistopheles is a character who can be used in many forms of culture and has been created from the Legend of Faust. His dark and brooding personality makes him stand out, and it is believably that he will be remembered for generations to come.Works Cited Changeri, Heather. Mephistopheles. White Roses Garden. 2007. October 11, 2010 Harper, Douglas . Mephistopheles. Etymonline. 2010. October 10, 2010 n. p. Mephistopheles. Wikipedia. October 8, 2010. October 13, 2010 n. p. Mephistopheles. Faust. 2006. October 11, 2010 n. p. Mephistopheles. EncyclopediaBritannica. 2008. Encylopedia Britannica Online. October 13, 2010. n. p. Mephistopheles 1911 Encyclopedia. 2009. 1911 Encyclopedia Online. October 11, 2010. n. p. List of Cultural References of Mephistopheles Wikipedia. 12 September 2010. October 19, 2010. < http//en. wikipedia. org/wiki/List_of_cultural_references_to_Mephistopheles> Tyson, Donald. Mephistopheles Donald Tyson. n. d. October 21, 2010.