Faust sees in it a shape of ideal feminine beauty. It may be regarded as a prefiguration of both Gretchen and Helena (Faust II).

27. The witch’s numbers-game is pure mumbo-jumbo. No allegorical or symbolic meanings are indicated.

28. Walpurgis Night. (See note 22.)

29. A song about Ultima Thule, a fabled northern island believed to be the resting place for the setting sun. While the ballad does not apply directly to Gretchen’s situation, it does evoke an appropriate mood. It has been set to music by such composers as Zelter, Schumann, Liszt, and Gounod.

30. This is calculated irony. Saint Anthony is the patron saint of loving wives and brides.

31. “Gretchen” and “Margaret” are used interchangeably.

32. Only the Earth Spirit (see note 4) can be meant, although such an interpretation jars with line 3243 because it was the Lord, not the Earth Spirit, who gave Faust Mephistopheles as a companion. It is never safe in Goethe’s Faust to construct exact relationships between mythical forces.

33. Mephistopheles refers to Faust’s rejuvenation in the witch’s kitchen. The line is fairly typical of Goethe’s treatment of time in this drama. Sequence and duration are generally kept open and vague.

34. Mephisto’s flippant reference to breasts. (See the Song of Solomon 4:5.)

35. In contrast to Gretchen’s previous song (2759–82), this song refers directly to her situation.

36. A demonstration of moral outrage; a motif in social ostracism. Other, similar motifs appear with increasing frequency. (See, for example, Valentine scene, 3620–3775.)

37. Walpurgis Night. (See note 22.)

38. Lion-Dollar. Valuable silver coin minted in Holland and used primarily for international trade.

39. A borrowing from Ophelia’s song in Hamlet IV, 5.

40. Blood-ban. Thought to be a judgment stemming directly from God. Mephistopheles was therefore powerless to intervene.

41. “Day of wrath; that day will crumble the world to ashes.” Two lines from a well-known medieval requiem attributed to Thomas of Celano.

42. “Before the judge all hidden things shall become apparent. Nothing will remain unavenged.”

43. “What shall I say, I who am wretched? Whom shall I implore on my behalf when even the just are scarcely secure?”

44. WALPURGIS NIGHT. (See note 22.)

45. Blocksberg. (See note 22.)

46. Urian. The origin of this word is not certain, though it is probably a corruption of the German Urhahn. Here, simply another name for Satan.

47. This and subsequent VOICES should be understood as those of individual witches.

48. Baubo. In Greek mythology, Demeter’s midwife; in German folklore, sometimes used as a name for a witch.

49. Ilsenstein. Granite rock formation near the peak of the Brocken.

50. Polemic against rationalist critics of Goethe.

51. Voland. Derived from the Middle High German valant, meaning “seducer.” Here, another name for the devil.

52. Lilith, according to rabbinic tradition, was Adam’s first wife. First mention of her name occurs in Isaiah 34:14. She was said to have left Adam and mated with demons, begetting dangerous spirits. In medieval and Renaissance books of magic she occurs as a frightening spirit. Lilith is also known as a succuba.

53. See the Song of Solomon 4:13.

54. For reasons of propriety Goethe deleted certain words when Faust I was published. It is felt, however, that the modern reader will not object to a translation of the full text as given in the poet’s original manuscript.

55. PROCTOPHANTASMIST.