Euphorion as an Aesthetic Body

Abstract

Euphorion as an Aesthetic Body Heidi Grek At the end of the third act of Faust II, Euphorion attempts to fly only to fall to the ground and die. Fleetingly, the lifeless son of Faust and Helena, resembles an unnamed, familiar figure, as the stage directions describe, "man glaubt in dem Toten eine bekannte Gestalt zu erblicken" (one seems to recognize in the body a familiar face).1 His body vanishes, leaving behind the articles of a poet, clothing, and a lyre. The unnamed figure is, as Goethe made known, the deceased English poet, Lord Byron. In the elegy sung by the chorus that follows, Byron's life is prominently featured while Euphorion's fades to the background. The final stanza, however, ends with a cryptic message, followed by a more hopeful one—neither of which seems to speak to Byron or Euphorion individually: the misfortunate are bled to silence, but death renews poetry. The link between Euphorion and Byron is significant because Byron's death, in the spring of 1824, stimulated Goethe to finish act 3. The act, which was first published on its own in the fall of 1826, bore the title, "Helena, klassisch-romantische Phantasmagorie. Zwischenspiel zu Faust" (Helena, classical-romantic Phantasmagoria. Interlude to Faust).2 Byron in life embodied various identities, including poet and aspiring warrior, the conflict of which resulted in his death—and this fascinated Goethe. Byron's death served as the inspiration for Euphorion's life—a continuity best encapsulated by "phantasmagoria." Through Euphorion, Goethe demonstrates the possibility of a multidimensional body, and of the destructive and constructive power of synthesis. Lord Byron's death prompted Goethe to study the poet's life and, within a year of his passing, the figure of Euphorion had begun to take shape. Byron died on April 19, 1824, at the age of thirty-six from fever in Missolonghi, where he was preparing to take part in the war of Greek independence. Goethe received news of the death about one month after his passing but nevertheless backtracked in his journal to record, "Lord Byron stirbt"3 (Lord Byron dies).4 For the next two years, Goethe studied anything he could find written about Byron's life, particularly the events leading up to his death.5 At the end of 1824, he explained in a letter that the pain he felt over Byron's death had found poetic expression, "wenn die Muse selbst mich drängte, müßt ich ihr gehorchen" (if the muse herself urged me, I would have to obey her).6 In the spring of 1825, Goethe began to compose the final scene of act 3, "Arkadien" ("Arcadia"), in which Euphorion appears.7 [End Page 171] Reflecting in 1827 to Eckermann, Goethe asserted Byron's place in the same act as Helena, who serves as an homage to Homer.8 The idea for Helena had been part of Goethe's original conception of part 2 since he began working on part 1, inspired by the Faust legend. He already had in mind an ending for the "Helena Act," but, as he revealed to Eckermann, "Dann brachte mir die Zeit dieses mit Lord Byron und Missolunghi und ich ließ gern alles Übrige fahren" (Then time brought me this [event] with Lord Byron and Missolonghi and I happily let the rest go). Euphorion's presence carries the act 3,000 years forward, from Helena's ancient Greece and the fall of Troy to the siege of Missolonghi and the present. If Helena represents ancient poetry, then Euphorion, as an homage to Byron, represents modern poetry, "Ich konnte als Repräsentanten der neuesten poetischen Zeit niemanden gebrauchen als ihn, der ohne Frage als das größte Talent des Jahrhunderts anzusehen ist" (I could use no one as the representation of the newest poetic times but him, who without question is seen as the greatest talent of the century). As the son of Helena and Faust, Euphorion is heir to the romantic as well as the classical, he is the beginning of a new epoch, distinguishable only as "wie der gegenwärtige Tag selbst" (like the present day itself). Byron's character, specifically his"unbefriedigt[es] Naturell[]" (unsatisfied...