Abstract

The article shows the way of explaining the four elements in the artwork Faust. There are more authors who claim that the times of Hegel and Goethe were the last period, during which were the four elements taken as a topic of philosophy and science. Goethe was a person representing the science and the art in one. Bockemühl is comparing the Goethe´s steps of research to the four elements, His research of the scientific images were transported as symbols into the both parts of Faust. The article offers more opinions on the topic of the four elements: Sullivan describes Goethe´s Witterunglehre, Kalnická writes about the water as a symbol of the female element, Jung analyzes Mefisto as an example of the temptation in the form of an attractive light. The author is considering the option that Faust as a person may be a representative of the culture which stands as an opposite to the nature. The four elements are Faust´s competitor during his wandering. The last part of the text is concluded by three chosen illustration of the Faust. All of them were made in different times.