"Faust I" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is a tragic play published in 1808. The Devil makes a wager with God over the soul of Faust, an aging scholar dissatisfied with earthly knowledge. Mephistopheles offers to serve Faust in exchange for his soul—but only if he can provide a moment of such perfect bliss that Faust wishes to stop striving forever. What follows is a dangerous pact signed in blood, leading Faust into seduction, tragedy, and moral ruin as he pursues transcendence through earthly experience.