... monstrous rumblings behind Aeschylean tragedy. Thus through the Socratic impulse to clarity and explanation he extirpated the Dionysian out of tragedy, replacing it with reason behind the action of his characters. Socratism then for Nietzsche is a form of reaction against a position of unconscious naivete. In this sense it has a certain dialectic necessity as the natural opposite of that which is not ... he believes the moment before Faust's death, the condition of the wager is met. The following is the passage that Mephistopheles misinterprets: "Such teeming would I see upon this land,...

• Word Count: 6579
• Approx Pages: 26
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School