Dr Faustus - Consider Scene 5 (lines 167 to 280). What is the importance of this in context of the whole play? Consider: 16th century view of the presentation of the UniverseDramatic effects of good and evil angels

Consider Scene 5 (lines 167 to 280). What is the importance of this in context of the whole play? Consider: 16th century view of the presentation of the Universe

Dramatic effects of good and evil angels

Language used by Faustus and Mephastophilis

Scene 5 is a particularly significant scene in the play, which is hinted at by its relatively large length, due to the many issues it addresses including the presentation of the Universe, doubt over whether Faustus will repent and the interesting dialogue between Faustus and Mephastophilis. Lines 167 to 280 contain much of this therefore making this passage, in itself, one of high importance in reference to the whole play.

The good and evil angels offer the passage much drama due to the effect they have on Faustus. During the passage Faustus seriously considers repenting on to occasions both of which are immediately preceded by the appearance of the good and evil angels. During their brief dialogues the audience are presumably hoping that Faustus decides to listen to the good angel and repent. The first of these dialogues leaves the evil angel as the victor in the argument as Faustus agrees with him: ‘My heart’s so hardened I cannot repent!’ (line 194). In this respect the evil angel has created a feeling of disappointment among the audience because it seems as though Faustus will not repent. This dramatic effect does not last long because soon Faustus grows tired of Mephastophilis and considers repenting once more. In the passage that follows Faustus decides that he should repent resulting in the appearance of Lucifer and other demons. They order him ‘to talk of the devil’ rather than of Christ and they suggest, as does the evil angel, that Faustus is unable to repent. However, this is certainly not true because they would not be so concerned with the actions of Faustus if there was no possibility of him repenting. The general uncertainty over whether Faustus will repent or not is highly dramatic and is essentially presented in the form of the good and evil angels. In this respect the good and evil angels also represent the two sides of Dr Faustus. This is evident all throughout the play as we see that Faustus often does not act in an evil manner; it is influence from others that push him to act in certain ways. An example of this is in scene 7; Faustus wishes to view the delights of Rome but Mephastophilis persuades him to harass the Pope. The fact that there is still some good in Faustus makes for a dramatic final scene in which Faustus attempts to repent in vain.

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The language used by Faustus and Mephastophilis during their dialogues suggest a certain hierarchy which can henceforth be seen throughout the rest of the play. Faustus constantly seeks knowledge from Mephastophilis but Mephastophilis constantly fails to satisfy Faustus: ‘Tush, these slender trifles Wagner can decide!’ (line 225). This suggests that Mephastophilis is only revealing such simple facts that even a servant could figure them out. Mephastophilis is taunting Faustus in this respect and is already revealing the foolhardiness of Faustus because the early signs are that Faustus will never be satisfied. This is true as Faustus only receives the devil dressed as a whore when he asks for a wife earlier in the scene and he never becomes truly satisfied with his life. The refusal to reveal too much: ‘I will not tell thee’, because it might lead Faustus to repent as God would be revealed to have made the World, almost results in the repentance of Faustus anyway. Even here Mephastophilis appears to be controlling the situation because he orders Faustus to ‘move me not’ suggesting that he is just toying with Faustus and that he may refuse to comply with the requests of Faustus whenever he wishes to do so. Despite these clear signs of contempt Faustus stills sees himself as the one who should be giving the orders as he mocks Mephastophilis: ‘Hath Mephastophilis no greater skill?’ but he does not realise that this attitude will remain constant throughout the play.

A high proportion of the dialogue between Mephastophilis and Faustus contains references to the presentation of the Universe. These references are very interesting when compared to the actual16th Century view on the Universe. During the 16th Century published the theory that the planets rotate around the Sun (heliocentrism) rather than around the Earth (geocentrism) but Mephastophilis tells Faustus otherwise as he says that all the planets move upon ‘the poles of the World’. This further demonstrates the lack of knowledge that Faustus will receive from Mephastophilis at the price of selling his soul. Therefore Faustus will never receive anything he truly desires therefore making the selling of his soul completely pointless.

To conclude scene 5 is generally a very important scene because of what it reveals about the nature of the deed between Faustus and the devil and the nature of the characters Mephastophilis and Faustus. It is in this scene that the first signs of dissatisfaction with Faustus’ new life become apparent and this continues throughout the play.