Significance of comic and farcical scenes in Marlowe's Dr. Faustus

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Significance of comic and farcical scenes in Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus

Dr. Faustus, decidedly a tragic play, contains a number of comic scenes. It is a matter of sheer conjecture whether Marlowe wrote these scenes himself or allowed someone else to write them in deference to the prevailing taste of the times, because, Marlowe in the Prologue to Tambularine had contemptuously discarded buffoonery or clownage as being inappropriate for the dignity of tragic drama.

The comic scenes of Dr. Faustus are significant in many respects. Now we may have a brief examination of the comic scenes.

The first comic scene (Act – I, Scene II) occurs between Wagner, the servant of Dr. Faustus and between two scholars. Wagner here parodies the mediaeval scholastic process of reasoning adopted by scholars whose discussions he has often heard at his master’s residence. The scholars ask him as to the whereabouts of Faustus. Wagner tries first to puzzle them by his answers. Then he says, “God in heaven knows where Faustus is.” Certainly this produces laughter but it also indicates the degeneration of Faustus. Faustus, after turning to necromancy, will certainly degenerate and only God knows where he will go.

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Wagner refers to the dining hall as the ‘place of execution’. It is also the place of the moral execution of Faustus.

This scene also indicates the misuse of knowledge. Faustus in the previous scene uses logic to justify reason for turning to necromancy while Wagner is using logic for no other purpose than to puzzle the two scholars.

The next comic scene occurs in Act – I, Scene IV. Wagner and the clown are engaged in this scene. Wagner wishes to engage the clown as his servant, and referring to the poverty of the clown ...

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