What does Marlowe's presentation of Mephastophilis tell an audience about Sixteenth Century ideas of hell and damnation?
What does Marlowe's presentation of Mephastophilis tell an audience about Sixteenth Century ideas of hell and damnation? In this essay I am going to explore different ways in which Faustus uses Mephastophilis. I am also going to be talking about the complicity of the play. I'm also going to look at damnation and talk in depth about Mephastophilis's character and the way he's presented to the audience. Mephastophilis first appears in Scene 3 and straightaway he makes it clear that he is there of his own accord and he's not there because Faustus has conjured him up "I came hither of mine own accord". Straightaway we can realise that Mephastophilis is a very strong character and will not be pushed around. Marlowe presents Mephastophilis to be a clever character who has affections and this would have been weird for the Elizabethan audience to understand as the devil to them was always seen as someone who had no feelings. Mephastophilis has strong emotions and they are clearly shown in Scene 3 in the following exclamatory sentence "think'st thou that I, who saw the face of God, and tasted the eternal joys of heaven, am not tormented with ten thousand hells, in being deprived of everlasting bliss". Mephastophilis is shown to be a very complex character in the play; he has a name and emotions too. That's what makes this play different to morality plays as a devil would have been
Faustus epitomises the dangers of knowledge without morality. Do you agree?
Faustus epitomises the dangers of knowledge without morality. Do you agree? From the outset of Marlowe's play 'Doctor Faustus,' it is clear that Faustus is a man who is unwilling to accept the limitations of human knowledge. In seeking to become more than a man, with no regard for the spiritual consequences, he becomes an example to the religious audience of Marlowe's time of what happens when a man pursues knowledge undeterred by moral boundaries. From the outset of the play, Faustus appears to be driven by his thirst for knowledge. The chorus introduces him as 'glutted...with learning's golden gifts,' and led by his desire to further expand his knowledge he 'surfeits upon cursed necromancy.' Here, I noticed that imagery connected with food and overindulgence is used to illustrate the scholastic gluttony that seems to control Faustus' actions, as though by learning he were feeding a hunger. His own words at the beginning of the play, which are interspersed with the names of works he has studied and phrases in foreign languages, immediately convey his strongly academic nature. Showing the importance Faustus attaches to learning, his first request of Mephastophilis is for knowledge relating to the whereabouts of hell, and he later continues to question the demon on astrology and philosophical issues. He also receives a number of books from both Mephastophilis and
Doctor Faustus – A Close Examination - Act 1, Scene 5, Lines 1-40
Jessica M Sullivan LT - 319 Shakespeare December 7, 2001 Doctor Faustus - A Close Examination Act 1, Scene 5, Lines 1-40 Doctor Faustus, the protagonist of the play Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlow, is a scholar who seeks knowledge and is willing to pay the ultimate price, his soul, to the Devil in exchange. In addition to knowledge, he craves wealth and power. However, Faustus never seems completely sure of his decision and constantly wavers about whether or not to repent. He manipulates religion and the idea of God in many different ways so that he can rationalize his actions. Although a learned scholar, Doctor Faustus chooses to ignore good, sound advice and cold, hard fact which ultimately leads to his downfall. This is a play concerned with contradiction, uncertainty, and conflict. In a closer examination of Act 1, Scene 5, Lines 1-40, these many themes important throughout the entire text are highlighted. Throughout the play, the two angels, Good and Evil, represent Faustus' constant state of indecision. They appear together every time Faustus wonders whether or not he should repent and highlight the fact that "the choice is his and unconstrained" (Cole, 202). At the beginning of this scene, the Good and Evil Angels make another appearance as Faustus once again shows his uncertainty. He wavers between continuing to serve Belzebub and turning back to
The faustian legend
The faustian legend Like his Christian biblical twin Antichrist, the folk legendary Dr. Faustus has exercised a remarkably tenacious hold on the Western (i.e. Euro-American) imagination, finding his way into folk tales, great literary drama, opera, novels, films, video games, Gothic music, and pornography. Even our verbal expressions have been influenced by this legend: we speak of people making "Faustian bargains" or having "sold out" or "selling their souls" when they make a personal or professional compromise. In addition, Faust's absolute power evokes the similar claims made in medieval Antichrist legends, and in some accounts Faust travels to heaven and hell, the otherworldly journey of classic apocalypse texts. In our first readings, you will explore some of the legends related to this figure who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for power and knowledge. Next week we will read and discuss a Faust play by one of the monumental figures of German philosophy and literature, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. I have intentionally assigned brief readings this week in order to let you get "up to speed"; you should begin now to read Goethe's Faust, which is a longish text. The Faust legend is instructive of the ways in which definitions of "literature" and "folk tradition" or "high culture" (e.g. literature, opera) and "low culture" or "mass culture" or "popular culture" are
It has been suggested that Marlowe's audience would have seen Dr Faustus as a simple morality play. Consider this view using scene 5 as your starting point.
It has been suggested that Marlowe's audience would have seen Dr Faustus as a simple morality play. Consider this view using scene 5 as your starting point. Dr Faustus cannot be seen as a simple morality play but as a play, which deals with and brings into focus complex issues and ethics regarding Elizabethan ideals at that point in time. Scene 5 has significance to the question of whether or not it is true that 'Dr Faustus' is a simple morality play. It is in this particular scene that we find Faustus ready to sell his soul in exchange for what was essentially a servant for 24 years. The Good Angel and the Bad Angel represent Faustus' conscience and present a dichotomy to him i.e. two opposing views to his dilemma of whether he should sell his soul or "abjure this magic, turn to God again". By choosing "that execrable art" of necromancy instead "of heaven, and heavenly things", Marlowe's audience would have seen the eventual downfall of Faustus in this play. When Mephastophilis comes again to Faustus, he asks for Faustus to "write a deed of gift with thine own blood, for that security craves great Lucifer". As Faustus complies and signs the contract in blood, it seems to refuse and "congeals". This physical refutation of the contract must have been a very powerful image for Marlowe's audience to envision and it seems to demonstrate that what Faustus is doing is sinful.
Comment on the relationship between the comic and serious material in Dr Faustus.
Comment on the relationship between the comic and serious material in Dr Faustus During the Elizabethan period in England comedy was a crucial component in any drama production. Although Elizabethan audiences loved diversity in their entertainment, it was rare to see a play containing both comedy and tragedy. Because of this Dr Faustus would have presented the Elizabethan audience with a new genre of entertainment. Elizabethan dramatists tended not to mix comedy and tragedy together and because of this Marlowe was a pioneer for his time, although he was probably simply recognising the Elizabethans love of diversity. Other playwrights of the time, for example Shakespeare did include some comedic characters such as the fool in King Lear and Puck in A Midsummer night's dream but Marlowe was the first playwright to include whole comic scenes into his works. During the Middle ages audiences loved intervals when watching heavy miracle and morality plays in which to watch more light hearted and farcical things such as clowns, therefore Dr Faustus would have been very entertaining for audiences at that time because of its comic elements. Because of the religious climate at that time in England, using the pope as the butt of Marlowe's satire would have provided entertainment for the mainly protestant audiences and created an attack on Roman Catholicism which would have been amusing in
Feelings towards Faustus in Act 5
Ruth Spink Mr. Reeves Feelings towards Faustus in Act 5 In Faustus' first speech in Act 1, my main feeling towards Faustus was not sympathy but irritation. I became aware of Faustus' arrogance and his impatience with ordinary learning, particularly with his referral to law as 'a petty case of paltry legacies.' He also constantly refers to himself as 'Faustus', reminding himself of his own importance. Other aspects of Faustus' character are revealed in the descriptive language he uses. He is 'ravish'd' by magic, and is 'glutted' with learning. These adjectives show a very sensual personality. The good and bad angels represent the two different sides of his personality, one side urging him to sell his soul for magic and the other urging him to remember that heaven is 'his chiefest bliss'. Faustus seems to be a very worldly character in his first speech but when he speaks of what he will do with his 'heavenly' powers, they are very small goals. Faustus shows his true colours as a student when he tells Cornelius and Valdes that he will 'fill the public schools with silk' and make 'the Rhine circle fair Wittenberg'. These aims show his loyalty to his home and to his students. In the first scene, the main thing I notice about Faustus is his naïvety. He does not realise the horrors of hell, partly through his determination not to believe in it, and partly through Cornelius'
From what we have seen so far (Act 1, scene 6) in Cristopher Marlowe's
From what we have seen so far (Act 1, scene 6) in Cristopher Marlowe's "Dr. Faustus", it appears that Faustus is a weak character with no redeeming qualities. Do you agree? The word used to describe the character of Faustus is "weak", which can also mean "feeble", "fragile" and "pathetic". I disagree that Faustus is any of these things, as there is evidence that Faustus is quite a strong person; he confident and determined even though it appears to the reader he is not always mentally stable. "Dr. Faustus" could be seen as a morality play teaching that heaven and hell do exsist, and Christopher Marlowe introduces the good and bad angel to put across this point. However there is evidence to suggest that the character of Faustus epitomises the dangers of knowledge without morality. From the very beginning of Marlowe's play "Dr. Faustus," it is apparent to the reader that Faustus is a man who is unwilling to accept the limitations of human knowledge and is not prepared to be just a man, but wants more "Yet art thou still but Faustus, and a man". In seeking to become more than a man, with no regard for the spiritual consequences, he becomes an example to the religious audience of Marlowe's time of what happens when a man pursues knowledge undeterred by moral boundaries. Faustus appears to be driven by his thirst for knowledge. The chorus introduces him as 'glutted...with
"Marlowe is not only a great poet but also a great dramatist. His speeches are not only impressive pieces of writing but are carefully designed to sound effective on a stage"
"Marlowe is not only a great poet but also a great dramatist. His speeches are not only impressive pieces of writing but are carefully designed to sound effective on a stage" It is undeniable that Marlowe was one of the greatest writers of the Elizabethan age; many of his speeches are deservedly famous and recited often. However, there is an argument that Marlowe's speeches are so well favored not only because they have been written as spectacular poetry, but also because they are written to fit perfectly on the stage, the writing is designed perfectly for dramatic pauses, heavy stresses and simply all the ingredients needed to provide an audience with a spectacular production. One such extract from 'Doctor Faustus' is the emotional passage towards the end of the play, when Faustus realizes he has "but one bare hour to live" before he is damned to perpetual hell. Marlowe's writing effortlessly portrays Faustus' helplessness and the turmoil of his emotions, however when read aloud the piece is aided by the heavy stresses at crucial moments, the and flow of the speech combined with the drama and the tension of the language make the speech simply breathtaking. The speech begins with a sighed, "Ah, Faustus" which is Faustus evidently attempting to detach himself from the reality of what is about to befall him this is followed by an entirely monosyllabic line,
"In Dr Faustus Marlowe is only incidentally concerned with the state of Faustus' soul: his main interest lies in the nature and limits of human desire." Do you agree?
"In Dr Faustus Marlowe is only incidentally concerned with the state of Faustus' soul: his main interest lies in the nature and limits of human desire." Do you agree? Having read Dr Faustus, the main themes are fairly obvious and the state of Faustus' soul and the exploration of human desire are certainly two of these. The two ideas, however, are connected in the fact that human desire is a part of someone's soul, that is to say the 'moral and emotional part of a person' (Oxford Dictionary). The reason I highlight this point is because it would be impossible to determine which of the two themes in question where of a higher interest to Marlowe without paying attention to this fact and the fact that a person's soul will limit their desires. While doing this I will also pay attention to Marlowe himself, his own life and the time in which he lived in an attempt to predict which theme was more important to him personally, therefore adding to the evidence I will gain from the text. At the beginning of the text Faustus' opening speech 'is devoted to working out logically why he is willing to sacrifice both the road to honest knowledge and his soul in favour of more power' (www.gladstone.uoregon.com). So right from the beginning it is fair to say that Marlowe, and Faustus, are definitely more concerned with ambition and the fulfilment of human desire; in Faustus' case (at this
