Faustus: Renaissance Martyr or Tragic Hero
Faustus: Renaissance Martyr or Tragic Hero Faustus died a death that few could bear to imagine, much less experience. After knowing for many years when exactly he would die, he reached the stroke of the hour of his destiny in a cowardly, horrid demeanor. Finally, when the devils appeared at the stroke of midnight, tearing at his flesh as they draw him into his eternal torment, he screams for mercy without a soul, not even God Himself, to help him. However, what to consider Doctor John Faustus from Christopher Marlow's dramatic masterpiece The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus is a very debatable issue. For example, one can see that he threw his life away for the sake of knowledge, becoming obsessed with the knowledge that he could possess. In this case, he is unarguably a medieval tragic hero. However, when considering the fact that he died for the sake of gaining knowledge, pushing the limits of what is possible in spite of obvious limitations and, eventually, paying the ultimate penalty, he could be considered a Renaissance martyr. These two points of view have their obvious differences, and depending on from what time period one chooses to place this piece of literature varies the way that the play is viewed. However, the idea of considering him a martyr has many flaws, several of which are evident when considering who Faustus was before he turned to
What does the play show us about attitudes to sin and damnation?
What does the play show us about attitudes to sin and damnation? The play deals with sin and damnation at the heart of Christianity's understanding of the world. The play shows us that Faustus' pride, which causes him to strive for knowledge, may have seemed admirable at the turning point in the Renaissance period, but that this pride and insolence to go against God makes him despaired of God's mercy. I n medieval tradition despair was called the "sin against the Holy Spirit", and was considered the worst sin of all. Christian belief is that after Adam and Eve were temped by the devil to eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge, God punished mankind because of this act of disobedience, he subjected the world to death and before men and women died they would go to hell. However, he sent his son Jesus Christ to show mankind how to live and now men and women have the choice of going to heaven if they live the way Christ taught them to. If you don't live in this way you will be eternally damned in hell. Hell is represented as a rather psychological torture in the play rather than a physical one. Damnation can be seen in two different ways: Is Faustus damned because he sells his soul or does he sell his soul because he is damned, and selling his soul is the only avenue left open to him? We can get an idea of the attitudes of the people in Faustus' time by looking at how
Do Renaissance texts deal primarily with Renaissance concerns, or with universal human emotions and themes? Illustrate your answer from at least TWO texts.
Do Renaissance texts deal primarily with Renaissance concerns, or with universal human emotions and themes? Illustrate your answer from at least TWO texts. Literary works in sixteenth-century England were rarely if ever created in isolation from affairs in the cultural and social world. Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene (published in 1590) and Christopher Marlowe's Dr Faustus (1601) were written during a period widely accepted as the Renaissance, which is said to have reached England in the early sixteenth-century. Literally, the term means 'rebirth' and it signified a resurgence in the arts and sciences. New discoveries were being made in all fields, as people began to question what they were told by the church and the state. One of the most important changes that took place during this time was the creation of the Church of England in defiance of the Pope and Roman Catholicism. When Elizabeth became queen in 1558, her right to the throne was still not accepted by the church in Rome or even by a number of her own subjects. Spenser and Marlowe were undoubtedly aware of the time they lived in, as many of their works show. In The Faerie Queene Spenser, who was called 'Elizabeth's arse-licking poet' by Karl Marx, presents an eloquent and captivating representation of the Roman Catholic as the evil force pitted against England and the rightful queen. However, the story of the
"Look again at Faustus' opening soliloquy, from 'Settle thy studies, Faustus, and begin' to 'Here tire, my brains to get a deity'. What aspects of Faustus, revealed here, are important to our understanding of him later in the play?
"Look again at Faustus' opening soliloquy, from 'Settle thy studies, Faustus, and begin' to 'Here tire, my brains to get a deity', paying special attention to what he says and how he says it. What aspects of Faustus, revealed here, are important to our understanding of him later in the play?" .From the opening soliloquy, the reader is given a great insight into how Faustus' mind works, how he uses logic and his intellect to draw up conclusions, and it is possible for one to forecast future events and occurrences involving Faustus on the basis of this initial passage. The opening two lines of his soliloquy indicate that he is often quick at making decisions. (However, later on, usually under the influence of other characters or sources, he rethinks whether his decision was the correct one to make). An example of his rush to decision is seen in the opening where Faustus initially states that he is about to "begin to sound the depth of that thou wilt profess". I believe that using the word 'wilt' may suggest that he has finalised his decision, and he is certain that he is going to take this path. However, this is not the case. Later on in the text, he may make a statement as if it has been finalised, yet go on to reconsider his actions. In the soliloquy, he initially claims that he will follow this path, then goes on to consider if it was the right choice, trying to seek
"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
How far would you say that the novel is not so much about Brighton as about Heaven and Hell?
How far would you say that the novel is not so much about Brighton as about Heaven and Hell? The choice of Brighton as a setting in the novel 'Brighton Rock' proves to be a well-drawn pitch for the action; for its atmosphere of constant bustle and goings on; for its close alignment with Pinkie and also as a metaphorical device for depicting the eternal realities of heaven and hell. Although the writer goes into detail about place names in the town (he mentions the Palace Pier, Montpellier road, the West Pier and the racetrack) the specific setting of Brighton appears to have little significance, as it could be any seaside town - "yesterday Southend, today Brighton, tomorrow..." Greene's opening description of Brighton appears to be quite vulgar and this is represented through Hale's eyes, distancing himself from the bank holiday crowd he likens it to a "twisted piece of wire," uncoiling "endlessly past him." Hale removes all identity from the crowd, which appears only to exist as a collective to which individuals are surrendered. "With immense labour and immense patience they extricated from the long day the grain of pleasure" Greene indicates here how the crowd almost force themselves into a sense of enjoyment, as if this is the only diversion they know, Greene focuses on the extensive promenades and piers with amusements, sideshows and kiosks. The amusements are a series
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
"An impressive opening, a marvellous ending, an indifferent middle". Does this twentieth century comment represent to you a fair summary of Dr. Faustus? Support your views by detailed illustrations of the text.
Elena Solaro 13M "An impressive opening, a marvellous ending, an indifferent middle". Does this twentieth century comment represent to you a fair summary of Dr. Faustus? Support your views by detailed illustrations of the text. The narrative patterns of Dr. Faustus can be said to take on a loose, three-part structure, in which the first part involves the serious business of Faustus conjuring the devil, the middle involves trivial entertainment and the final section, in which the play reaches an intense poetic conclusion. It is arguable that compared to the high drama and passion evident at the beginning and end, the middle of the play has little to offer. However, despite the fact that in Faustus, Marlowe intended to portray the tragic downfall of a great man, he also included the apparently frivolous middle scenes for a specific purpose. The play opens with Faustus alone in his study, contemplating the direction in which he should take his future studies. This first speech is energetic and his words are those of a young man. As Faustus continues to reveal his dissatisfaction with the limits of human knowledge, rejecting each of the various scholarly disciplines available to him, the audience begin to become suspicious of his intentions. When Faustus proclaims that "a greater subject fitteth [his] wit", and that the next step in his education must be necromancy, our worst
In what ways and with what effects does 'Dr. Faustus' question the acquisition and the use of power?
In what ways and with what effects does 'Dr. Faustus' question the acquisition and the use of power? 'Dr. Faustus' is a play which deals with the two greatest powers prevailing in the mind of humanity, those of good and evil. It presents the audience with an account of the natural human tendency for transgression and warns against individualism with the message that every human has to serve somebody, be it God or the Devil. It is tragic because it presents a human figure greatly respected by others and how his potential to live in eternal bliss in the realm of heaven is lost by his own pride and insolence, similar to the story of Lucifer's fall from heaven into Hell. The character of Dr. Faustus is essentially tragic because he fails to see the obvious flaw in his pact with the devil. However, when Faustus is persuading himself into thinking that the advantages of his rewards outweigh giving his soul to the Devil, he reads a verse from the Bible in scene one: 'Si peccasse negamus, fallimur, et nulla est in nobis veritas'1 (i. 41), its not until later on in the play that we find out that it may have been Mephastophilis who prevented him from reading the full verse about repentance and the forgiveness of sins. This intervention of Mephastophilis lessens Faustus as a tragic figure because it takes away the element of choice even though essentially it was Faustus who summoned him
'Compare the ways that Marlowe and Chaucer present the theme of sin in 'Dr Faustus' and 'The Pardoner's Tale'.'
Compare the ways that the two writers present the theme of sin in 'Doctor Faustus' and 'The Pardoner's Tale' Both 'Dr Faustus' and 'The Pardoner's Tale' seek to offer comprehensive views on both Christianity and its moral values. A particular emphasis in both texts is placed upon sin, and both the two eponymous characters, as well as the societies in which they live, seem to be incapable of halting their sins, or indeed redeeming them. Both Chaucer and Marlowe explore the theme of sin through several passages, one of which they have in common being their title characters. In 'The Pardoner's Tale', the Pardoner is shown immediately to be a dishonest character with very few moral values whatsoever. Chaucer's use of somewhat grotesque simile in his mere description makes us feel uneasy, with his hair 'as yellow as wax' hanging down 'like flax'. Later, when we are introduced to the principal aspects of his character, we find that he is dishonest, scheming and self-obsessed to the core. Moreover, he commits what the medieval world thought the greatest sin of all in that he is so proud of it. He tells us quite openly that his intentions are 'nought but to win [money], and nothing for correction of sin', and delights in recounting to the pilgrims how he is able to dupe his congregations into buying his pardons. The Pardoner's sin is presented very effectively to us as readers, in
