UNDERGRADUATE II YEAR SUBJECT: English Language & Poetry TOPIC: Doctor Fraustus Christopher Marlowe Duration: 23:21 min
Doctor Fraustus Module 1: Christopher Marlowe as a Playwright During the next half an hour, we are going to be discussing Doctor Faustus, a tragedy written by Christopher Marlowe. Before we proceed to the details of the play, let us learn about the dramatist, that is, Christopher Marlowe. Marlowe was an English playwright, poet and translator who lived during the Elizabethan era. (Visual: Christopher Marlowe s Portrait) He was the foremost of the Elizabethan tragedians, next only to William Shakespeare. His tragedies are known for protagonists who do not accept limitations and obstacles. In other words, they are overreachers. Doctor Faustus and Tamburlaine are typical examples of this kind of heroes. Marlowe is also the first English writer who made effective use of blank verse, that is, unrhymed lines in iambic pentameter, for the stage. Christopher Marlowe was born in Canterbury to a shoemaker named John Marlowe and his wife, Catherine, in 1564, the year of his contemporary Shakespeare s birth as well. He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He belonged to the group of playwrights called the University Wits. They were an elite and secular group of playwrights who were educated at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford. Apart from Marlowe, the prominent members of this group included Thomas Nashe, John Lyly, Thomas Lodge and George Peele. It was the University Wits who set the stage for the theatrical renaissance in Elizabethan England, and paved the way for Shakespeare in many ways. Marlowe s first production was a short play entitled Dido, Queen of Carthage (1586), written along with Thomas Nashe. His other plays include:
Tamburlaine the Great (1587-88), in two parts, based on the life of the Mongolian warrior Timur or Tamerlane, who rose from a shepherd to the ruler of an empire The Jew of Malta (1589), which has an original plotline of Machiavellian intrigues surrounding the revenge of Barabas, a Jew, against the city authorities, with the struggle for supremacy between Spain and the Ottoman empire in the background Edward II (1592), which deals with the English King s reign, fall and death, and his homoerotic fascination for his favourite, Piers Gaveston The Massacre at Paris (1593), which deals with the Saint Bartholomew s Day massacre of French Protestants, called Huguenots, by Catholics in 1572, and Doctor Faustus (1593). Marlowe s plays were immensely successful on the stage. He also wrote a mythological poem, Hero and Leander (1598). Many legends grew around Marlowe during and after his lifetime. One of these was that he was a government spy. Marlowe was a reputed atheist, which was quite dangerous at a time when political conflicts had a strong religious basis. During the Elizabethan period, a time of political conspiracies, writers had no security of life. During the sixteenth century, many poets lost their lives when they fell from royal favour. It is believed that Marlowe was arrested apparently on charges of blasphemy. We do not know whether he was actually tried. In 1593 Marlowe was stabbed to death by a businessman named Ingram Frizer. Another story is that he was killed by a drunken serving man in a tavern brawl. Marlowe substantially influenced Shakespeare. (Visual: Shakespeare s Portrait) Shakespeare s Richard II is similar in theme to Edward II. The Jew of Malta seems to have influenced Shakespeare s The Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare also followed Marlowe in his use of blank verse. Module 2: Introduction to Doctor Faustus Let us now discuss Marlowe s famous tragedy Doctor Faustus. The full title of the play is The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. The play is
based on the old German legend of Faust, in which a scholar sells his soul to the devil for unlimited knowledge and power. Many versions of the legend were available in circulation during Marlowe s time. Indeed he made several changes in his version, for example, the introduction of the Seven Deadly Sins. Marlowe also emphasized his hero s intellectual aspirations and curiosity in order to make him a typical Renaissance figure. Doctor Faustus was first performed probably in 1594. It created a powerful impact in the theatre. It was performed twenty-five times by the troupe The Admiral s Men in the three years between October 1594 and October 1597. But it was published only in 1604, eleven years after the dramatist s death. (Visual: Dramatis Personae) The Dramatis Personae of Doctor Faustus consist of: The Pope Cardinal of Lorrain The Emperor of Germany Duke of Vanholt Faustus Valdes and Cornelius, friends To Faustus Wagner, servant to Faustus Clown Robin Ralph Vintner Horse-Courser A Knight An Old Man Scholars, Friars, and Attendants Duchess of Vanholt The second set of characters is supernatural: Lucifer
Belzebub Mephistopheles Good Angel Evil Angel The Seven Deadly Sins Devils Spirits in the Shapes of Alexander the Great, of his Paramour and of Helen of Troy Module 3: Critical Plot Summary of Doctor Faustus
In the prologue to the play, the Chorus tells the audience what Doctor Faustus is about. As opposed to the medieval tradition, the play does not deal with war and courtly love, but is about Faustus, a scholar who was born of lower-class parents. The prologue talks about Faustus s superior intellectual abilities and excellent achievements. He has been awarded a doctorate for his merit. Soon we get to know the source of Faustus s downfall also. Quite appropriately, he is compared to the Greek mythological character Icarus, who flew too close to the sun and fell to his death when the sun melted his waxen wings. The cause of the downfall in both the cases is what the ancient Greeks called hubris, excessive pride, or overstepping of bounds, the cause of the tragic hero s downfall. Faustus says that he has reached the boundary of every subject logic, medicine, law and theology. Now he is bent upon going beyond the limits of knowledge and learning necromancy, black magic which literally involves communication with the dead. He calls upon his servant Wagner to bring Valdes and Cornelius, two famous magicians. As in a morality play, the Good Angel and the Bad Angel offer their own perspective on diabolical forces. Though Faustus is momentarily dissuaded by the Good Angel, he is lured by the possibilities of magic. Valdes tells him that if a person of Faustus s capability and standing devotes himself to magic, great things are possible, provided he vows not to study anything else. Two less-accomplished scholars who are worried about Faustus s absence request that Wagner reveal his whereabouts. They are apprehensive about the evil effects of magic and leave to inform the king. Faustus starts communicating with devils and revokes his baptism. A devil named Mephistopheles appears before him. Faustus is unable to tolerate Mephistopheles s hideous appearance. He commands it to change its looks. Mephistopheles obeys the command. Seeing this, Faustus feels pride in his newly-gained skills. He tries to bind the devil to his service but is unable to do so because Mephistopheles already serves Lucifer, the prince of devils. Mephistopheles s statements serve as spiritual warnings. He reveals that it was not Faustus s power that summoned him. If anyone abjures the scriptures it results in Satan coming to claim their soul. He narrates the history of Lucifer and the other devils. He tells Faustus that hell has no
circumference. It is more of a state of mind or a moral condition than a physical location: Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it: 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 depriv d of everlasting bliss? O, Faustus, leave these frivolous demands, Which strike a terror to my fainting soul! With Mephistopheles s help, Faustus enters into a pact with Lucifer. Faustus will have twenty-four years of life on Earth, during which time he will have Mephistopheles as his personal servant. In return, he agrees to give his soul over to Lucifer, and suffer eternal damnation in hell. When Faustus seals this deal in his own blood as required, the wound is miraculously healed and the Latin words Homo, fuge! (Fly, man!) appear upon it. Despite this divine intervention, Faustus proceeds on the path of damnation. He asks Mephistopheles a series of questions related to science. However, the devil gives evasive replies, showing that he is untrustworthy. The Good and Bad Angels reappear. The Good Angel urges him to repent and revoke his oath to Lucifer. But Faustus is blind to his own salvation. Let us remember that he was warned by Mephistopheles himself earlier. Lucifer presents before Faustus the personification of the seven deadly sins: Pride, Covetousness, Wrath, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth and Lechery. Here and in the appearance of the Good and Bad Angels we find elements of a medieval morality. A morality play is a form of allegorical drama in which the protagonist, representing everyman, is persuaded by personified virtues to choose a divine way of life and to shun evil. These also feature personified vices. But Faustus fails to see them as warnings. From this point until the end of the play, Faustus does nothing worthwhile. He does many things which are part of the omnipotence granted to him. He appears to scholars and speaks about his damnation. He believes that God is merciful and
seems to repent. But Mephistopheles comes to collect his soul, and we are told that he follows him to hell. Module 4: Themes in Doctor Faustus (Visual: List of the themes) 1) Theological Issues Though the English reformation was initiated by Henry VIII on personal grounds the Roman Catholic Church had denied permission to divorce his wife and remarry theological issues remained a source of heated debate in Marlowe s England. No wonder sin, salvation and damnation are the main themes of Doctor Faustus. In Christian theology, a sin is an act contrary to the will of God. Faustus strikes a deal with the devil. He exchanges his soul for earthly power and knowledge. This is the ultimate Christian sin. The presence of the Good and Bad Angels and the appearance of the Seven Deadly Sins make the Christian theme obvious. The solution to a committed sin is repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for human sins and can save the sinner s soul by the gift of grace. Faustus is not entirely devoted to evil. He is internally divided between good and evil. But throughout a major part of the play, he continues to turn away from God, and appears blind to his damnation. It is only towards the end that Faustus calls out the name of the savior, Jesus Christ. But it is too late to repent. In other words, he renders himself incapable of redemption. Eternal damnation is worse than death. 2) The Conflict between Medieval and Renaissance Values Scholar R.M. Dawkins has famously remarked that Doctor Faustus is the story of a Renaissance man who had to pay the medieval price for being one. Dawkins is drawing our attention to one of the play s central themes: the clash between the medieval world and the world of the emerging Renaissance. The medieval world placed God at the center of existence. Human concerns were subordinated to divine schemes. As a result of the Renaissance, the theocentric conception of the universe yielded place to an anthropocentric philosophy
called Humanism, by which man became the measure of all things. The Renaissance emphasized human capacity for achievement, and man s quest for knowledge. Renaissance art and literature were characterized by freedom of thought, limitless ambition, love of splendour, aesthetic sensitivity, respect for the healthy human body, a keen appreciation of beauty, meticulous scholarship and a new and broader acquaintance with the world. An ambience of exuberance and intelligence permeated every endeavour. Doctor Faustus embodies all these qualities of the Renaissance. The Renaissance carried with it a new emphasis on the individual, on classical learning, and on scientific inquiry into the nature of the world. In the medieval academy, theology was the queen of the sciences. In the Renaissance, secular matters took center stage. It is true that Faustus is a magician rather than a modern-age scientist. But remember that the distinction between the two was blurred in the sixteenth century. Faustus rejects the medieval model of knowledge based on tradition and authority. In his opening speech in Scene I, he scans every field of scholarship, logic, medicine, law, and theology, quoting an ancient authority for each: Aristotle on logic, Galen on medicine, Justinian on law, and the Bible on religion. In the place of tradition and authority, Faustus prefers individual inquiry. He risks everything in his quest for knowledge, wealth and power. In full Renaissance spirit, he refuses to accept any limits, traditions, or authorities. This is what is called the Faustian soul, which is the basis of human progress. The paradox of Faustus s situation is that this modern day hero-adventurer, who is also secular in spirit, is placed in the medieval world, where eternal damnation is the price of human pride. But Marlowe was a reputed atheist. His protagonist, Faustus is the hero of the new modern world, a world free of God, religion, and the limits imposed on human aspiration. In other words, he is a harbinger of Enlightenment in Europe. 3) Knowledge and Wisdom
In the concluding scene of the play the Chorus comments on the tragedy of Faustus: Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight, And burned is Apollo s laurel-bough, That sometime grew within this learned man. Doctor Faustus is also the tragedy of a man who did not know what to do with the tremendous knowledge he had gained. It is a pity that Faustus descends from grand ambitions to petty conjuring tricks. We can also say that he possesses knowledge but not wisdom. He subordinates knowledge and skills to the greedy craving for power, wealth and pleasure. From a Christian point of view, Faustus has forgotten the proverb The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. From a secular perspective, he lacks discretion and the capacity for ethical choice in his use of knowledge. His fault may also be considered as lying in not accepting the realistic limits of what man can actually do in the face of external constraints. Module 5: The Structure and Style of Doctor Faustus Though the act- and scene-divisions vary in various versions of the Doctor Faustus, the modern text has five acts. As in the ancient Greek tragedies, Marlowe s play also has a chorus. But it does not interact with other characters. It merely provides the introduction and conclusion to the action of play. An important dramatic device used in the play is the soliloquy. Marlowe makes effective use of this device to convey the conflicts in the mind of the protagonist. There are thematic parallels between Faustus s soliloquies at the beginning and at the end. At the beginning, Faustus wonders about his fate. At the end, he comes to
terms with the fate he has created for himself. Many critics think that the latter is a grim parody of the former. The play Doctor Faustus uses both prose and blank verse. We can see a pattern here. Blank verse is largely reserved for the main scenes while prose is used in the comic scenes, which are meant for comic relief. Some scholars believe that these comic scenes, involving the horse-courser, are interpolations. Marlowe s blank verse lines have a grandeur and lyrical quality. Let me read out Faustus s speech addressed to the apparition of Helen of Troy. Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships, And burnt the topless towers of Ilium Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss. Her lips suck forth my soul: see, where it flies!-- Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again. Here will I dwell, for heaven is in these lips, And all is dross that is not Helena. I will be Paris, and for love of thee, Instead of Troy, shall Wertenberg be sack d; And I will combat with weak Menelaus, And wear thy colours on my plumed crest; Yea, I will wound Achilles in the heel, And then return to Helen for a kiss.