11. How do the tragic and comic plot in Doctor Faustus complement or offset each other?

In DF exists a tragic and a comic plot. This plot division serves as a parallel - the actions and characters in the low plot coincide with the actions and characters in the high plot. Ex. The scene of Wagner and the clown provide a comic counterpoint to the Faustus-Mephastophilis scenes. The clown jokes that he would sell his soul to the devil for a well-seasoned shoulder of mutton, Like Faustus, these clownish characters, use magic to summon demons.

Moreover, the comedy plot adds to the tragedy of Faustus, showing comedy against Faustus as he is given great powers but uses them to perform petty tricks, therefore ridiculing his character and making the themes more complex.

Therefore these 2 plots complement each other in a way that the comic sub-plot is used to parody the main tragic plot.

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