6. DOCTOR FAUSTUS - Christopher Marlowe

ELEMENTS OF TRAGEDY:

☼ the story of the fall of protagonist (główny bohater) - Faustus, ends up damned. He rejects God's mercy; he is a tragic hero.

☼ the role of chorus - introduces everything to the reader, f.eg. describes Faustus's childhood, youth, education; whatever chorus presents is done or is already happening)

☼ there are some mythological characters present f.eg. spirits of Helen of Troy and Alexander the Great

☼ Stichomythia - conversation based on short replies (between Good and Bad Angel)

ELEMENTS OF MORALITY PLAY:

☼ psychomachia - Good and Bad Angels fighting for main character's soul.

☼ didactism - the story should teach us the lesson

- appears at the beginning and at the end

• it gives us a moral lesson

• there is the subject of the story introduced and the main character is prejudged

☼ themes typical for morality play: sin, damnation (potępienie), redemption (odkupienie)

☼ allegory (definition: teaches a lesson through symbolism; communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation).

Allegorical characters:

- Seven Deadly Sins,

- devils,

- Good Angel and Bad Angel (appear when Faustus monologues)

- Spirits of Darius, Alexander the Great, Helen of Troy (historical/mythical characters)

- Old Man (he advises Faustus trying to convince him to go back to God, he teaches us what is the right thing to do).

Allegorical elements:

• space is treated allegorically; space = human soul

• allegorical perspective

Allegories:

• Faustus doesn't have real power, he has a power of speech only

• Faustus believes that the contract with Mephastophilis gives him a real power, but the contract is written in the way that nothing in fact is promisted.

BUT Doctor Faustus is not a typical morality play!

• Faustus isn't a representative of the whole humanity, he isn't Everyman - Faustus is highly individualized, can not stand for the whole humanity

• It teaches us by showing how NOT to behave

THE MOTIF OF ICARUS:

Faustus is in someway similar to Icarus. But Icarus was not so much proud as Faustus was, he was young and curious. Both, Icarus and Faustus, forget about warnings, transgress the limits and it is the reason for the fall (Icarus - physical fall, Faustus - moral fall).

HELEN OF TROY - SIGNIFICANCE:

We assume that she is beautiful, but in fact she is not describe in the text. It is Faustus who speaks about the image of Helen, he creates his own illusion about her beauty. There are only words and Helen is only the personification of Faustus's illusion. He wants to believe that she is the most beautiful woman in the world. Helen is destructive but Faustus doesn't see that or simply doesn't want to see that - that is kind of tragic irony.

TWO IMAGES OF GOD:

1. Image of crucified Christ - his falling blood, even one drop of his blood is able to save poor Faustus, but the problem is that he will not ask for salvation. Although God is presented as a merciful father Faustus doesn't allow God to save him. He has already assumed that God has condemned him, he says he knows what God's decision is - and here he commits the greatest sin - usurping of God's power, he suggest that he's above God and that he knows better than God. Faustus rejects God's mercy and claims that he knows what God will do with him - that is why he doesn't beg for forgiveness.

2. Image of angry God - Faustus sees God who now is full of angers for terrible sins he commits. There is a punishments waiting for those who are against God and his will. Faustus is afraid but it is too late for saying sorry.

LANGUAGE:

• Marlow uses blank verse - aiambic pentameter very skillfully

• Words are against Faustus: pronouns and determiners are used in such way that it is not sure who they apply to, Faustus or Mephastopilis. Many word which don't carry any definite meaning f. eg. `whatsoever'. Faustus's commands are not precise that is why he gets nothing at the end. The contract is vague, only Faustus's signature is clear. Unfortunately words have power over Faustus.

• ICHOMYTIA: conversation based on short, one verse long, replies (between Good and Bad Angels).

• Faustus, while signing the contract, says: consumatum est - it is finished (wykonało się), words that Christ dying on the cross uttered. Doing that Faustus commits sin of blasphemy (bluźnierstwo) - he repeats Christ's words ridiculing their real meaning.

KNOWLEDGE AND POWER: knowledge = power

In the Bible there is the story of Creation, which is exactly the story of the knowledge. Satan promised Adam and Eva that after eating the forbidden apple they will be equal to God. They will know all that what he knows. Unfortunately, our first parents ended up with less than they had before.

The same was with Lucifer. At the very beginning he was a beloved angel of God, but once he tried to be equal to God he was banished (wypędzony).

Icarus also transgressed the forbidden barriers and fell.

Faustus wants to have: political power, power of life and death, power over the nature (he wants to govern elements - rządzić żywiołami, change shape of continents), material power (material goods), sensual pleasure. He wants to have power over everything - he wants to be like an almighty God.

In Doctor Faustus, as in many Elizabethan plays, the main plot centers on the tragic hero, while a subplot offers comic relief (here it is build around Wagner, Robin and Dick and their ludicrous misadventures).

solilogy a speech you made to yourself

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