00715--Discuss the structure of Doctor Faustus.

Discuss the structure of Doctor Faustus.

Doctor Faustus contains a major pattern of action which deals with Faustus’s choice to follow magic and  to sell his soul to Lucifer.  A comic plot, probably written by a collaborator, comments on and parodies the serious action of the main plot.  Structurally, the play may be described as episodic because Marlowe gives us a series of actions which repeats the struggle of Faustus between the choice of God or Lucifer.  Thus the recurrence of Good and Bad Angels, the repeated thought s of repentance, and the appearance of the Old Man in Act V indicate the episodic and repetitive pattern of the play’s structure.  

The comic portions of the play illustrate by irony the the vacuous accomplishments consequent to Faustus’s bargain.  Wagner’s conjuring and later Robin and Dick’s ability at magic are parodies of Faustus’s ability.  By way of contrast these comic scenes serve to point out the terrible nature of Faustus’s bargain, for these scenes reveal that the powers of magic are not nearly so great as Faustus imagined.  Marlowe, then, by repeating the basic struggle of good and evil, structures his play so that the cumulative effect reveals the turmoil in Faustus’s soul and produces awe and wonder at this tragic fall.  

00714--Discus the role of the Old Man in Act V of the play Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe.

Discus the role of the Old Man in Act V of the play Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe.

The Old Man in Act V appeals to Faustus to leave his damned art and to ask for God’s forgiveness.  In many particulars the Old Man is like the Good Angel because his counsel to Faustus is the same.  He takes on many of the qualities of a morality personification, perhaps something like Good Counsel.  After the Fausus-Helen episode, the old man is aware that Faustus has completely damned himself.  The Old Man is then tried by Satan, but his faith prevails against the devils and hell.  Thus the Old Man achieves a spiritual victory, and dramatically this contrasts with Faustus’s choice of evil and his ultimate damnation.  Marlowe through the Old Man, shows that the temptation to evil may be resisted and that spiritual victory can be achieved. 

00713--What dramatic purpose does the Chorus serve in the play Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe?

What dramatic purpose does the Chorus serve in the play Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe?

The Chorus speaks before Acts I, III, and IV and delivers the Epilogue at the end.  The Prologue to Act I gives the exposition of the narrative material needed by the audience to understand the subsequent action.  In the Prologue, the chorus narrates Faustus’s biography, compares him to Icarus, and foreshadows Faustus’s death.  The Prologue, then, really gives the summary of the entire play, and as we watch the play we anxiously anticipate the fulfilment of what the Prologue has announced. 

The Prologue to Act III narrates the fabulous journey of Faustus and gives us narrative material which Marlowe could not present dramatically.  Here the Chorus is a conventional shorthand device which enables the dramatist to narrate rather than show by dramatic action.  The Prologue to Act III tells us what Faustus has done before he came to Rome in Act III.  The Prologue to Act IV does much the same thing because it introduces us to Faustus at the time of his return to Germany and the Court of the Emperor.  As Epilogue the Chorus provides the conventional moral comment on the action of the play.  

00712--Discuss the significance of Faustus’ contract with Lucifer in Act II, Scene I and his renewal of the contract in Act V, Scene I. [Christopher Marlowe]

Discuss the significance of Faustus’ contract with Lucifer in Act II, Scene I and his renewal of the contract in Act V, Scene I.  [Christopher Marlowe]

Faustus makes his contract with Lucifer by stabbing his arms and sealing the contract with his own blood.  When Faustus says, “It is finished,” he repeats the words of Christ on the cross.  Faustus’s blasphemy is the verbal equivalent of the action he has just taken, for he has rejected God and delivered his soul to Lucifer.  His fear of the devils overwhelms any thoughts of repentance, and Mephistopheles gives him a dagger and counsels despair.  When Mephistopheles threatens Faustus for his disobedience to Lucifer.  Faustus repents for the very act of thinking of Christ’s mercy.  He asks for Lucifer’s forgiveness, and then confirms again his former vow.  Faustus here parodies the three stages of Christian penance (contrition, confession and satisfaction).  These two scenes, then, illustrate the nature of Faustus’ contract, and the parodying of religious language and ritual vividly conveys the blasphemy which Faustus commits.