CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE
DOCTOR FAUSTUS
A CONSIDERATION: It has been asserted that Faust was a modern man who paid the
medieval price. In addition, modernity -- with its individuality and its "will to power", or
at least its valuation of energy -- has been labeled the "Faustian Age".
READING ASSIGNMENT:
Read Sylvan Barnett's brief introduction and then the following Acts & scenes from
Marlowe's Doctor Faustus
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Act I.1, I.3
Act II.1, II.2
Act 5 en toto
Also read
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the epistles I John 1:5-8 through 2:1-2; James 2:14-26; Galatians 3:6-14
the selection from Jean Delumeau's Catholicism Between Luther and Voltaire
Martin Luther's epistle Bondage of the Will. (De Servo arbitrio)
keep in mind the previous reading from Luther's Freedom of a Christian.
(The purpose of the readings from the Epistles, from Luther, and from Delumeau is not to
engender a sectarian apologetic argument but to help us understand the textual tradition
with which Marlowe is playing and the religious historical context in which he wrote.)
READING QUESTIONS — the text: (Reading questions are intended to to help you
read the text. They almost always refer to specific passages, characters, or events. Also, I
usually list them in order of their appearance in the text. You need not write out answers,
though noting the applicable pages might be wise as these questions will sometimes be
used to start discussion and they also make excellent review questions when preparing for
exams.)
1. What do we learn about Faust from his opening speech? (Remember, read not
only for what is said but also for what is precisely not said!)
2. What motivates Faust to first undertake and then abandon each of his studies? In
each instance, to what use does Faust put his "knowledge"?
3. Why does Mephostophilis appear before Faust? Or, rather, what controls the
appearance of the demon? What are the limits placed on the devils?
4. Who sets the terms of the contract between Faust and Mephostophilis? What are
those terms (exactly)? Is it a binding contract? What warnings are given to Faust
that signing the contract may not be wise?
5. Who is the "Old Man"? What reaction does Faust have to his admonitions? At
what point in the story is Faust beyond redemption? What is the significance of
Faust's last speeches?
6. What New Testament episodes are "reworked" as scenes in the play? What is
Fausts's most grievous sin? (mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.)
THEMATIC QUESTIONS—the HP-WCT BIG IDEAS: There are seven questions
listed below which refer to Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. (Actually there are only four
questions as the pairs 3 & 4 and 5 & 6 really only reword each other.) Be prepared to
discuss all seven.
1. What New Testament episodes are "reworked" as scenes in the play? What is
Fausts's most grievous sin? (mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.)
OR
List the allusions to and/or the caricatures of scriptural life-of-Christ scenes in
Doctor Faustus. Be prepared to give a "formal analysis" of one. What implications
does this have for the story?
2. List the instances when Faustus considers repenting. What leads him toward
repentance? What stops him?
3. Which — if any — of the epistle excerpts best explains the damnation of Faust?
How so?
4. Considering Delameau's discussion of Protestant and Catholic theologies, which
— if either — accounts for the damnation of Faustus?
5. What is the relationship between nature, man, and the supernature in Doctor
Faustus? What role does magic play?
6. What is the relationship between knowledge (human reason), power (human
actions), and virtue (human will) in Doctor Faustus? What role does grace play?
7. Finally, and we cannot avoid it, we must ask ourselves, "Why is Faustus
damned?" That is to say, "Who killed Willy Lowman?"
READING ESSAY: 300-500 word, due at the beginning of class. Write on either of the
following (from the THEMATIC QUESTIONS above.)
1. What is the relationship between knowledge, virtue and grace in this play?
2. Why is Faustus damned? (This issue will return when we read Kierkegaard's
Sickness Unto Death next semester).
LOOKING AHEAD: We will be reading Goethe's Faust later — the same source but a
very different work of art. Goethe's version provides the structure which Mann applies to
the life of the composer Mahler in his own novel Doctor Faustus! We will also note the
connections with Mozart's opera, Don
Giovanni. (The ideas and themes in this work
will be with us all year!)
A POINT OF INTEREST: Both versions of
the Faustus story have been filmed. Marlowe's
was filmed by Richard Burton — he both
directed it and played the lead while his
then wife, Elizabeth Taylor played Helen
of Troy. (Maybe not a great film but worth
seeing — casting Taylor as Helen was
brilliant.)
Goethe's version was filmed by F.W.
Murnau — one of the truly great silent
directors — and is a classic for its camera
effects. Murnau also gave us the earliest
and still one of the best "vampire" films,
Nosferatu. (The HP has DVDs of both.)