Task Four

'How does Marlowe explore the Gothic themes of over-reaching ambition, sin and evil in the first Act of Dr Faustus? Personally, I find the best example of over-reaching is Faustus’ treatment of Mephistopheles. Despite the superiority of the devil in the widely believed chain of being, Faustus refuses to be treated as inferior by Mephistopheles, or even as an equal. Upon his first appearance, Faustus believes he forced Mephistopheles to be present but in reality it is a form of opportunist crime which draws him there. He also forces him to change his form and dresses evil’s representative as a Christ figure. This is ironic inversion and shows how much Faustus finds comfort in the safety of religion which he is attempting to cast aside and foreshadows his downfall. This is also evident further on in Scene Three when Faustus uses biblical passages and ‘sprinkles holy water’ whilst summoning the devil.

He makes many outlandish statements about his desires and his reasons for desiring such authority. Most of his demands are trivial; he intends to ‘wall all Germany with brass’. His plans are all self-centred and ostentatious. His main desire is to be heralded above all humans, ‘Yet art thou still but Faustus, and a man/Wouldst thou make man to live eternally?’ He tries to lift himself from the base character of everyman to become something greater. This arrogance is created through his continual use of third person although this also suggests duality in his character, and could even touch upon mental illness.

Faustus continually recognises his own faults and sin, ‘I am glutted with conceit of this!’ but instead of condemning himself he seems full of hubris. Even the opening soliloquy shows Faustus’ sense of self importance, he values his own words so highly and address’ the audience in Latin to prove his superiority. He even refers to ‘a sound magician’ as ‘a mighty god’, he does not use simile here to indicate how strongly Faustus believe he can become an equal to God.

Evil is depicted as contradictory, in this opening speech he says he turns away from medicine with which he could ‘heap up gold’, he turns from law as it will only gain him ‘external trash’ and he shares none of Valdes’ passion for ‘the white breasts of the Queen of Love’. However, once he has given his soul to Lucifer later in scene two his first material request is for a wife and is now ‘wanton and lascivious’. Throughout Act One, Marlowe could be interpreted to ridicule Faustus. His words are full of binary opposition, such as his claim that ‘necromantic books are heavenly’, this is so obviously contradictory that the audience realises that evil is clouding his mind and damaging the intelligence he had gained. Scene 4 furthers this interpretation, where Robin and Wagner acts out the first three scenes in comic form and even

Generally Marlowe creates evil through the sin and blasphemy of Marlowe. He does briefly cover other feature such as

·         the grotesque with Mephistopheles first form,

·         transformations when Wagner tempts Robin with the thought that he could ‘turn thyself to anything’  

·         and the night with Faustus’ admittance that ‘had I as many souls as stars, / I’d give the all for Mephistopheles’.

 However it is the concepts which are drawn upon rather than setting and imagery which is harder to represent in the dramatic form.

Task Three: The Portrayal Of Mephistopheles

 In this portrayal of Mephistopheles, he is depicted as a fallen angel. This is inline with Marlowe's representation of him in a few fleeting moments do we see that Mephistophilis is also experiencing both suffering and damnation because of his status as a fallen angel. In the third scene, he admits that he is also tormented by ten thousand hells because he had once tasted the bliss of heaven and now is in hell with Lucifer and the other fallen angels.

The most popular portrayal of Mephistopheles is heavily assocciated with the colour red and the typical connotations of the devil as this is how he is introduced in the first stage directions 'Enter a devil (MEPHISTOPHELES)'. However, Marlowe leaves it up to interpretation as Faustus sends him away immediately to return in the image of a friar.

Mephistopheles is send away due to the grotesque inhuman nature of his appearence. This is naturally quite difficult to display on stage as the revulsion required is at the extreme. During the 1989 performance a christ figure was created to shock the audience.

Pehaps the most controvertial castings of Mephistopheles have been the likes of Cassie Remington, Charlotte Windmill, Ofelia Popii all notable for their gender. Marlowe significantly under values women in his original play, giving them only minor roles. Indeed Windmill reappeared as Helen of Troy to show how the devil is all he is left with and even in the end there is no solace.

Task Two: The Attitude of the Chorus towards Faustus

Upon first introduction the chorus makes it clear they believe Faustus had a privileged upbringing which leaves the door open and suggests he is to blame for the coming events as he proved himself unworthy of the opportunities to find knowledge he was presented with in his early life. Faustus is described as ‘swoll’n with a cunning of self conceit’. He is not given the positive quality of modesty and his ‘waxen wings’ suggests falseness to his character. These of course melt when he flies to high to the sun like Icarus from Greek mythology. The chorus even goes as far as to suggest his demise was not the work of fate but of God in his ‘melting heavens’ which ‘conspired’ against him. He has a greed for knowledge which the chorus identifies as his sin and the cause of his downfall despite knowledge usually being seen as a positive asset. Although this was challenged in the Renaissance as scientific discovery began to over shadow religious beliefs. The attitude of the chorus is very much that Faustus was not tempted but indulgent. It is very clear that the desire for ‘necromancy’ is a personal one;  ’Nothing is so sweet as magic is to him’.