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’.

Task One: The Life and Times of Christopher Marlow

1564- Day of Birth, coincidentally the same year as Shakespeare
1578- Scholarship to attend King's School , Canterbury
1580- Cambridge University. Corpus Christi College
1584- Receives BA degree
Marlowe was nearly rejected from starting his BA due to extended absences. This was resolved when it was revealed he had been working for the secret service. This was countering Roman Catholic movement against Queen Elizabeth.
1586- Finished Dido Queen of Carthage
1587- MA Degree
1588- Dr Faustus
1589- Briefly imprisoned over his involvement in the death of a man in a street fight
1591- Finished The Jew of Malta
1592- Edward II
          The Massacre at Paris
          arrested in the Netherlands briefly
1593- Hero and Leander
          heretical papers found, linked to Atheism. Thomas Kyd said they were witten by Marlowe
          arrested but given bail, had to report daily
          killed in Deptford under questionable circumstances whilst dining with disreputable 'friends'.
Kyd's claim that Marlowe was heretical was reinforced by ' A note containing the opinion of one Christopher Marly, concerning his damnable judgement of religion and scorn of God's word'.

A better legacy to Christopher Marlowe is as a pioneer of poetic literature. Many, like playwright Ben Jonson, rembember him more for creating blank verse and paving the way for Shakespeare's fame who recieved more accalaid mainly due to the fact he lived longer.

Animals in Gothic Literature

Animals have formed a part of gothic literature mainly due to its influences. For example, the gothic is closely related to the Romantic Movement which has a strong focus on nature and the wilderness. This means that the settings used are often inhabited by wild animals.

Whilst animals are less prominent in earlier gothic literature such as Horace Warpole's The Castle of Otranto, Edgar Allen Poe has often been acclaimed to have revived and modernised the gothic genre. Therefore his heavy use of animals in his work has had a heavy influence on the direction of gothic literature.

Two of his works were named after the animals with in them rather than the characters themselves demonstrating how characteristic of the genre he found them.

• The Raven (1845)
• The Black Cat

Both of these animals have been interpreted as bad omens and their mere presence invokes fear in the reader due to their foundations in superstition. In 'The Black Cat' Poe also relies on imagery to invoke terror, the exact shape of a cat hanging on a noose was imprinted on a wall in the ruins of his old home.

A key function of animals in gothic literature is to help blur the lines of reality vs fantasy as the boundary between human and animal is made indistinguishable. This was first initiated by Bram Stoker in Dracula through the concept of The Count being able to take on bat like qualities. This concept is now ingrained in the mythology of the vampire.

Similarly, Angela Carter is seemingly fascinated by the werewolf, in her collection The Bloody Chamber, three of her short stories are based on this mythical creature which either has the ability to transform between wolf and human or is a grotesque mixture of the two such as in 'Wolf-Alice'. Infact, fifty percent of the short stories in this book are entitled after an animal.

1. The Tiger's Bride
2. Puss-in-boots
3. The Werewolf
4. In the company of wolves
5. Wolf-Alice

Animal imagery is also frequent in gothic literature. It often represents the wild, uncivilised qualities of characters in novels such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.

A Gothic Recipe

Before you begin, it is essential to partake in thorough preparation.

Your key ingredient will be your protagonist. You may use either male or female, although your choice will invariably alter the end product as each is composed slightly differently.

Male. Usually a byonic hero. Intelligent, sophisticated and educated but yet struggling with emotional conflict. Think Dr Faustus, Dr Frankenstein, someone of that ilk
Or Female. Young, vulnerable, alone but curious and independent.

Basic Ingredients (based on Dr Faustus)

• Hero (Dr Faustus), a strong protagonist will bind the other characters together.
• Tyrant (Mephistopheles), equivalent to a dash of dark chocolate, bitter but yet oh so tempting
• Stupid Servant (Wagner), accents the hero to provide a more thorough flavour development. Their stupidity makes them a universal flavour.
• Clown (Robin), adds lightness to the dish and prevents it becoming too stodgy
• Older Man/Woman (Old Man), a reminder of more traditional methods
• Clergy (Pope), A very weak flavour, easily usurped by other ingredients.
• (Virginal) Maid (Helen of Troy), a highly sought after ingredient mainly due to its purity. Highly desirable

Once you have prepared your main ingredients it is time to move onto the more technical aspects of the recipe and combine them together in just the right fashion.

1. First mix together the following

• eerie setting i.e. a castle
• death and decay to give an after taste of foreshadowing
• a dash of things past to create more layers and depth of flavour

2. Next add the dry ingredients in any order

• a sliver of the supernatural
• heaped tablespoons of horror and terror
• broken shards of social convention to add tang
• contrast and combine life and death through the addition of an egg
• light and dark symbolism to taste

3. Ensure mixed thoroughly, preferably with an electric whisk, in order to blur reality and fantasy
4. Separate a small amount of the mixture and add as much power as you have available
5.Use your imagination, even if some flavour combinations seem a touch 'mental'
6.Finally add a dash of sauce as is conventional

• sin
• macabre
• nostalgia
• ethereal
• melodrama

Note to chef: Don't be afraid to add components from other recipe books. Recommended: 'Romanticism'

A Philisophical Concept

Black and white symbolism.

We all know what it is to 'see the light'. But is it possible to see the dark? Or can you only 'not' see the light. In the conflict between good and evil surely this means that evil is powerless and therefore if good loses the battle, it has only itself to blame.

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light
-Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore