In the literary canon, Marlowe's Dr Faustus is a pre-Gothic text.

In the literary canon, Marlowe's Dr Faustus is a pre-Gothic text. What aspects of the play do you consider to be relevant to the study of The Gothic? What dramatic impact would these features impart in performance?

Key aspects of the Gothic are highlighted within Dr Faustus, despite Marlowe being before the time when the Gothic was acknowledged as a set genre. It is even so that some aspects Marlowe explores are relevant with today as religious and psychological themes are exploited to develop controversial ideas that can still be debated within the Gothic society.

The exploration of the supernatural

Dr Faustus contains probably the most key aspect of the Gothic genre: the supernatural. Marlowe explores the idea of necromancy; the conjuring the of the dead which would have both shocked and incline curiosity within both the contemporary and modern audience. Much of Mephistopheles' conjuring's include the idea of producing an illusion of the dead with the likes of Helen of Troy and Alexander the Great. This exploration of conjuring the dead is a classic gothic convention and explores the transgression of boundaries between the living and dead and essentially what is right and wrong. It also explores the unknown; is death the end? is there and afterlife? These questions are explored in Dr Faustus as an example of curiosity to bring back great figures of the past; being the the ability to do so could raise questions on whether it is right or not.

The exploration of transgression in religion

There is a very clear Gothic feature that is present throughout is the idea of Heaven and Hell, usually presented in binary opposition to each other.This also relates to the theme of Grace and Damnation; a battle which Faustus submits to. However though there are many idea's on the religious aspect, the most poignant one is the psychological idea of hell on earth in its literal form. Mephistopheles, when asked about Hell, says that "this is hell, nor am I out of it" creating the idea that Heaven is a place, but hell is a more of a psychological state of being. This suggested idea is so forward thinking of Marlowe that the dramatic quality of it going against the previous belief that Hell is a place would strike great fear into the audience. 

The transgression of boundaries and the search for knowledge

Doctor Faustus was written at a time when the boundaries of knowledge were expanding at an extremely rapid rate. In natural science and technology, new ideas and discoveries abounded. Marlowe probably was influenced in this aspect to show the overreaching protagonist as crossing the boundary and ignoring the rules. This is very gothic feature in most texts and lead to the downfall of the main character as they surpass curiosity, leaving the dramatic message that boundaries are there with a purpose. Faustus is representative of this thirst for knowledge. His long monologues in Scene 1 dramatise his command of - and impatience with - established branches of knowledge and his desire to move beyond them. The use of words like ‘glutted’ and ‘surfeits’ suggests that Faustus goes beyond the satisfaction of hunger for knowledge and delves into one of the 7 deadly sins. This is an example of gothic at its best as the language suggests the excessive; the need to have and know more. Too much of one thing leads to a downfall and as a result leaves a dramatic message to the audience.

Flight and Falling in Dr Faustus

Icarus

The earliest pattern of imagery to emerge in the play is that of flight and falling, which is related to Faustus’ aspiration and arrogant pride. On most of the occasions when this image occurs, the binary opposition of rising then falling occurs, as in this example from the Chorus’ opening speech:

Till swollen with cunning of a self-conceit,
His waxen wings did mount above his reach,
And melting heavens conspired his overthrow.
Chorus 1, 20-22

 The story of Icarus is reflected here as a warning to the audience of Faustus' fate. Here it involves in the particular defiance of the limits placed on humanity’s knowledge and physical capacities that Faustus tries to over reach.

Lucifer

The story of Lucifer, the brightest of God’s angels, who defied God’s power and was thrown into Hell, is also alluded to in the play. His story is told by Mephastophilis, who shares his fate and is painfully conscious of the loss they have suffered. This is a warning to Faustus as we see the same motivations of Lucifer the same as Faustus and thus foreshadowing his fate.

O, by aspiring pride and insolence,
For which God threw him from the face of heaven.
Scene 3, 67-68

The Great Chain of Being

Marlowe's Faustus was written under the influence of the time of the Renaissance where classical idea's where re-introduced, explored and often defied. Among the most important of the continuities with the Classical period was the concept of the Great Chain of Being which was first introduced by the Platos' and Aristotle's philosophical ideas about placing a heirachy and order to the matters of life and the universe! An object's 'place' depended on the relative proportion of 'spirit' and 'matter' it contained--the less 'spirit' and the more 'matter,' the lower down it stood taking the example of the stone, with the least amount of 'spirit'.

Renaissance writers were fascinated by the thought of going beyond boundaries set by the chain of being. One being Marlowe and his play Doctor Faustus. Simultaneously displaying the spirit of human aspiration and the desire for power, Faustus seems in the play to be both exalted and punished. Marlowe's drama, is recognised to show the Renaissance ambiguity in this area, suggesting both its fear of and its fascination with pushing beyond human limitations as Faustus tries to break free from his Human limitations in the 'ladder' and over-reach his position in order to gain a higher position in the heirachy as a 'deity' himself.

Task Four - Gothic Themes of Over Ambition, Sin and Evil in Act 1 of Doctor Faustus)

'How does Marlowe explore the Gothic themes of over-reaching ambition, sin and evil in the First Act of Dr Faustus?'

From the first reference in the Prologue to the myth of Icarus, Marlowe introduces the the idea of over-reaching and the idea of going beyond one's limits that often involve transgressing the boundary of mankind's ambitions. This is a typical Gothic convention as it involves stepping into the unknown and the desire of wanting something that over steps nature's or God's laws for mankind; a curiosity that leads to the 'fall' Icarus physically has.

Faustus becomes the protagonist that represents this thirst for knowledge. A knowledge that to the audience and reader's can relate to due to human instinct for curiosity thus perhaps making Faustus an anti-hero as he exemplifies the Renaissance thinking, showing a clear need to question God and Heaven; demanding that stories aren't proof. His long monologues in Scene 1 dramatise this command of - and impatience with - established branches of knowledge and his desire to move beyond them. Within his monologue the audience witness his bitterness towards his collective knowledge exclaiming that 'Yet art thou still but Faustus, and a man' in which he essentially complains about his frustration that he is limited to human understanding and capacity for action. Medicine is limited by the human skill and he has no control over life or death; a reserved quality to God alone. Here we observe the beginnings of Faustus' turn against God perhaps fuelled by jealousy but more so arrogance towards the traditional disciplines due to his omissions in his references to the Bible; he talks of 'reward of sin is death' though does not complete the sentence in the Bible which refers to God's promises of repentance. This ironically is an example of Faustus' foolishness despite his great knowledge, displaying his flaw as arrogance or a reference to the sin of pride. Furthermore the crave to be something more than just a 'man'; a status which has not changed despite his great achievements and knowledge also show's the sins of jealousy and greed leading to his to turn on God- 'Divinity adieu!' This turning back shows how he possibly believes he is already a sinner, and has no possibility of repentance. He supports his belief claiming that 'We deceive ourselves, and there's no truth in us./Why then belike we must sin' for every human is born a sinner due to our descendants of Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden and thus already eternally damned. This relates to not only the Renaissance values and humanist ideals at the time but enhances the Gothic power of the text as Marlowe explores through Faustus the idea of sin and whether salvation can occur.By the penultimate line of Faustus' monologue: 'A sound magician is a mighty god' we see the final decision of Faustus' desire to break away from human constraints to become a 'god' himself and learn the arts of 'heavenly' necromancy. The clear sign of over-reaching as he attempts to become the ultimate being.

Marlowe explores further later in the Act with the character of Mephistopheles to show the commanding tone of Faustus, and his attempts of over-reaching; controlling something that is beyond his control. The force of the Iambic Pentameter and Blank verse creates an authoritative tone to Faustus' speech to Mephistopheles as he complains 'Thou art too ugly to attend me'. His arrogance and pride to become this 'deity' is almost ironic as he attempts to command a being that will essentially be the power for Faustus illustrating the theme of over-reaching.

Within this Act, through the form of Binary opposition, Marlowe not only produces an irony in Faustus' beliefs but also exemplifies the gothical belief of Good and Evil as a more merged subject than previously conceived. When Faustus claims the 'necromantic books are heavenly' a paradox is created as Faustus uses a religious term related to all that is good to describe the most evil art of conjuring and commanding the dead. Such paradox created explores the Gothic conventions of transgression between boundaries and divulges into the idea of how close the two oppositions could be.

Dr. Faustus: Task 3

Mephistopheles (also Mephistophilus, Mephistophilis, Mephostopheles, Mephisto, Mephastophilis and variants) is a demon featured in German folklore. He originally appeared in literature as the demon in the Faust legend, and he has since appeared in other works as a stock character version of the Devil.

Within Dr Faustus Mephistopheles acts as a guide to Faustus. he is not only the speaker for the Devil to Dr Faustus but he a possible lover of the chararcter! When Dr Faustus asks Mephistopheles for a wife the woman he returns with is just a devil in disguise as a woman. According to Hammill, “the wife that [Mephistopheles] brings demonstrates that marriage is not a signifier that can stabilize the gender. The play... instead replaces this wife with a series of courtesans in an economy of homosocial exchange.” This is often interpreted as Mephistopheles trying to raise sexual tension between the two characters. From the use of this homosexuality inference that Marlowe was homosexual Orgel argues that “Marlowe's […] imagination was essentially homosexual”

Mephistopheles Characters:

Arthur Darvill (Rory from Dr Who to you and me) plays a rather traditional (and a little bit sexy) Mephistopheles. Dressed in red- the colours of hell- in a rather seductive fashion of leather that suggests a lot of sin. The cloak adds to the traditional 'bad- guy' look as he looks mysterious with it on. The high collar adds to the regal apparel that fits into the medieval/ renaissance appaerance and fashion. The whole demaenor of his posture is very idyllic of power and hell making him look like the traditional Devil's advocate. 

This scene however shows a rather different approach to the  Character of Mephistopheles. Firstly there is more than one representing the Devil's  worker. The colour of green creates this slimy and creepy sort of creature; no longer a human form but of a monster. In affect this makes Hell appear more hellish in the  sense that it is more monstrous.   The forked tails, horns and wings create the traditional symbolic form of the devil so they are easily recognisable of that realm however instead of the regal red that makes Mephistopheles appear powerful and regal, the green creates the image of a sub-creature- one as scary and  cunning as Golum form Lord of the Rings is. In affect this creates a sinister but more seductive character as  they have this very bare looking body and slimy appeal.

Marlowe- The greatest playwright

Christopher "Kit" Marlowe (1564–30 May 1593) was a major dramatist, poet, and translator of English Renaissance drama. Many people believe he is the best Elizabethan tragedian before William Shakespeare. His plays delved into controversial matters such as devil worship (Doctor Faustus), homosexuality (Edward II), and anti-Semitism (The Jew of Malta). All of which raised questions and rumours about his own self, especially after he died. One of the many rumours was that he was an Atheist; a punishable crime at that time. His death also was quite controversial. He was reported to be killed in a tavern brawl with a stab to the eye that entered his brain. However there is historical evidence relating to him being an agent and that his death was related to this role in his life.

Of course there is much scepticism over Marlowe’s life however it is undoubtable with the great works he produced, he was one of the greatest playwrights ever to have lived.

The Chorus to Faustus: Prologue

Explore the attitude of the Chorus to Faustus in the prologue of the play. What do we learn about this character before we meet him?

The Chorus and their attitude to Dr Faustus gives the reader a rather opinionated veiw of our main character. The Chorus, most likely one person enters and tells the audience that this is not a play about  love nor war, but instead will trace the “form of Faustus’ fortunes”. The Chorus chronicles how Faustus was born to lowly parents to earning the title of doctor of divinity at university.
However in this brief description we are explicitly told that his swelling pride-'swoll'n with cunning'- will lead to his downfall similarly compared to the Greek myth of Icarus as told by the line that Faustus will “mount above his reach” and suffer the consequences. Within this prologue, the Chorus has painted a man of great ego, pride and greed; already one delved into sins both from the seven deadly sins and by falling into practice of black magic. 

In addition we also learn that the Prologue locates its drama squarely in the Renaissance world, where humanistic values hold sway. Most medieval or classical literature focussed on “courts of kings” which this one is not, thus showing that a man of lower birth and no great battle to tell has just as every right to have his story to be told.