A 21 page essay plan guide to every possible question for Dr Faustus. The essay plans cover both themes and characters including quotes and context. These essay plans allowed me to be fully prepared for every essay question in the exam (I am now studying English at University College London).
Dr Faustus A-level revision notes- themes, context, structure and language (A* grade)
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A/AS Level
PEARSON (PEARSON)
English Literature 2015
Unit 1 - Drama
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Dr Faustus Essay Plans:
CHARACTERS:
MEPHISTOPHELES:
Paragraph 1: Positive Relationship with Faustus:
Honesty – tries to talk Faustus out of sinning
Categorically states what hell is like and if Faustus was wise he wouldn’t proceed
‘O Faustus, leave these frivolous demands, which strike a terror to my fainting soul’
Paragraph 2: Negative Relationship with Faustus:
Manipulation and sin – steers Faustus to mess with Pope
Many moments when Faustus treats Mephistopheles like a servant
Paragraph 3: What Faustus orders Mephistopheles to do:
Paragraph 4: The Power struggle between Faustus and Mephistopheles:
Paragraph 5: The ending of the play:
Merciless and threatens violence
It is very clear who is in charge
Faustus tries to sweet talk him – ‘sweet Mephistopheles’
Origins – what’s in it for him
Mephistopheles:
Terrifying devil, tempter and enemy to Faustus
He is the victim of a single mistake – loyalty to Lucifer he warns Faustus of this scene in lines
78-81
Whilst doing Lucifer’s bidding, he must honour the contract so is honest
His observations about the nature of damnation offers Faustus an insight into damnation which
Faustus does not heed
Mephistopheles is an intellectual match for Faustus, comprehending that hell is not just a place
but a state of mind
DR FAUSTUS:
Paragraph 1: His ambition:
His first soliloquy reflects his ambition and desire for necromancy
o ‘O, what a world of profit and delight, of power, of honour, of omnipotence’
Faustus rejects his chance in heaven for power as he doesn’t believe in the severity of
hell – he is the example in the morality play, blinded my ambition
o ‘may I raise up spirits when I please?’ (142)
o ‘that I might raise up spirits when I please’ (146)
He tries to play the role of God, challenging the law of nature – wild ambition
However, Faustus gains little from his contract and his original ambitions turn into little
more than petty tricks that impress those more gullible than himself
Use of chorus to reflect Faustus’ ambition and his fall from grace
, o Chorus wants audience to not learn ‘unlawful things’ that tempt wise men ‘to
practice more than heavenly power permits’
Question of where to draw the line between good and bad knowledge
and ambition is very ambiguous
At his nadir, Faustus does nothing but play cheap pranks that are completely inessential
for his ambition to learn – exposes idea that selling his soul might not have been worth it
o ‘Did mount him to scale Olympus’ top’
Taking off from Mount Olympus is as close to divine as a human can get,
but the in this act we can see Faustus’ tricks are a contrast to what he
could use his magic for
Mount Olympus is the home of Greek Gods – also associated with
Romans and foreshadows how he will now travel to Rome and infiltrate
the Pope
Faustus even realizes his mistake and condemns himself by saying ‘curse thyself’ – his
ambition and search for power has led to his downfall
Faustus’ aims to become a god fail, the chorus uses his end as a warning to the audience
– Marlowe choses to stray from traditional ending of a morality play where the every-
man character is saved to warn the audience from Faustus’ ambition
o ‘And burnèd is Apollo’s laurel bough’
Apollo is a Greek god associated with knowledge and art
The laurel is also associated with immortality as the leaves never wilt
Paragraph 2: His relationship with God:
From the beginning of the play, Faustus dismisses the Bible shown in his soliloquy where
he chooses necromancy over religion as he thinks it holds the answer to his problems
and will give him an overarching view of the world and power
o ‘The reward of sin is death’
o ‘we are all sinful’
o ‘therefore we must die and everlasting death’
He misses out the idea of repentance and the role of Jesus who died for
our sins
Ironic as religion is the last thing he rejects before he turns to
necromancy – because of his refusal to consider this quote, he lives it for
the rest of the play
Lots of references to God and how Faustus compares himself to God
o ‘may I raise up spirits when I please?’
challenging the law of nature by attempting to play the role of God
o ‘profit[ing] in divinity’
Financial gain from religion
During the Elizabethan period, society viewed the dark arts and black magic with fear
and with James I as an advocate for seeking out witches and prosecuting them, even
passing laws against them
o Audience would’ve understood the severe consequences of rejecting God and
turning to dark arts, society would’ve feared eternal damnation
The whole play is about the psychology of self-delusion – Faustus fills his life with
meaningless materialistic riches rather than face the terror of God
o ‘Despair in God and trust in Beelzebub’
, o ‘To God? He loves thee not’
Paragraph 3: His relationship with the Devil/Mephistopheles:
Faustus believes that he is in control of Mephistopheles when actually he is subservient
to him
He enquires about the origins of the devil – Lucifer wanted to rival God and so
descended to Hell Mephistopheles is damned wherever he is
o ‘Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it’
Hell is a state of mind as much as it is a place
Mephistopheles, unlike Lucifer, clearly tells Faustus to stop his demands
o ‘Everlasting bliss’ contrasts ‘frivolous demands’
Antithesis as his foolish demands haven’t allowed him to see the bigger
picture
Mephistopheles observations about the nature of damnation offers
Faustus an insight into his future
Faustus enjoys the gains of his devilish contract:
o ‘write a deed of gift with thine own blood’
o ‘what good will my soul do thy Lord’
o ‘Solamen miseries socies habuisse doloris’ – Comfort of sorrows is to have
companions in pain
Lucifer utilises comic distraction of the Seven Deadly Sins to prevent Faustus from
repenting
o ‘Think of the devil, And of his dame, too’
Language associated with hell is quite positive:
o ‘Prince in hell’
o ‘Burn his scriptures, slay his ministers’
o ‘Talk of the devil, and nothing else’
Contrast between Old Man and Third Scholar, and Faustus and the strength of their faith
o Faustus doesn’t repent because ‘the devil threatened to tear me in pieces’
Not a lie but Faustus wasn’t strong enough to find a way out
o Third Scholar: ‘God will strengthen me’
Antithesis of ‘the devil’
When Mephistopheles first appears, Faustus commands him to return in a different
shape
o ‘thou are too ugly to attend on me
o Suggests a Franciscan friar since ‘that holy shape becomes a devil best’
First example that suggests Mephistopheles is obedient to Faustus –
feels pride for his power
o ‘I see there’s virtue in my heavenly words’
‘heavenly’ is used in whatever context suits him
oxymoronic as he has just conjured a devil
Paragraph 4: Comparison between the beginning and end
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