Full summary and analysis of Dr Faustus. These notes helped me to get an A* for English Literature A-level. Sourced from my class notes, English A-level textbooks and reliable websites online. Perfect for writing A* Dr Faustus essays and for revising. Great price considering these notes took me hou...
Scene summaries
Key
o F = Faustus
o M = Mephistopheles
o OM = Old Man
o V = Valdes
o C = Cornelius
o L = Lucifer
o HofT = Helen of Troy
Structure
o Beginning (illusion of magic), middle (reality of magic), end.
o Not split into acts when first written.
o Act 1 + 2- F anticipating what he’ll do with magic/doubts.
o Act 3 + 4- fragmented/unsatisfying- degraded F/increasingly debased.
o Act 5- back on track- F heading towards damnation.
Act 1- Scene 1
o F’s soliloquy = monologue alone on stage.
o 2nd person referral- split personality/duality- cut off from self.
o F = Dr of theology at uni- not enough for him- wants to master everything.
Finite words ‘depth’ ‘end’- get to limit of every subject.
o Approaches decision systematically- considers purpose of each intellectual discipline.
1. Medicine
Make money/ immortalized.
F thinks already good/knows everything with medicine.
Not enough-cannot make a man live eternally.
Blasphemous- making people live forever/raising from dead describes activities of
Christ in New Testament.
2. Justinian- Roman Emperor- Law
Too dull/superficial/material.
Beneath F’s intelligence- ‘illiberal’- not benefitting someone educated in liberal arts
e.g. geometry.
Wants something more fundamental.
3. Theology
2 Bible versus- sin = death- but everyone sins- does this mean everyone will die?
If message of divinity is we all sin and we all die- rejects.
Selective choice of Bible verses however- misses out part saying God will forgive if
repent- promise of salvation- only focuses on negative.
o F already knows he wants necromancy- simply finding reasons to reject.
Debating- selective in evidence.
o Necromancy- ‘heavenly’- polysemy- ironic effect:
Religious/secular meaning.
Ambiguity:
Blind to religious consequences of indulging in necromancy- ‘canonize’-
polysemy- secular= turn to celebrity/ religious= turn to a saint.
Audience made aware- F not considering consequences.
Or is F punning- fully understands but doesn’t care- playful.
o F- clever academically/stupid in other sense-not wise.
Using cleverness in the service of foolishness.
Marlowe satirizes the uni student.
Academics- everything is an argument- foolish as don’t understand reality.
o Frivolous attitude- concepts such as ‘sin’ and ‘hell’- just words to him.
o Expressing genuine frustration of the time- wanted to push boundaries.
‘Profit’- F meaning excitement of discovery not profit.
Reflecting aspirations of humanists- faith in ‘the mind of man’.
1590s- old limits diminishing- world opening up- geographically and knowledge.
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