Dr Faustus - Prologue

Role of the Chorus:

1)Supplies background information and comments on the action.

'The Chorus's mediation between the audience and the central performance, provides a sense of daily life as a theatrical event: of moral decision being under observation.'

'The Prologue Chorus is fundamentally opposed to Faustus' philosophies and actions: Marlowe is expressing here... one of the fundamental issues of his times: man's new faith in his own intellectual resources against a deeply routed Christian concept of the vanity of human endeavour alone.' 

3)Sums up Faustus' early life emphasising his lowly social origins and outlines his development as a celebrated scholar to someone who brings about his own destruction after practising necromancy. Look at lines 11-19 and pick out key examples of his early life and academic success:

-Lowly social origins - 'Of riper years to Wittenberg he went, whereas his kinsmen chiefly brought him up'

-Development as a celebrated scholar - 'So soon he he profits in divinity, the fruitful plot of scholarism graced' 

-Own destruction - 'His waxen wings did mount above his reach' reference to Icarus, greek mythology. 

Then look at 20-28 for examples which illustrate that Faustus has over-reached himself 

-'And melting heavens conspired his overthrow.' and 'He surfeits upon cursed necromancy; nothing so sweet as magic is to him.'

What other words and phrases at the end of this first Chorus, having negative connotations, also point to Faustus' self-destruction?

-'...melting heavens conspired his overthrow', '...falling to a devilish existence', 'He surfeits upon cursèd necromancy'.

Act 1 Scene 1

4)The scene follows on from the preceding speech and begins with Faustus seated in his study surrounded by books. He speaks in a long soliloquy listing the great writers he has studied and considers their ideas and discoveries. He imagines himself as pursuing each of their fields of knowledge. He is systematic in his approach: considering the purpose of each of the intellectual disciplines. For each of them summaries his response to each discipline and name the classical figures to whom he refers:

Theology - 'In heavenly matters of theology; till, swoll'n with cunning of a self-conceit' arrogance towards his closeness to god? (I have written close to God next to these lines???)

Philosophy - Aristotle, greek philosopher and teacher of logic

Medicine - 'health is the greatest good medicine can do' the purpose of medicine is our bodies health

The Law - Justinian, Roman Emperor, famous for his codification of Roman law in the Institutes

5)What are his reasons for turning to magic? 

Faustus feels that he must turn to magic in the hope that, combined with his intelligence, it will make him godlike and capable of transcending mortality. This is because he feels theology is logically inevitable that all human beings must sin and so die. 

6)Who are Valdes and Cornelius and why does he send for them? How do they contribute to Faustus' decision to study necromancy? 

Valdes are Cornelius are two of Faustus' friends who offer to teach him the arts of dark magic. When they are first presented to us, Faustus repeats his ideas and they continue to feed his expectations, by promising the services of spirits in many disguises. The spells they offer to Faustus will make devils and spirits perform his commands. Valdes even hints that he could conjure women at his desire -'Shadowing more beauty in their airy brows/Than in the white breasts of the Queen of Love'.

7)What functions do the Good Angel and Bad Angel perform in this scene?

The Good Angel in the first scene threatens Faustus with God's anger if he follows the course he has decided, whilst the Evil Angel follows by suggesting that Faustus can achieve great earthly power. As a morality play, Faustus appears to hear only the last speaker, the Evil Angel. 

8)Lucifer was cast out of the heavens for the sin of pride, what examples of pride can you attribute to Faustus in this scene?

'How comes it then, that he is prince of devils?'. The qualities described by Mestopheles in this scene see the devils relation depicting the qualities the devil possessed which led to his expulsion from heaven, which are relatable to Faustus. 

Reading Journal

CONTEXT

Feminism 1^st Wave:

19^th century to early 20^th century. First sparked in the UK and the US due to inequalities and officially mandated inequalities. Considered Feminists of this time include Mary Wollstonecraft along with Lucy Stone and Olympia Brown. The first wave initially thought to have passed after the success of the nineteenth amendment within congress granting women the right to vote. This also created an influx of reforms in the workplace, healthcare, professions and education. Feminists of the first wave worked against unmarried woman remaining property of their fathers and for married women, becoming property of their husbands. An educated woman at the time was dangerous, and Anne Askew was burnt to death for withholding such knowledge as she said to have challenged ‘implicitly or explicitly the patriarchal order’.

‘First wave feminists spent hundreds of years in activism, writing, protesting and working for the betterment and equality of their sex and gender. First wave feminists worked not only for suffrage, or the right to vote, but also for the right to an education, the right to work, the right to work safely, the right to the money they earned when they worked, the right to a divorce, the right to their children and the right to themselves and their own bodies.’ – being feminist blog.

Summary: voting rights, property rights, birth control (that existed at the time - condoms or sponges and, just as important, education about sexuality and how to prevent conception.) Achieved.

Feminism 2^nd Wave:

1960’s to 1980’s. Followed from the first wave, after there was a sense of ‘unfinished business’. Addressed the issues of unofficial inequalities. Encouraged women to understand the personal issues within their lives, as well as questioning the sexist’s structure of power. Several key movements and events during this period, impacting on the influence of women, their power, and feminism including, Equal Pay act 1963, the Civil Rights Act 1964 in the US, formation of the National Organisation for Women, the rise of radical feminism, Educational Amendments in 1972. Key figures included Angela Davis and Jo Freeman.

Summary: sexual freedom, legislative work to change sexist law, integration into the workplace, equal funding, integration into the political arena

Feminism 3^rd Wave:

1990’s to present. Informed by post-modern and post-colonial thinking. Readdresses derogatory terms such as ‘slut’ and ‘bitch’ in order to subvert a sexist culture.

Summary: sexual freedom, inclusion of gendered females, diversity, inclusion of women of colour and women from other cultures - plus the issues surrounding both 1st and 2nd wave feminism.

Marxism and its role in the 20^th Century:

Marx’s theory of history is contradicted by the fact that industrialised countries have not moved closer to revolution. The recent revolutions have been in peasant societies, such as China. Capitalist societies seem to have become more secure from threat of revolution throughout the 20th century. 20th Century America after the working class proved by events that they had no interest in serving as cannon fodder for the Marxist revolutionary forces; the revolutionary forces shifted the focus of their efforts to radicalizing women and minorities, blacks, Hispanics and Third World Immigrants, with the intent that these groups become Karl Marx's new proletarians.

Carter’s previous work and publications:

Shadow Dance, The Magic Toyshop, Several Perceptions, Heroes and Villains, Love, The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman, The Passion of New Eve, Nights at the Circus, Wise Children. (All classed as novels)

The Bloody Chamber, The Bridegroom, Black Venus, American Ghosts and Old World Wonders, Burning Your Boats, Fireworks: Nina Profane Pieces. (Short fiction)

Five Quiet Shouter, Unicorn. (Poetry collections)

Come Unto These Yellow Sands: Four Radio Plays, The Curious Room: Plays, Film Scripts and an Opera, The Holy Family Album. (Dramatic works)

The Donkey Prince, Miss Z, the Dark Young Lady, Comic and Curious Cats, Moonshadow, Sea-Cat and Dragon King. (Children’s books)

The Sadeian Woman and the Ideology of Pornography, Nothing Sacred: Selected Writings, Expletives Deleted: Selected Writings, Shaking a Leg: Collected Journalism and Writing. (Non-Fiction works)

Extract from Nights at the Circus:

Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter focus’ on the whirlwind relationship between reporter Jack Walser and trapeze artist Sophia Fevvers. The two meet when Jack comes to interview Sophia. She fascinates him because of her unusual anatomical difference. Sophia claims that she was hatched from an egg rather than delivered from a woman. She also states that she had two lumps, one on each shoulder, until she reached puberty. At that point, the two lumps began growing until they were full-size wings. These wings are one of the big attractions for Jack. They are also what make Sophia such a wonder at the trapeze.

Major Film/News Stories 3 Years before and after:

Film

1976- Rocky, The Omen, King Kong

1977- Star Wars, Saturday Night Fever, A Bridge Too Far

1978- Grease, Superman, Jaws 2

1980- The Shining, Star Wars Episode V, The Elephant Man

1981- Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman II, Chariots of Fire

1982- ET, Rocky II, Annie

News

1976- Korean cars imported, NEC in BHam opened by Queen, Wilson resigns, opening of Rutland Water

1977- The Clash release first album, prostitute Patricia Atkinson murdered in Bradford as a result of the Yorkshire Ripper, prostitute Jean Jordan dead after another Yorkshire Ripper attack, Marilyn Moore attacked by supposed Yorkshire Ripper

1978- Body of 21 year-old prostitute found Yorkshire Ripper thought to be responsible.

1980- First UK Indie Chart published in Record Week, Thatcher announces state benefit to strikers will be halved, poll by Evening Standard suggest 6/10 Britons unhappy with Thatcher’s Conservative government, Zimbabwe independent from the UK, inflation rises to 21.8%, unemployment reaches post war high of 1,600,000 followed by high of 1,900,000, John Lennon shot in NY.

1981- Thatcher announces it will sell half of its shares in British Aerospace, Homebase opens in Croydon, unemployment stands at 2,400,000 or 10% of workforce, MP’s challenging leadership of Thatcher, UK census conducted, 80 arrests during clashes between White Power Skinheads and black people in Coventry, First case of AIDS in the UK, inflation falls to 11.9%

1982- unemployment 3 million, Queen celebrates pearl jubilee, Falklands war begins, Haçienda opens in Manc, The Smiths formed.

Polemical

Negative Reviews:

Positive Reviews:

Problems with Feminism/Marxism

Feminism:

-Unfair view on feminism, mostly middle/upper class females

-Men specifically may find it difficult to relate to, as they are not females themselves

-Feminist theories do not allow for the natural tendencies of men. They do to men exactly what they claim was wrongly done to women for centuries

Marxism:

-Outdated in terms of social, economic and political theories

-Some of Marx’s theories are inconsistent, specifically the ‘value theory’

-Engenders the belief that the end justifies the means

-Freud saw "sexual energy" to be the motivating factor behind human endeavour and Nabokov seemed to feel artistic impulse was the real factor, Marx thought that "historical materialism" was the ultimate driving force, a notion involving the distribution of resources, gain and production

Viewpoint

Marxism: The report goes on to suggest the damp in social housing is a direct result of increasing poverty and ever increasing energy bills.  Therefore, because they are poor, remain in unsatisfactory living conditions, due to the fact that it is unaffordable to address the issue in most cases.

Feminism: In an article by The Guardian, a review of the year in sexist remarks is complied including inappropriately made sexist remarks by a variety of different people both in and out of the public eye in what can be described as an attempt to draw awareness to ‘everyday sexism’.