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.
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