Thinking Activity: Dr. Faustus: A play by Christopher Marlowe

Hello ! Readers.

I am Nirali Makvana from M.A Sem 1. As a assignment submission task on thinking Activity: Dr. Faustus: A play by Christopher Marlowe I would like to give some answers of these questions. My answers of these following questions are below. 

Question: 1

● The play directed by Matthew Dunster for Globe theatre ends with this scene. ( see the image of Lucifer.  What does it signify )

                         Lucifer: The prince of hell 

     

                        Dr. Faustus is a tragic drama written by Christopher Marlowe and directed by Matthew Dunster. It is a tragic drama about the fall of Dr. Faustus because of his lust of gaining more knowledge and Power. He was already master in medicine, law, logic and theology. Yet he wants to become more powerful with the help of black magic. He deals with the devil soul Mephastophilis. Faustus is given twenty four years of absolute power and then after finish twenty four years he will then sell his soul to Lucifer. It is a picture of Lucifer, the prince of evil, the ruler of hell and Mephastophilis's master. It is a scene of the end of the drama Dr. Faustus. In this picture we see Lucifer, spreading his wings and celebrating his win because of he becomes successful to tempting Dr. Faustus for to go to into hell with the help of Mephastophilis. Throughout the play we see the Good angel and the Old man appear in drama for suggest to Dr. Faustus that he is selecting wrong path. At the end of the play Dr. Faustus wants to repent and urged to God and several natural things in different way like he prays to God that,

                      " O, I'll leap up to my God ! Who pulls me down? Once drop of blood would save my soul, half a drop: ah my christ. "


                  " Stand still, you ever- moving spheres of heaven, That time may cease and midnight never come."

                                        Thus, Dr. Faustus is a tragic drama ends with the fall of Dr. Faustus and this picture signify the happy Lucifer celebrating his win.

Question: 2 

● Is God present in the play ? If yes where and how? If no why ?

                        Yes, we see the God mentally but not physically in the play. Some characters of this play are sign of God. For example the Good angel and the Old man are the voice of God. Throughout the play they derived Dr. Faustus in a good way and suggests to repent but we see Dr. Faustus in some confusion. In the first part of this scene Faustus's mind begins to waver. There is a conflict between Faustus and his mind that whether he should carry the plan or not. He hanged the chain of Christ. Its suggests that Dr. Faustus chose the path of knowledge and power. Dr. Faustus associates with the Godhood and there by become like a God himself.

                    Christopher Marlowe is a renaissance man. That's why he physically leaves the God in this play. Its suggests the worth of god in the mind of renaissance people. At the end of the play when the time of sell the soul of Dr. Faustus he wants to repent and tried to convince god for save his soul and urged the God.

          " O Christ, my saviour, my saviour. 

             Help to save distressed Faustus' soul! "

 But we see the tragic end of Dr. Faustus. God not seen physically throughout the play. And also the Chorus is a voice of God. At the end of the play it described the fate of the Dr. Faustus. 

● Question: 3

What reading and interpretation can be given to this image ( see the image of Daedalus and Icarus) with reference to central theme of the play Dr. Faustus ?

         

                       It is a picture of the Greek myth Daedalus and Icarus. Icarus was a son of Daedalus and they were prisoner. The father Daedalus thinks about how they become free. At that time Daedalus saw the bird in sky and thinks that how bird is free. He got idea and tried to make the wings of Wax and taught his son Icarus that how they fly. He warned to Icarus that when he went nearer to sea he might fall in the sea and told him to keep away from the sun. The heat would make the wax melt and destroying the wings. Although Icarus was too young and too enthusiastic about flying. He started flying high salute the sun. Icarus soon saw his wings melting and result is that Icarus fell into the sea. 

                Now, we can apply this same theme in Dr. Faustus. The main theme of Dr. Faustus is,

                    ■ Quest for knowledge 

                    ■ Quest for Power

                      

                   The fall of Dr. Faustus for gaining more power and more knowledge standing against God and good spirit. He gained more power and knowledge through the help of black magic and signed the deal with Mephistophilis to sell his soul after finished twenty four years. In between the play we see the entry of good spirit like the good angel and the old man who derived Dr. Faustus to change his way and the other side the Evil angel who gave excitement to Dr. Faustus for more power and knowledge. So, the end of the play Dr. Faustus is tragic end. Some good spirit warned him and in the Greek myth the father Daedalus warned his son. Here we compare the excitement and lust of Dr. Faustus and Icarus and the result is that their tragic end.

●Question: 4

How do you interpret this painting?

       

                           This is a painting by Pieter Bruegel landscape with the fall of Icarus put in the Royal Museum of Fine Artsof Belgium in Brussels. In this picture we see the shephard gazing into the air far away from the ship and in the Greek mythology we see the father Daedalus in the sky to the left at which he stares. The Farmer continued to plough pointing out the ignorance of man who fall in the sea. The painting suggest the depict of humankind's indifference to suffering by highlights that the ordinary events continue to occur despite the unobserved death of Icarus. Here we are find out the theme 

         

                                ♧ Centre v/s Periphery

Question: 5

Read this article by Bhagat singh. In light of the argument made by Bhagat Singh in this article, can you re-write last monologue of Dr. Faustus?

                               Bhagat singh was a strong atheist. In his article he discussed that Pride and Vanity are two different things. Bhagat singh said that I have never been able to understand how unfounded baseless pride or empty vanity can hinder a person from believing in God. Only two things are possible: either a mans deems himself to be in possession of Godly qualities or he goes a step further and declares himself to be a God. In this article he described that how he was being believer of God and later then he become atheist. So this idea of Bhagat Singh about God and the term atheist if we can apply in the play Dr. Faustus then what will happens. Now let us see.

                   

                            Dr. Faustus is a tragic drama about the fall of Dr. Faustus only because of his lust for gaining more power and knowledge. The result is that the end of the play he sold his soul to Lucifer. But tragedy is that after gaining knowledge and power Dr. Faustus didn't want to go in hell. That's why he urged God and many universal things for save him. But if Dr. Faustus is a atheist then the end of play is happy and different. Dr. Faustus is not need to urge the God and universal things. But he is request to Lucifer and Mephastophilis that, " O, Lucifer, the prince of evil ! The ruler of hell! Come fast and bring me with you in hell. O, stars and Planets move fast. I can't wait for this beautiful moment. " So, if Dr. Faustus is a atheist then he live happy and satisfied life with gaining power and knowledge. 

Question: 6

Summarise articles discuss in the class:

■ Marlowe and God: Tragic theory of Dr. Faustus 

■ Myth, Psychology and Marlowe's Dr. Faustus 

1. Marlowe and God : Tragic theory of Dr. Faustus:-

    

                      The article Marlowe and God: the tragic theory of Dr. Faustus is written by Robert Ornstein. In this article he discussed about two term : Artistically theme and moral attitude with the reference of the two examples 1616 Quarto as a key to Marlowe's tragic intention and 1604 Quarto. And also he discussed that in Marlowe's play as in source the hero's defiant, blasphemous choice of black magic is a splendid beginning  his final moment of dread and despaired are a powerful conclusion. While the tragic  theology of Dr. Faustus admits the incarnation which is derided in Marlowe's atheistic pronouncements. Robert Ornstein says that we find nothing in Marlowe 's play that resembles the tragic acceptance of other dramatists. Rejection of Marlowe's enthusiasm George Chapman fashioned of the stoic fortitude that triumps over adversity. We see in Dr. Faustus Marlowe's testament of despair we perfect correspondence between the nihilism and Marlowe's art and his life.

■ Myth, Psychology and Marlowe's Dr. Faustus:-

                                       In this article Kenneth L Golden discuss the Myth, Psychology and Marlowe's Dr. Faustus.  In starting of the article Kenneth put the example of Jung. According to Jung , " Mankind has never lacked powerful images to lend magical aid against all the uncanny things that live in the depth of the psyche " . The death of the meaning in the mythic symbol of christianity was beginning during the Renaissance Reformation period. In the opening in the play Dr. Faustus looks back over his intellectual area of Philosophy, medicine, law and theology.  After gaining all knowledge and power Dr. Faustus wants to repent and save his soul. The reason is that he needs a time for realizes repentance to be a process not controlled by the will. God is not help Dr. Faustus. Religion has come the point of being ineffectual. The positive ending of Goethe's Faust was not possible in Marlowe's time. Kenneth L. Golden says that Faustus' hubris is , like that technology man, brought on by the contrast with the demon of the atom.