WEEK TWO - Marlowe's Work
In order to develop a more detailed understanding of Christopher Marlowe and his context, you are going to explore one of his most famous works, 'The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus'. It is estimated that the play was first performed somewhere between 1588 and Marlowe's death (1593). Using the ideas of the Faust Legend, Marlowe explores theological and philosophical issues that were incredibly pertinent to his time.
To complete your second task, you will need to read Act 1 Scene 1 of the play. You can access the text online here: http://pd.sparknotes.com/lit/doctorfaustus/
If you find the language or ideas challenging, use online study guides such as Spark Notes or Shmoop to help you understand the text.
TASK:
The play begins with Faustus contemplating the idea of knowledge.
Read his thoughts, and think carefully about these questions. Add your responses to this post. You are welcome to add your own views and thoughts as well. This is an interesting topic for discussion, you may want to refer or respond to ideas that other students have added already.
1. What different types of knowledge has Faustus explored? Has he missed any areas that you think are important?
2. What, in your opinion, has driven his thirst for knowledge? Why is he so keen to master all these aspects of academia?
3. What flaws has Faustus found in the different areas of knowledge? Why have they not satisfied him?
4. What draws Faustus to magic and supernatural knowledge? How do you think a contemporary audience would have viewed this decision? What do you think this might lead to later in the play?
5. Is knowledge important? Is learning important? What are the flaws of knowledge? Can you understand Faustus's perspective? Why do people want, or not want, to learn?
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ReplyDeleteThrough his soliloquy, Faustus firstly explores logic, quoting Aristotle. He then moves on to the idea of medicine and quotes the Greek physician Galen. Next, he considers law and draws upon the idea of Justinian. He moves swiftly to divinity but dismisses the idea that “the reward of sin is death”. Finally, he changes path from religion to magic. I think that there are some areas that Faustus does neglect. In my opinion, wisdom is a form of knowledge, yet there is no mention of this in his quest to make himself more reputable. Furthermore, the acts of friendship and kindness require a certain knowledge, and, again Faustus gives them no mention. Furthermore, Faustus is trying to give himself a reputation, he wants fame. And with the knowledge of kindness he would also be able to achieve this aim. However, it may take longer and he could be held back because of a kind nature. Therefore, he may have for-seen this and neglected these strands of knowledge as they won’t deliver him to his aim efficiently.
In my opinion, I think that his want for fame and glory has driven his thirst for knowledge. He wants his name to be renowned throughout the world and thinks that mastering all of these aspects of academia will grant him the fame and the power to achieve this. Mastering all the forms of knowledge that he can think of, in his mind, guarantees a certain power over people, that he will be able to execute to his will.
In logic, Faustus notes that the goal of it is to dispute. Because he already thinks his debating skills are good he believes that logic is not scholarly enough for him.
In medicine, although he believes it to be the most fruitful pursuit, he acknowledges that he is already a renowned doctor and this small fame has brought him no satisfaction. Therefore, there is no point in him following this pursuit any further. He dismisses law quickly as it is petty and he thinks that it only deals with small issues rather than the larger problems. Within divinity, he decides that he does not agree with the doctrine of the Bible, and because of this, it is not the right area to look for more knowledge.
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Faustus is drawn to magic because of the great power that he believes it will bring him. He wants to have complete control, to rule Germany, and he thinks that being able to command different elements of life will help him achieve this, that is why magic beckons him. I believe that a contemporary audience would have been afraid of this decision as at the time, magic was viewed as a blasphemous tool and associated with the devil. For them, it would immediately set Faustus up as a manipulative and cunning presence, and they would have been frightened about what he might do. I believe that Faustus’ decision know, will affect him later in the play, perhaps with the magic he values so much turning on him and causing his downfall. While he may not be a typical tragic hero, I do believe that he will meet a tragic downfall because of his actions in this scene.
I do believe that knowledge and learning is important because in most instances, it does improve us as people. With knowledge and learning, we widen our opportunities, both in our academic and social lives as not all knowledge and learning is academic. Furthermore, different strains of knowledge contribute to different aspects of our lives, such as common sense and the difference between right and wrong.
There are flaws in knowledge – I think the main one being that people can become so hungry for new information that they never use what they have learnt – they don’t live the knowledge they have collected. Furthermore, not all knowledge interests everyone, and some is completely forgotten about. Also, the stigma that surrounds knowledge, a seemingly pompous misinterpretation of it, is what I consider a flaw.
To a sense, I can understand Faustus’ perspective. At times you can become bored with knowledge, or not think it relevant. I also understand how he can see the both good and the bad in each different type he is analysing. However, I do not understand his perspective to follow the path of black magic because he wants power. This is because there are more logical ways to assume power, and the fact that he knows that his ambition may hurt people is something that I can’t comprehend. However, this is probably down to a difference in personalities and era.
I think people want to learn because they see it as improving themselves. There are also the people that learn because they enjoy new information and they like to be able to apply it in their lives. For some, knowledge provides new worlds – or a new way of looking at our already existing world. For these people, knowledge enhances life.
However, there are some people who do not want to learn. Some people are lazy and think that the pursuit if knowledge is a waste of time. There are also those who struggle to comprehend new learning, and it is not through lack of trying, it is simply the fact that their brain is not made up that way. Or, they are completely happy with the learning that they have already completed and do not believe that they need to add any more to their lives.
In the first act Faustus talks about many different types of knowledge including, logic Greek physician, law, medicine. He then comes to the conclusion that there is no punishment for sin. That there is no such thing as karma. Instead of staying religious and trusting his beliefs he decides to give up on his faith and resort to magic. He does this so that he gets to be well known. I think that Marlowe writes this as when he was growing up was raised in a religious family and also believed in God. However, when he got older he stopped believing in religion and started believing in science instead. This is incorporated in many of Marlowe’s plays as he, this made him stand out and be remembered as in the 15th century nearly everyone was religious. Faustus talks about all these different types of knowledge as he wants learn all this different knowledge’s so that he can famous and do whatever he wants. Some could say that he has a thirst for knowledge, however he believes that logic is beneath him which is ironic as he is contemplating whether or not to make a deal with the devil. He then moves onto medicines, but as he is already a renowned doctor, he believes that didn’t give him much success and therefore thinks that it wouldn’t bring him much more success. Then Faustus talks contemplates law, but as he believes that this wouldn’t help his career as he would get to deal with the small issues. And with divinity, Faustus believes that a doctrine of the Bible doesn’t go together. Faustus is then intrigued by magic as he thinks that this would get him a lot of power. He wants this so that he can control Germany, and he believes that his life has prepared him for this. I think that the audience would disagree with Faustus as in this time, nearly everyone was religious and therefore this would cause them to dislike Faustus. Magic was seen as a way to talk to the Lucifer (the devil). I predict that this would be the downfall for Faustus as he would get drunk with power or he would encounter with the devil. As Faustus isn’t scared of the devil but instead thinks of him as a business man that he can make a deal with, he will be the antagonistic and the fact that his ambitions is to cause harm to people proves that and I think that the hero would be a religious man that believes in God as this is what the audience would have wanted in that time. I think that knowledge is important as it helps us move forwards and help one another. It allows us to grow and develop a deeper understanding and become a better person. However not everyone is intrigued with all knowledge’s so they easily forget it so I think for us to lean faster we need to interested in what we are learning and we shouldn’t force it. After seeing Faustus view on knowledge I think that we all have the point in our lives where we think that it is useless but we have to power through as it has a huge benefit. I know that black magic and cutting corners when learning has its perks but you wouldn’t get the same outcome.
ReplyDeleteIn the first act Faustus briefly mentions knowledge upon logic, Greek, physician, law and medicine, however intentionally does not include knowledge on religion which introduces itself later along in the scene. The character’s thirst for knowledge comes from Marlow’s agnostic views, which is expressed in this play through the characters ‘Good angle’ and ‘Bad angle’; therefore, the conclusion of continue with dark magic, reflects Marlow converting to atheism. In addition, the character of Faustus concludes that there will be no final consequence for his actions, which is what the Good angle is expressing otherwise. This would have been an unseen approach in Marlow’s era as religion played a big factor in society. Faustus mentions the different types of knowledge that he wants to retain maybe due to the existing feelings of Marlow agnostic views leaving to a feeling of incomplete knowledge about scriptures, or this could be that he would like his audience to know of the different knowledge other than religion that lie within the world. There is a sense of irony as Marlow does not believe in God yet uses the Devil in his work which does lie a foundation of religion within his work. Faustus is lead to magic and supernatural knowledge maybe due to Marlow’s wonders of afterlife, which wouldn’t have agreed with the audience at the time nonetheless, now is appreciated as the modern audience contains people of different religious views. These abstract thoughts and courageous behaviour maybe lead the government to approach him for work. Knowledge is important which is also shown within the play that Marlow also shares this view, and that Faustus thirst for knowledge could show Marlow not wanting to miss out on certain knowledge just that society dictated that this is unacceptable. Nevertheless, there are some downfalls of knowledge as it leads to having a big ego and becoming condescending; I predict that this will come into the play in a later stage, that Faustus will become ‘big for his boots’ and maybe his deal with the devil will come back to haunt him. I understand Faustus perspective to want to learn, as this brings a better understanding of the world around us as well as a sense of superiority.
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