WEEK SEVEN - Political satire
After selling his soul to the devil, Faustus spends time travelling the world and trying to experience everything he can. In Act 3 Scene 1 and Act 3 Scene 2, Mephistophilis and Faustus visit Rome and spend time with the leaders of the Catholic church.
In order to understand the satirical aspects of this scene you need to understand the religious and political contexts that Marlowe was writing in.
Use this study guide to develop and improve your understanding of the religious situation in Tudor England. This is a good, detailed starting point but with a little research you could extend this understanding through further independent research.
http://crossref-it.info/textguide/Doctor-Faustus/14/1661
ReplyDeleteMarlowe uses political and religious satire in Act 3 Scene 1 and 2. In these scenes Faustus and Mephistopheles are in Rome, watching the procession of the Pope. The Pope is condemning a man who claims to be the true Pope (Bruno). They talk about burning Bruno as a heretic. These two scenes, ending with the Cardinals trying to perform an exorcism on the Pope, are a direct attack at the monarchy in Tudor England. When Dr Faustus was first performed (in 1592) Elizabeth I was Queen. Marlowe had therefore experienced the Reformation under Henry VIII, when he broke away from the Catholic church, and the terrifying reign of Mary I, where she burnt Protestants at the stake for being heretics.
These changes left the country in turmoil – no one wanted to prosecuted for their faith, yet they were expected to follow the religion of the monarchy. When Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic church he was condemned by the Pope, many viewed his decision as a blasphemous act. His daughter, Mary I accused Protestants of being heretics when she turned the religion of the country back to Catholic. People were unsure of what was right.
This ties in to the fact that Bruno speaks of the previous Pope’s words, but the current Pope dismisses them. Marlowe is critiquing how rules and allegations change from ruler to ruler, or from monarch to monarch.
The fact that these scenes are entwined with the confusion of the antics of Faustus and Mephistopheles, it creates an allegory for the panic and uncertainty of England and the time of this religious turmoil. Furthermore, near the end of the scene when the Cardinals believe that the Pope is possessed, shows the confusion and calamity of the Church itself. There seems to be no certainty or clear path forward.
Marlowe includes these scenes, because, while on the surface they provide some comic value, they also firmly criticise the society that he grew up in. From his point of view, as an atheist, Marlowe could appreciate the two sides equally and seems to come to the confusion that the conflict is an unnecessary joke. He causes Faustus to publically humiliate the Pope and condemns Bruno – neither side are displayed as the winner. This illuminates Marlowe’s view, he sits between the Catholics and the Protestants, but does condone the actions of either.
Marlowe uses satire to lighten the atmosphere created by the mature topic of religion. As this was brought up in a tragedy genre rather than a morality play, it may have left the audience feeling disappointed and livid; however, would have been disembarked as the anger would have been cooled by the ridicule within the scene. In the Tudor times the England was followed the practice of the Catholic Church. As in this era many people were religious and by including the Church element brought by the Pope made the pupils feel more comfortable as it was an element that occurred. As the religion was not debated rather blindly followed in this time it made the audience invested and question their beliefs, as Faustus was an example of an atheist in that era.
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