Chorus 1 Flashcards
“Parents base of stock”
He’s low class
-Reflects the every man
-Echoing Marlow
He aims to rise from this poor family
-it’s a typical trait of a Gothic protagonist
“Till swollen with cunning of a self conceit, his wax and wings did mount above his reach and melting heavens conspired his overthrow”
An allusion of to Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus
-compares f to foolish Icarus who ignored the warnings to stay safely between the Sun in the ocean but he stayed too close to the Sun and plotted to death
-The chorus compares F to Icarus as he too foolishly rejects the safe middle ground
-forshadowing fs end hinting his downfall
-Put this on edge as F he’s like Icarus and will see beyond his means and fail horribly
-Warning of the dangers of overreaching
“ he surfaced upon cursed necromancy which he prefers before his chiefest bliss”
-Religious foreshadowing of damnation
-Marlow wrote in a time of significant theological debate
-The chorus/prologue reflects these tensions presenting Fs tragedy as a moral warning against rejecting divine authority
-could be Marlow criticising the pursuit of human knowledge (celebrated in the Renaissance) with a protestant lens emphasise the consequences of rejecting gods authority for personal gain
-represents an iconoclast: challenging accepted traditional beliefs like necromancy and rejecting God
-He prefers necromancy over the help of life after death (chiefest bliss)
-Showing his rejection of religion as he embrace his necromancy
-Therefore, he’s seen as a Renaissance man instead of a Medieval character
“ and gutted now with learnings golden gifts”
His excessive search for knowledge and books is the source of his temptation
-as fastest learns more he becomes more greedy and gain a greater desire for knowledge
-Presents the sin of greed
“ melting heavens conspired his overthrow”
-There’s a suggestion that the heavens are against him and so his fault isn’t entirely his fault
= he doesn’t get what he deserves
= this is due to the use of the word conspired
= therefore the audience may sympathise with him
-The religious tones for shadow fs damnation
-Milo wrote at a time of significant theological debate
“ he surfs upon cursed necromancy
