Faustus Critics Quotes Flashcards
Quote about the actions of other characters?
Other characters ‘parody and thus deflate the actions of the tragic protagonist’ - Biester
Quote about the descent of Faustus’ magic?
‘Shadows the bathos in Faustus’ magic, the plummet from grand designs to silly tricks’ - Biester
Description of Marlowe?
‘the tripartite roles of wayward scholar, secret agent and innovative playwright’ - Riggs
Similarity in background between Marlowe and Faustus?
‘Marlowe surely noticed that Dr Faustus came from a humble background’ - Riggs
Reputation of Marlowe?
‘odious moral reputation’ - Riggs
What did Marlowe consume?
‘…a proselytizing atheist, a counterfeiter and a consumer of boys and tobacco.’ - Richard Baines
What has become public?
‘Marlowe bestrides the moment when English atheism comes out of the closet and acquires a public face.’ - Riggs
Quote about Marlowe as a secret agent?
‘The evidence for Marlowe’s involvement with espionage and crime is too substantial to be explained away.’ - Riggs
References to classics and mythology?
‘Marlowe veils the subversive element of his text in classical allusions’ - Riggs
Where Marlowe grew up?
‘16th century Canterbury where Marlowe grew up was a spiritual wasteland with more public executions for heresy than any place apart from London.’ - Riggs
How was his death viewed?
‘Protestant ministers saw Marlowe’s violent end at the age of 29 as an act of divine vengeance’ - Riggs
Who did Marlowe desire?
‘Unless Marlowe was celibate, the readiest outlet for his own sexual desires lay with other men’ - Riggs
What was intrinsic to education?
‘Love between men was intrinsic to the humanist educational programme’ - Riggs
What did Marlowe’s generation look into?
‘Instead of seeking God in the heavens, Marlowe’s generation charted the earthly course of imperial conquest’ - Riggs
What did early performances do?
‘Early performances of Dr Faustus were notoriously successful at blurring the distinction between performance and reality through elements of illusion and trickery’ - Riggs
What was Marlowe interested in?
‘fascination with astrology and social advancement’ - Riggs
Offensive to religion?
‘Jesus Christ was a bastard, St Mary a whore…’ - Riggs
What was acceptable to modern audiences?
‘Marlowe, whose blasphemies stood for an impulse that was acceptable to modern readers – free thought, anti-philistinism, the quest for transcendence’ - Riggs
Where was Marlowe taught evil things?
‘the institutions – city, church, grammar school, university, secret service and public playhouse. . . taught young Marlowe what transgression was.’ - Riggs
Quote about the Pope bashing?
‘they are asked to condemn Faustus for his pact with Lucifer at the same time that they are encouraged to applaud him for playing practical jokes on a national enemy’ Sales
Learn thou of Faustus’ manly fortitude?
‘Irony in his arrogant recommendation of manliness to a supernatural being’ (J D Jump)
