faustus essay plans

Question 1

faustus plan

Answer 1

1- renaissance man with (too) high? ambitions so rejects god
2- inner conflict about repentance + spiral to mediocrity - in rejecting god faustus has nowhere to go but down
3- warning about how the untrammelled pursuit of knowledge can be corrupting + disrupting chain of being

Question 2

faustus para 1 quotes

Answer 2

rejects 4 main disciplines + states authorities for each, models medieval learning, thus rejection = rejection of medieval ideals “a greater subject fitteth faustus’ wit”- yearns for power + respect + honour - model renaissance man, also arrogant

“yet art thou still but faustus, and a man” “these metaphysics of magicians and necromancies books are heavenly […] these are that which faustus most desires” - reaches too far - wants to be a god - against chain of being

“o by aspiring pride and insolence, for which god threw him from the face of heaven” - this was lucifer fate and it foreshadows faustus’s - his hamartia are his blind spots , his arrogance + hubris + greed

blood congeals, “is it unwilling i should write this bill?” - own body reluctant to give up soul - faustus ignores - he signs his soul to the devil

Question 3

faustus para 2 quotes

Answer 3

“my hearts so hardened i cannot repent” - he fears he is unable to repent, and that god will reject him

“had not sweet pleasures conquered deep despair” - greed - still desires all the benefits of his deal

faustus asks about creation of the earth,chorus speaks of faustus travelling through heavens on a chariot pulled by dragons - contrasts later scenes - uses magic for cheap tricks + pranks, mirrors lower class comedy characters - shows spiral downwards from tragic greatness to self-indulgent mediocrity - by rejecting god, where pursuit of power+knowledge inextricably ends up, nowhere to go but down

“what art thou, faustus, but a man condemned to die” - weight of impending doom

“christ did call the thief upon the cross” -he assumes he can wait until the last minute, audience anticipates his willingness to delay will prove fatal - foolish

Question 4

faustus para 3 quotes

Answer 4

asks helen to make him “immortal” by kissing him - before he sought transcendence through magic, now through sex + female beauty, helen may not be real as faustus could only conjure visions - wastes last hours dallying with fantasy images

“oft i have though to have done so, but the devil threatened to tear me in pieces if i named god” - blames lucifer for not repenting, should blame himself + ignores the old man - symbol of conscience that plagues him - delusion persists to the very end, served lucifer for so long he can’t imagine breaking free

faustus final speech - emotionally powerful + despairing - mind goes idea to idea - finally takes responsibility for fate, displays various attempts to escape doom leading to an understanding of his guilt

“ugly hell gape not! come not, lucifer! i’ll burn my books” - switch from faustus at start of play, entertains medieval ideas of knowledge and religion, reinforced by the chorus “only to wonder at unlawful things”

Question 5

mephastophilis plan

Answer 5

1- surprisingly truthful - seems to try to dissuade him - juxtaposes initial perceptions of devils + cements himself as morally ambiguous
2- powerful or powerless - ultimately powerless thus exposing faustus’ foolishness + emphasising to audience marlowes moral
3- flippancy - makes faustus look foolish and suggests his deal with the devil wasn’t worth it - inverts servant master relationship with faustus - common contemporary trope - but not lucifer

Question 6

mephy para 1 quotes

Answer 6

“think’s thou that i, who saw the face of good, and tasted the eternal joys of heaven, am not tormented with ten thousand hells in being deprived of ever lasting bliss?” - seeks to damn faustus, but speaks openly about himself being damned to hell, and the horrors he experiences

when faustus absurdly states he doesn’t believe in hell, “i am an instance to prove the contrary; for i am damned, and am now in hell” - M is honest, he doesn’t manipulate faustus or trick him

Ms pain = “as great as have the human souls of men” - regrets serving lucifer - name means “not loving light”, further emph, as lucifer means “bearer of light” - yet faustus ignores advice - serves to emphasise his ego, believes he knows best than even M

Question 7

mephy para 2 quotes

Answer 7

mephistopheles speaks of “greater things” + puts on a show “to show thee what magic can perform” - ostensibly powerful, however intelligence is evident - purposely showers faustus in riches he most desires - makes magic seem extra impressive

admits “i am a servant to great lucifer” “no more than he commands must we perform” - yet faustus sells soul anyway - demonstrates his foolishness - supposed scholarly renaissance man misunderstands the nature of his choice - he sells his soul for what he thinks is greater power+freedom, but is dependent upon M - early establishment of this ensures audience knows of foolishness

Question 8

mephy para 3 quotes

Answer 8

source of bathos - effect of anticlimax created by unintentional lapse in mood from sublime to ridiculous

F “first i will question with thee about hell: tell me, where is the place than men call hell” M “under the heavens” - short one line answer - heavens implies all inferior to god

faustus asks for books for “all spells and incantations” “all characters and planets of the heavens” “all plants, herbs and trees that grow upon the earth” - M replies they are all in one book - faustus sold his soul for one book - foolish

F “tell me who made the world” M “i will not” - violates agreement yet faustus never brings up to avoid eternal damnation

ambiguity = inherently duplicitous nature + allows him to absolve himself of blame for faustus damnation - context: result of religious uncertainty of elizabethan era

Question 9

good + evil angel plan

Answer 9

1- summarise characterisation - shows initial indulgence in sin which ultimately damns him - suggests faustus fault?
2- EA language used flips later in the play - emph how good = consistent + genuine + true but bad = duplicitous - suggests not faustus fault
3- binary opposites - together = symbol of faustus divided conscience + internal conflict + therefore allow audience to q faustus role in own damnation

Question 10

good + evil angel para 1 quotes

Answer 10

GA - always champions repentance and turning to god - “lay that damned book aside and gaze not on it” “gods heavy wrath” - in contrast to the evil angel, good angel speaks more forcefully, a reflection of faustus’s fears

EA - “go forward faustus” - always supports bargain with the devil, speaks coercively and persuasively to tempt faustus into evil, it is reflective of faustus’s desires, which seems far more appealing to faustus that words of good angel, also often speaks last, this message is what sinks in for faustus

Question 11

good + evil angel para 2 quotes

Answer 11

evil angel voices faustus’s fears - worries that he has gone too far/made a mistake - “faustus repent yet, god will pity thee” “thou art a spirit, god cannot pity thee” - emphasised later when he twists faustus’s words - “it’s thou hast damned distressed faustus’ soul: is’t not too late?” “too late”

does this angel win over faustus?

or was he aware that faustus was never going to repent - “ay but faustus shall never repent”

Question 12

good + evil angel para 3 quotes

Answer 12

binary opposites = representation of faustus’s divided conscience - “fearful echoes thunder in mine ears” - + internal conflict over decisions + fate

could also represent the conflicting perspectives of medieval vs renaissance, where good = godly nature of medieval, evil = more artistic and secular ways embraced by renaissance - “of honour and wealth”

used by marlowe as a means to impart the plays lesson

Question 13

over-reaching plan

Answer 13

1- faustus excessive ambition models renaissance men - dismisses medieval rules + ideas about learning/study - due to hubris he challenges divine order - damning in medieval times

2- knowledge faustus wished for centred around heavens + creation - suggests pursuit of knowledge inextricably leads to god - in overreaching + rejecting god, faustus has limited himself

3- faustus spirals downward from grandeur he dreamt of - as he has rejected god, nowhere to go but down, falling to the ranks of the lower class comedic characters

Question 14

control plan

Answer 14

1-ambiguity over control - who is in control, faustus or mephistopheles

2- unable to control his sinful desires

3- does he control his own fate?

Question 15

magic plan

Answer 15

OA - ostensibly empowering but ultimately illusory and degenerative

1- faustus believes he can gain knowledge + power to transcend to higher level of being via magic - so magic = against god, also as it’s related to the devil, unnatural + costs soul

2- faustus use of magic becomes less impressive or scholarly - used for cheap tricks and performances - using means against god limits advancement

3- faustus uses magic to satisfy lustful desires rather than repent- ultimately corrupting force which drags you down to hell + devil, rather than transcending you to the level of a god - within plays christian framework can be seen that faustus’s involvement with dark magic is what dooms him ultimately, as he rejects god through embracing dark magic

Question 16

conflict plan

Answer 16

1- good vs evil

2- catholicism vs protestantism through lens of good vs evil

3- free will vs fate through lens of religion

Question 17

temptation/desire plan

Answer 17

1- desires ultimate power = blasphemous - tempted away from god - desire/temptation = potent force inextricable with melavolence
2- doesn’t repent - pleasure of heaven not tempting enough? - inastiable + further tempted + becomes more mediocre - corruptive force
3- tempted by sins not knowledge - emph full extent of decline - lack of integrity against temptation = death

Question 18

language plan

Answer 18

1- heavenly language to describe bad stuff = power of religion during the time, also irony of faustus rejecting religion

2- faustus echoes lang of robin+rafe emph downfall to lower class

3- faustus monologue at the end reminds audience of his speech at the beginning - however lustful not directed at knowledge - emphasises his down fall

Question 19

pride plan

Answer 19

OA - destructive force results in faustus downfall

1- form of rebellion against god, challenges divine order x story of lucifer - faustus hears story but perhaps out if pride he refuses to learn from it, foreshadows own mistake

2- pride = corruptive - the more he gives into it the more mediocre he becomes

3- leads to self perpetuating cycle of self destruction + ambition, until he is unable to repent - pride is perhaps what stops him from submitting himself to god

Question 20

power plan

Answer 20

OA - destructive force results in faustus downfall

1- pursuit of power beyond human limitations = rebellion against god

2- corrupting - more powerful = more mediocre

3- ultimately illusory - not only because he is only able to conjure illusions, but also because he is only granted power for 24 years, then it is stripped from him - marlowes message

Question 21

self destruction plan

Answer 21

OA - explored through decent into damnation

1- rooted in rejection of god - prideful

2- fuelled by self perpetuating cycle of ambition

3- forces of evil catalyse his destruction - embodiments of dark + destructive impulses of human psyche

Question 22

uncertainty plan

Answer 22

1- conflation of both forces of good and evil creates uncertainty which emphasises moral ambiguity of the human psyche

2- power - ultimately illusory so uncertain

3- religious uncertainty context - links to faustus uncertainty about repentance

Question 23

good + evil

Answer 23

1- conflict within forces of evil - emphasises faustus foolishness not to learn from lucifers story

2- conflict within forces of good - struggle to repent - link to religious uncertainty therefore no stable absolute moral doctrine

3- conflict between good + evil - divided nature of man

Question 24

forces of evil plan

Answer 24

1- conflict within forces of evil - mephy + lucifer - serves as a warning for faustus, which is ignored
2- switch of language used by evil angel depicts duplicitous nature + audience qs if faustus fault
3- represents evil that exists in all of us - divided nature of man - shows as faustus downfall mirrors lucifers downfall

Question 25

corruption plan

Answer 25

1- the renaissance ambitious pursuit of knowledge is presented as corruptive as it (ironically) drives faustus away from god in the hopes of likening himself to one, he is challenging the chain of being and embracing the devil and hell

2- the corruption spreads to the lower class, as wagner, robin and rafe find faustus’s books and begin practicing magic for cheap tricks

3- ultimately faustus use of magic corrupts him, as he uses it to satisfy his lustful desires in his final moments instead of repenting, by the end he is perhaps so corrupt he is unable to turn back and repent

Question 26

religion plan

Answer 26

OA - marlowes ambiguous portrayal of religious constructs such as predestination and the devil reflects anarchy and tensions regarding religion in this era

1- message that gods order should remain undisturbed is the centre of the play

2- pope = criticism of religious instituions

3- fate vs free will - tragedy conventions dictate faustus fate is predetermined, but good angel reminds the audience it us never too late - positive about religion and god suggests his disdain of institutions which let greed corrupt the goodness religion - criticism of the church - inspired by instability of religious institutions at the time

Question 27

redemption plan

Answer 27

1- elusive + unattainable due to pride - the cause of reception of god

2- act of grace rather than merit - faustus failure to understand leads to his downfall

3- redemption explored as a study of relationships shop between fate + free will - suggests redemption = subject ti larger forced beyond human control + highlights the role of personal agency in pursuit of redemption

Question 28

struggle between good and evil plan

Answer 28

1- distorted portrayal- mephistopheles + lucifer vs pope

2- forces of evil stronger than forces of good - even good figures like power are corrupt - strength emphasised

3- fate vs free will - ultimately represents duality of man + personal choice to follow good or evil

Question 29

helen of troy plan

Answer 29

1- danger of idolatry + worship of fake gods

2- illusory - limitations of power

3- dangers of lust + desire

Question 30

knowledge plan

Answer 30

1- pursuit of human knowledge beyond limitations = rebellion against god

2- this pursuit of knowledge is therefore corrupting - more knowledge = more mediocre

3- marlow shows that despite faustus being knowledgeable he fails to learn/understand true consequences of his fate - cannot learn from knowledge of lucifers story or from bible which he misreads - rejects untrammelled pursuit of knowledge + suggests man cannot be fulfilled until limitations of human knowledge are accepted to therefore adhere to divine authority

Question 31

duality/conflict

Answer 31

1- duality of good + evil - good and evil angels + consistent battle used to explore the duality of man

2- duality of faustus nature seen as he is torn between desire for knowledge and salvation

3- duality of sin + redemption - present in both mephistopheles and faustus - drawn initially to sin but later crave redemption once they feel they are too far gone - message to the audience against the dangers of sin