Theme: The Bargain Flashcards
How is Faustus’ deal with the Devil presented throughout the play?
Faustus’ bargain with Lucifer is the most famous part of Doctor Faustus. The so-called “Faustian bargain” has become a standard way of referring to some kind of “deal with the devil,” a motif that recurs throughout Western literary and cultural traditions.
“Say, he surrenders up to him his soul
So he will spare him four and twenty years,
[…] To give me whatsoever I ask,
To tell me whatsoever I demand,
To slay mine enemies, and aid my friends,”
Faustus, Scene 3
AO1: Anaphora
AO2: Faustus uses his first meeting with Mephistopheles to lay down the foundations of what he wants with this power, but only asks for a limited amount of time which displays a lack of logical thinking for a man said to be a polymath
AO3: Aristotle’s elements of a tragic hero (hamartia, anagnorisis, catharsis)
“But Faustus, thou must bequeath it solemnly,
And write a deed of gift with thine own blood,
For that security craves great Lucifer.”
Mephistopheles, Scene 5
AO1: manipulation of language, symbolism
AO2: The use of a possessive pronoun (“thine”) shows how Faustus’ bargain is personal to him; the blood shows Faustus’ commitment to his 24-year-long devotion to Lucifer
“That heavenly Helen which I saw of late,
Whose sweet embracings may extinguish clean
These thoughts that do dissuade me from my vow:
And keep mine oath I made to Lucifer.”
Faustus, Scene 12
AO1: Celestial language, Epithet
AO2: Faustus’ yearning for Helen of Troy and her embrace that can absolve him of his thoughts of atoning for his sins - shown through the celestial epithet - shows how he is willing to use his magic for selfish and fickle reasons, not for the greatness that not only Lucifer but he promised himself
