FAUSTUS - ATG Creative Learningcreativelearning.atg.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Education-Pack-FINAL...Faustus has been said to represent a renaissance man in a medieval world. He embodies

D O C T O R F A U S T U S 2

This education pack has been designed to be used in conjunction with the Jamie Lloyd Company Production starring Kit Harrington staged Spring/Summer 2016 at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London. It can be used pre-performance visit to prepare students for the show or post-perfor-

mance as a reflective tool.

The pack has been written with an awareness of the assessment objectives and criteria of various A Level English exam boards in mind and all tasks can be adapted and tailored to suit the specific weighting and requirements of each board.

Activities are also provided for English teachers who want to develop students understanding through practical exploration. These activities are also suitable for students of A Level Drama who may be responding to the production as part of the ‘Live Theatre’ component of their course.

For both English and Drama it is intended that students will use the production to inform and deepen their own understanding and interpretation of the play and its characters and themes. Please note that where quotation is used and text-tasks are suggested, extracts from the new script (Christopher Marlowe and Colin Teevan 2016) are provided. All other quotations are taken from Doctor Faustus, edited by M.Keefer, (2nd Edition, Broadview, 2007)

If students are then quoting from this material you are advised to check whether your chosen specification uses a required edition in their own essay responses.

F A U S T U S


C H R I S T O P H E R M A R L O W E

Playwright and poet, Christopher Marlowe, was born early in 1564 and baptized in Canterbury. His father was a shoemaker and Marlowe was educated first as a scholar at the Kings School Canter-bury before moving to study at Cambridge.

Once resident in London, from sometime in 1587, Christopher Marlowe seemed as busy with his writing as with his brushes with the law and work for the authorities, possibly as a spy. Marlowe wrote several distinguished plays and poems before his untimely death, most notably as well as Doctor Faustus, Dido, Queen of Carthage, Edward II and The Jew of Malta. Tamburlaine the Great, his first success on stage, brought him recognition on the London theatre scene and was famed for its use of blank verse. This unrhymed form of iambic pentameter, became the popular style for dramatic writing in the period and Shakespeare and Milton are now famed for their popularising of the form. In Doctor Faustus Marlowe’s use of the form allows the conversational tone between Faustus and the Devil to have greater impact and as T.S Eliot stated brings both ‘melody’ and ‘intensity’ into the writing.

T H E P L A Y

Written sometime between 1588 and 1592 and first published in 1604, The Tragicall History of Doctor Faustus, more commonly known now as simply Doctor Faustus, is arguably Chris-topher Marlowe’s most well-known and performed play. In structure and narrative, the play

takes inspiration from the morality plays that had been a popular part of the European drama scene since the Middle Ages, peaking in popularity in the 15th and 16th centuries, which sought to use allegory to merge liturgy with secular drama. The result were plays in which a central figure representing mankind grapples with the temptations of the world personified as actual characters such as death and must chose a path between sin and redemption.

Known for his suspected atheism, in the play Marlowe presents the audience with a disillusioned famous scholar who has grown dissatisfied with and irked by the limits of conventional knowledge, most particularly law and religion, and who, as one of Marlowe’s many rule-breakers, looks to the darker side of black magic and the supernatural to explore the limits of his powers. Once equipped with the necessary skills he invokes a devil, Mephistopheles.

The central bargain of the play, its origins in the German source text from which Marlowe took inspiration, is now well known: Faustus enters into a bargain with the devil – selling his soul for 24 years of unchallenged power and unrelenting pleasure. Despite expressing various misgivings and concerns as he plays with his new found power, Faustus refuses to or is unable to repent until it is too late and he heads towards his inevitable demise.


K E Y C H A R A C T E R S

Dr Faustus

Originating from humble beginnings, Faustus has for some years lived and studied in Wittenberg and has now mastered all elements of the main disciplines of law, religion, philosophy and di-vinity. Frustrated and seeking intellectual power and fulfilment elsewhere he makes a bargain

with his life for ultimate power with the devil. Faustus spends much of the play wavering between fulfil-ment in his power and doubt in the deal he has struck. Riddled with doubt, he considers and struggles with repentance but seems incapable or unwilling to hear and heed the warnings of those around him. Faustus, for all his knowledge, is perhaps blinded by his gifts, and is unable to resist the temptations of the devil when he has the chance to do so.

Faustus has been said to represent a renaissance man in a medieval world. He embodies much of the concern of the time with self-pursuit and fulfilment and a shift towards a more secular thought over and above the doctrine of religion. It is in the futility of the middle of the play that Faustus realises the pointlessness of much of his power and is reduced to petty performance and tricks. Still, however, he cannot extract himself from his bargain and his eventual damnation.

Mephistopheles (*in line with the casting oF this proDuction, Mephistopheles is reFerreD to as a FeMale throughout this pack)

A servant of Lucifer, Mephistopheles is charged with the task of collecting souls for Satan. Some critics regard him as merely an agent acting as a fairly passive bystander as Faustus enacts decisions that lead to his own damnation despite Mephistopheles making clear at their first meeting the suffering she herself endured. Others see Mephistopheles as a master of persuasion, expertly tempting and manipulating the wavering Faustus away from salvation. She is, however, a broadly honest character reminding Faustus of the outcome of his bargain and of his own suffering. At times playful, at others utterly in earnest, Mephistopheles serves not only to illuminate a character existing in a perpetual hell and as a constant reminder of the consequence of rejecting God, but also as a counterpoint to Faustus as through their relationship we learn much about Doctor Faustus and his own weaknesses and foibles.

luciFer

Appearing in the 2016 production as also the voice of the chorus, Lucifer is the embodiment of the devil himself. His scenes are brief but in them he demonstrates power, control and utter conviction in his own authority. His utterances are short and precise and he continually seeks to direct Faustus away from any thoughts of God promising him ‘delights in hell’.

wagner

A student of Doctor Faustus, and so evidently a character of some intellectual ability, Wagner offers a useful portrayal of a more typical servant in the ongoing theme of servitude and mastery. Seemingly devoted to Faustus for much of the play, the character attempts to protect but also at times act alongside Faustus, pursuing some of the same skills with far less effect. In the 2016 production, Wagner is used to explore how Faustus is no longer capable, though desirous of goodly emotion and action. Even after the actions and exploits of Faustus’ travels, Wagner remains devoted until their own spiritual salvation comes under pressure and they find they must flee.


E N G A G I N G W I T H C R I T I C A L V I E W S

It is important that these views contribute to students’ views and help develop their argument. They should generally not be used in exam responses as quotations where the focus is on the students’ own understanding and interpretation of the text, but they can be used to inform analysis and

understanding. Possible tasks:

• students can be allocated a view to debate or defend

• they can rate the statements out of 10 based on the extent that they agree with them

• they can find quotations from the text that refute or support the view

“This character (Faustus) may be considered as a personification of pride of will and eagerness of curiosity, sublimed beyond the reach of fear and remorse…he is devoured by a tormenting desire to enlarge his knowledge to the utmost bounds of nature and art, and to extend his power with his knowledge…The idea of witchcraft and necromancy, once the dread of the vulgar and the darling of the visionary recluse, seems to have had its origin in the restless tendency of the human mind, to conceive of and aspire to more than it can achieve by natural means”W.Hazlitt ‘Lectures on the Age of Elizabeth’ 1820

“Marlowe’s Faustus is the living, struggling, natural, personal man, not the philosophic type which Goethe has created, but a primitive and genuine man, hot-headed, fiery, the slave of his passions, the sport of his dreams, wholly engrosses in the present, molded by his lusts, contradictions, and follies, who amidst noise and starts, cries of pleasure and anguish, rolls, knowing it and willing it, down the slope and crags of his precipice.”H.A. Taine ‘History of English Literature’ 1863-4

“Marlowe’s Faustus is anything but a hero. He gives up heaven and sells his soul to the Devil; but he does not derive the slightest benefit from his agreement, as he never becomes the master of the Spirit who has sworn to serve him, and employs his agency for mere frivolous uses.”W. Wagner ‘Christopher Marlowe’s Tragedy of Doctor Faustus’ 1877

“Faustus under the immediate imminence of his doom gives the highest note of beauty, the quality of absolute fitness and propriety, to the sheer straightforwardness of speech in which his agonising horror finds vent even more and more terrible from the first to the last equally beautiful and fearful verse of them tremendous monologue which has no parallel in all the range of tragedy.”A.C. Swinburne ‘The Age of Shakespeare’ 1908

“This excellent Faustus is damned by accident or by predestination; he is brow-beaten by the devil and forbidden to repent when he has really repented. The terror of the conclusion is thereby heightened; we see an essentially good man, because in a moment of infatuation he had signed away his soul, driven against his will to despair and damnation.”G.Santayana ‘Three Philosophical Poets’ 1910

“The sin is pride which, according to theologians, is the form and fount of all other sin. Moreover Faustus commits it formally, that is deliberately, without the shadow of an excuse or reason save his will to do so…As all men have sinned, Faustus has sinned, and he is already involved in death. This he rejects outright, preferring his own idea of what a fact is or should be to what, if he will open his eyes, he can see that it is. Thus he commits the sin of pride.”J. Smith Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus’ 1939


“For earthly learning, earthly power, earthly satisfaction, Faustus goes down to horrible and everlasting perdition. It does not matter what you think of Hell or what Marlowe privately thought of Hell. What does matter is that in terms of the play, Faustus is a wretched creature who for lower values gives up higher values – that the devil and Hell are omnipresent, potent and terrifying realities.”L.Kirschbaum ‘Marlowe’s Faustus: A Reconsideration’ 1943

“Urged by the Old Man, Faustus has attempted a last revolt; as usual he has been cowed into submission, and has renewed the blood-bond. He has sunk so low as to beg for revenge upon his would-be saviour “Torment, sweet friend, that base and aged man”… and it is in the first place as a safeguard against relapse that he seeks possession of Helen…Love and revenge are alike assurances against salvation. ‘Helen’ is then a spirit and in this play a spirit means a devil. In making her his paramour Faustus commits the sin of demonality; that is bodily intercourse with demons.”W.W. Greg ‘The Damnation of Faustus’ 1946

“Some kinds of knowledge, like some kinds of experience, Faustus has shut himself of from…it is a chosen path he follows to the end. Marlowe does all he can by the device of the two angels to keep before us that Faustus is still a man, and that repentance is open to him…but he persists. His rewards are the delights of the imagination, sweet and terrible fantasies, culminating in the vision of Helen, and the exercise of what power Mephistopheles allows him, for the practical jokes probably represent a debasing rather than an alteration of Marlowe’s intention. But knowledge and felicity he has exchanged for shadows, and for power he gets slavery.”H. Gardner ‘The Theme of Damnation in Doctor Faustus’ 1948

“But the pull of the magic stage is not dependent on spectacle alone, and what Marlowe cannot present in material form, he conjures in lyrical, almost ecstatic poetry, so that we are caught up in Faustus’ swelling aspirations of becoming a ‘demi-god’”D.J. Palmer ‘Magic and Poetry in Dr Faustus’ 1964

“Faustus is a man who is all dressed up with no place to go. His plight is that he cannot find anything to do really worthy of the supernatural powers that he has come to possess. Faustus never carries out in practice his dreams of great accomplishments…the magical world lacks substance.” “On a purely legalistic basis, of course, Faustus’ case is hopeless. He has made a contract and he has to abide by it. This is the point that the devils insist on relentlessly. Yet there are plenty of indications that Faustus was not the prisoner of one fatal act…The devils, in spite of the contract, are evidently not at all sure of the soul of Faustus. They find it again and again necessary to argue with him, to bully him, and to threaten him…Mephistopheles in particular goes to a great deal of trouble to keep Faustus under control.”“Faustus may appear at times frivolous, but he is honest with himself. With all his yearning for the state of grace that he has lost, he always acknowledges the strength of his desire for illicit pleasures and powers…Faustus is the prisoner of his own conceptions and indeed preconceptions. It is not so much that God has damned him as that he has damned himself.”C. Brooks ‘The Unity of Marlowe’s Dr Faustus’ 1966


E S S A Y Q U E S T I O N S

p l e a s e e n s u r e t h a t q u e s t i o n s a r e u s e D i n l i n e w i t h s p e c i F i c r e q u i r e M e n t s F o r D i F F e r e n t e x a M b o a r D s .

t h e M a t i c q u e s t i o n s :

1. ‘When man acts entirely with self-interest he will always suffer the greatest punishment’ Discuss in relation to one literary text that you have studied.

2. ‘Such is our fascination with that we cannot know, stories about heaven and hell will always intrigue’. Discuss in relation to one literary text that you have studied.

3. ‘Morality tales must always demonstrate a clear sense of right and wrong’. Discuss in relation to one literary text that you have studied.

4. ‘Violence and sin will always excite more than tales of love and romance’. Discuss in relation to one literary text that you have studied.

5. ‘The central figure of a play must always have virtues and traits that the audience can recognise and feel sympathy for’. Discuss in relation to one literary text that you have studied.

t e x t - b a s e D q u e s t i o n s :

1. ‘Faustus is a man more sinned against than sinner’ How far do you agree with this statement, you should explain your response with close reference to and examples from the text.

2. To what extent is this a play about free will? Discuss with close reference to the text.

3. ‘Mephistopheles is the villain of the play’ Discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement using examples from the text.

4. ‘Ultimately we still feel great sympathy for Doctor Faustus’. Discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement using examples from the text.

5. ‘The final scene makes clear that this is a play about sin being punished rather than celebrated’. Discuss this view with examples from throughout the play.

6. ‘Mephistopheles is simply an agent – bound by her own damnation – rather than a figure who enjoys punishing Faustus’. Discuss the extent to which you agree with this view using examples from the text.

7. To what extent do you agree with the view that in the play Marlowe shows how attractive evil can be?

8. ‘Doctor Faustus is as modern an anti-hero as you are likely to find’ Discuss, with close reference to examples from the play, whether you agree with this statement.

9. ‘It is Faustus’ inability to repent not his sinful actions that condemn him’. How far do you agree with this reading of the character?

10. Consider the significance of blood and the body in the Doctor Faustus?

11. Consider the significance of the wider political setting particularly in terms of power and religion in Doctor Faustus?

12. To what extent do you agree that Faustus is suffering for the whole play?

13. ‘Faustus is aware of, and even wills his own death, to the point that an audience feels little sympathy for him’. To what extent do you agree with this view?

14. ‘This is a play about knowledge as much as about power’ With specific reference to the recurring symbolism of books and documents in the play, discuss the extent to which you agree with this view.

15. Consider the significance of the comic scenes and characters in the play. What do they add beyond light relief?


P E R F O R M A N C E Q U E S T I O N S :

1. Write about a production you have seen in which the performance of one actor created a strong response from the audience.

2. Write about a production you have seen in which two or more performers work together to create a relationship onstage.

3. Write about a production you have seen in which one or more performers use vocal and physical skills to transform as a character throughout a play.

4. Write about a production you have seen in which one or more performers demonstrate high emotion onstage.

5. Write about a production you have seen in which one or more performers were able to engage the audience with their opposing characters.

6. Write about a production you have seen in which one or more performers worked together to create moments of impact.

7. Evaluate a live production you have seen explaining how closely that performance reflected the conventions for that style of drama.

8. Evaluate a live production you have seen explaining how closely how that performance created engaging characters.

9. Discuss the performances of two actors you have seen in a live production and consider how they were effective in demonstrating emotion to the audience. Your answer should refer to specific moments in the production.

10. Write about a production you have seen in which lighting and sound were used together to create a strong sense of mood and atmosphere.

11. Write about a production you have seen where costume was used to effectively convey character and symbolism

12. Write about a production you have seen in which set contributed to the thematic understanding of the play.


T E X T - B A S E D A C T I V I T I E S

1 . c o M p a r i n g t h e p r o l o g u e s :

In the production a shorter prologue is delivered by Lucifer acting as Chorus. Compare this shorter version with the longer version from the A text.

• Consider the effect and impact of a shorter prologue and it’s delivery by Lucifer. Why might this production chose to use a shorter prologue? What impact does this have on the audience?

• Is there anything that is omitted that surprises you? Consider how knowing about Faustus’ background effects our interpretation of him as a character?

• Practical – In small groups consider and improvise several ideas exploring how the Prologue might be staged to enhance the following:

» Dramatic impact

» Sense of foreboding

» Faustus’ past and upbringing

» Hell and magic

» The world surrounding Faustus (scholars etc.)

Marlowe/Teevan 2016:

LUCIFER Only this, gentles: we must perform The form of Faustus’ fortunes, good or bad. Nothing so sweet as magic is to him, Which he prefers before his chiefest bliss, And this the man that in his study sits. Exit.

Marlowe (ed. Keefer) 1604:

CHORUS. Not marching now in fields of Thracimene,Where Mars did mate the Carthaginians;Nor sporting in the dalliance of love,In courts of kings where state is overturn’d,Nor in the pomp of proud audacious deedsIntends our Muse to vaunt her heavenly verse.Only this, gentlemen: we must performThe form of Faustus’ fortunes, good or bad:To patient judgments we appeal our plaud,And speak for Faustus in his infancy:Now is he born, his parents base of stock,In Germany, within a town call’d Rhodes;Of riper years, to Wittenberg he went,Whereas his kinsmen chiefly brought him up.So soon he profits in divinity,The fruitful plot of scholarism grac’d,That shortly he was grac’d with doctor’s name,Excelling all whose sweet delight disputes

In heavenly matters of theology;Till swoln with cunning, of a self-conceit,His waxen wings did mount above his reach,And, melting, heavens conspir’d his overthrow;For falling to a devilish exercise,And glutted now with learning’s golden gifts,He surfeits upon cursed necromancy;Nothing so sweet as magic is to him,Which he prefers before his chiefest bliss:And this the man that in his study sits. Exit

D O C T O R F A U S T U S 1 0


2 . F i r s t i M p r e s s i o n s o F D r F a u s t u s :

It is immediately clear that Faustus has devoted his life to study and has achieved a great deal. He is, with some impatience it seems, reflecting on the limitations of the areas of study that he has already mastered and he is clearly on the brink of seeking out something new to challenge, fulfil and excite him.

• Looking at Faustus’ opening speech identify what he says about each of the areas of study he has devoted time to. How does he regard them now? You may also wish to identify the comment he makes later in the scene to Valdes and Cornelius on the same topic.

• What are our first impressions of Doctor Faustus? Identify key lines that give us insight into his views but also his personality and state of mind at this point.

• How, in performance, is a sense of Faustus’ frustration made clear – does he appear tired, disappointed and ambivalent or eager, restless and disparaging? Create a list of your own adjectives to describe his feelings and mood at this point.

• Practical – In pairs with one student taking the role of director break the speech down into units of action. Taking one section at a time identity Faustus’ main emotion in the section and improvise how this might be staged in performance. You may wish to consider the effect of Faustus directing some speech directly to the audience.

Marlowe/Teevan 2016 Scene 2:

FAUSTUS Settle thy studies, Faustus, and begin To sound the depth of that thou wilt profess. Having commenced, be a divine in show, Yet level at the end of every art, And live and die in Aristotle’s works; Sweet Analytics, ’tis thou hast ravished me! (He reads.) ‘Bene disserere est finis logices.’ Is to dispute well logic’s chiefest end? Affords this art no greater miracle? Then read no more. Thou hast attained the end. A greater subject fitteth Faustus’ wit. Bid On kai me on farewell. Galen, come! Be a physician, Faustus. Heap up gold, And be eternised for some wondrous cure. (He reads.) ‘Summum bonum medicinae sanitas.’ The end of physic is our body’s health. Why Faustus, hast thou not attained that end? Is not thy common talk sound aphorisms? Are not thy bills hung up as monuments, Whereby whole cities have escaped the plague And thousand desp’rate maladies been eased? Yet art thou still but Faustus, and a man. Wouldst thou make man to live eternally? Or, being dead, raise them to life again?

Then this profession were to be esteemed. Physic, farewell! When all is done, divinity is best. Jerome’s Bible, Faustus, view it well. (He reads.) ‘Stipendium peccati mors est.’ Ha! The reward of sin is death. That’s hard. (He reads.) ‘If we say that we have no sin, We deceive ourselves, and there’s no truth in us.’ Why then belike we must sin, And so consequently die. Ay, we must die an everlasting death. What doctrine call you this, Che serà, serà, What will be, shall be? Divinity, adieu!



3 . M a g i c

“Nothing so sweet as magic is to him” we learn in the Prologue and in the first scene featuring Doctor Faustus he quickly turns his attention to the first of many books on magic that he owns or is given: dark, black magic known also as necromancy. Faustus appears fascinated and magic is clearly the object of his desire and his next pursuit. During the first section of the play the acquisition of greater magical potency and power is Faustus’ main concern.

• What appeal does Faustus suggest that there is in magic? What does he appear keen to achieve and master?

• How, through the verse and through performance, is the capacity of the magic brought to life?

• How, in performance, does Faustus change once the book of magic has been picked up? Are there noticeable changes in pace, energy and vocal and physical skills?

• Looking at the second section given below when Faustus is conversing with Valdes and Cornelius, what more do we learn about what Faustus may wish to achieve through magic? What values and ambitions do these views attest to? You may wish to cross reference to this section to various critical readings on aspects of Faustus as a Renaissance man.

• Valdes and Cornelius appear only briefly at the start of the play. Why is their presence significant?

• Practical – In small groups select one of the three sections to stage. Consider:

» How to make the world of magic seem alluring

» How to show Faustus’/Valdes and Cornelius’ excitement

» How to suggest that this group have had some conversation on this topic before

» How to enact the ritual and incantation

Marlowe/Teevan 2016:Section One -

FAUSTUS (He picks up a book of magic.) These metaphysics of magicians And necromantic books are heavenly: Lines, circles, signs, letters, and characters – Ay, these are those that Faustus most desires. O, what a world of profit and delight, Of power, of honour, of omnipotence, Is promised to the studious artisan! All things that move between the quiet poles Shall be at my command. Emperors and kings Are but obeyed in their several provinces, Nor can they raise the wind or rend the clouds; But his dominion that exceeds in this Stretcheth as far as doth the mind of man. A sound magician is a mighty god. Here, Faustus, tire thy brains to gain a deity.


Section Two –

FAUSTUS How am I glutted with conceit of this! Shall I make spirits fetch me what I please, Resolve me of all ambiguities, Perform what desperate enterprise I will? I’ll have them fly to India for gold, Ransack the ocean for orient pearl, And search all corners of the new-found world For pleasant fruits and princely delicates. I’ll have them read me strange philosophy, And tell the secrets of all foreign kings. I’ll have them wall all Germany with brass And make swift Rhine circle fair Wittenberg. I’ll levy soldiers with the coin they bring, And reign sole king of all our provinces. Enter VALDES and CORNELIUS.

FAUSTUS Valdes, sweet Valdes, and Cornelius, Know that your words have won me at the last, To practice magic and concealèd arts. Yet, not your words only, but mine own fantasy, That will receive no object, for my head, But ruminates on necromantic skill. Philosophy is odious and obscure, Both law and physic are for petty wits; Divinity is basest of the three, Unpleasant, harsh, contemptible, and vile: ’Tis magic, magic that hath ravished me. Then, gentle friends, aid me in this attempt.

VALDES Faustus, these books, thy wit, and our experience Shall make all nations to canonize us. As Indian Moors obey their Spanish lords, So shall the subjects of every element Be always serviceable to us three. If learnèd Faustus will be resolute.

Section Three –

FAUSTUS Now that the gloomy shadow of the earth, Longing to view Orion’s drizzling look, Leaps from th’Antarctic world unto the sky, And dims the welkin with her pitchy breath, Faustus, begin thine incantations, And try if devils will obey thy hest, Seeing thou hast prayed and sacrificed to them.

He draws a circle.

Within this circle is Jehovah’s name, Forward and backward anagrammatised, The breviated names of holy saints, Figures of every adjunct to the heavens, And characters of signs and erring stars, By which the spirits are enforced to rise. Then fear not, Faustus, but be resolute, And try the uttermost magic can perform. Sint mihi dei Acherontis propitii! Valeat numentriplex Jehovae! Ignei, aerii, aquatici, terreni, spiritus,salvete! Orientis princeps Lucifer, Beelzebub, inferniardentis monarcha, et Demogorgon, propitiamusvos, ut appareat et surgat Mephistopheles! Quidtumoraris? Per Jehovam, Gehennam, et consecratamaquam quam nunc spargo, signumque crucis quodnunc facio, et per vota nostra, Ipse nunc surgat nobisdicatus Mephistopheles!



4 . t h e a n g e l s

Throughout the play comment is giving on Faustus’ actions and choices by the dual figures of the good and bad angel. They always appear together and try to dissuade or persuade Faustus in his ungodly and devilish ways according to their character. Only at the end of the play do they seem to comment merely on his now inevitable damnation rather than trying to influence his actions.

• What does the presence of the angels and their advice suggest about the nature of the bond and of Faustus’ opportunity to achieve salvation from damnation?

• To what extent would you describe the angels as Faustus’ conscience? Track their appearances in the play and look closely at what they say and suggest compared to Faustus’ thoughts and misgivings.

• Is there a difference between the two angels in the language that they use and the way in which they present their arguments? Does one seem stronger than the other?

• How, in performance, were the angels presented? Can Faustus react to and interact with them or are they mere voices? How do they compare with the other apparitions or figures such as Mephistopheles, Lucifer or the Seven Deadly Sins? Consider how you might chose to represent them – do they have distinct personalities or are they identical but from two opposite views? You may wish to research how other productions have staged these characters.

• Looking at the B text section (section three below), you may wish to consider the stage direction regarding the throne as this is the only symbol of heaven that appears onstage in the play. What might it also suggest or be reminiscent of?

• Practical – staging symbolic characters can be challenging.

» In pairs first identify the various positions onstage these figures could occupy – you may wish to consider that in all likelihood in Marlowe’s time they were positioned above in a small central balcony looking down on the action – what is the effect of this?

» Improvise staging one section of the Good and Evil angel’s text. Consider the effect when:

* They move in an identical manner

* They move differently in accordance with their character

* They are always linked

* They are always apart

Section One:Enter the GOOD ANGEL and the EVIL ANGEL.

GOOD ANGEL O Faustus, lay that damnèd book aside, And gaze not on it, lest it tempt thy soul, And heap God’s heavy wrath upon thy head. Read, read the Scriptures. That is blasphemy. EVIL ANGEL Go forward, Faustus, in that famous art Wherein all nature’s treasury is contained. Be thou on earth as Jove is in the sky; Lord and commander of these elements.


FAUSTUS Now, Faustus, must thou needs be damned, And canst thou not be saved? What boots it then to think of God or heaven? Away with such vain fancies and despair! Despair in God and trust in Beelzebub. Now go not backward: no, Faustus, be resolute. Why waverest thou? O, something soundeth in mine ears: ‘Abjure this magic, turn to God again!’ Ay, and Faustus will turn to God again. To God? He loves thee not. The god thou servest is thine own appetite, Wherein is fixed the love of Beelzebub. To him I’ll build an altar and a church, And offer lukewarm blood of new-born babes.

Enter the GOOD ANGEL and the EVIL ANGEL.

GOOD ANGEL Sweet Faustus, leave that execrable art.

FAUSTUS Contrition, prayer, repentance – what of them?

GOOD ANGEL O, they are means to bring thee unto heaven.

EVIL ANGEL Rather illusions, fruits of lunacy, That makes men foolish that do trust them most.

GOOD ANGEL Sweet Faustus, think of heaven and heavenly things.

EVIL ANGEL No, Faustus; think of honour and of wealth.

Exit ANGELS.

Section Three: Taken from Marlowe (ed. Keefer) 1616 (B Text)Enter the Good Angel and the Bad Angel at several doors.

GOOD.Oh Faustus, if thou hadst given ear to me,Innumerable joys had follow’d thee.But thou didst love the world.

BAD.Gave ear to me,And now must taste hell’s pains perpetually.

GOOD.O, what will all thy riches, pleasures, pomps,Avail thee now?

BAD.Nothing but vex thee more,To want in hell, that had on earth such store.

Music while the throne descends.

GOOD.O, thou hast lost celestial happiness,Pleasures unspeakable, bliss without end.Hadst thou affected sweet divinity,Hell, or the Devil, had had no power on thee.Hadst thou kept on that way, Faustus beholdIn what resplendent glory thou hadst setIn yonder throne, like those bright shining saints,And triumph’d over hell; that hast thou lost,And now, poor soul, must thy good angel leave thee:The jaws of hell are open to receive thee. Exit.

[The throne ascends] Hell is discovered.

BAD.Now Faustus, let shine eyes with horror stareInto that vast perpetual torture-house.There are the furies tossing damned soulsOn burning forks; their bodies broil in lead.There are live quarters broiling on the coals,That ne’er can die. This ever-burning chairIs for o’er-tortur’d souls to rest them in.These, that are fed with sops of flaming fire,Were gluttons, and lov’d only delicates,And laugh’d to see the poor starve at their gates.But yet all these are nothing: thou shalt seeTen thousand tortures that more horrid be.

FAUSTUSO, I have seen enough to torture me!

BAD.Nay, thou must feel them, taste the smart of all;He that loves pleasure must for pleasure fall.And so I leave thee, Faustus, till anon.Then wilt thou tumble in confusion. Exit.



5 . D r F a u s t u s a n D M e p h i s t o p h e l e s

From the moment that Mephistopheles appears the dynamic between this agent of the devil and Faus-tus is of great importance. Mephistopheles makes it clear from the start that she, despite Faustus’ ini-tial confidence in his power over the devil he believes that he has conjured (‘How pliant is this Mephis-topheles’), serves Lucifer and Lucifer alone can give permission for Faustus’ demands and requests. The uneven power dynamic in their relationship is made even more apparent as the play goes on.

• Look at Section One below. This is the first meeting between Faustus and Mephistopheles. Identify all of the questions Faustus asks – what is he keen to find out about? Is this surprising? What prior knowledge from earlier in the play suggests that he may have questions to which he desires an answer before making his requests for the power and goods mentioned earlier? Consider the importance of questions here and in Faustus’ monologues.

• How does Faustus make clear his devotion to Lucifer/Beelzebub in this opening scene and elsewhere? What questions does this raise about faith and belief beyond a belief in God?

• What is your first impression of Mephistopheles from the text and in performance? Does anything surprise you about the characterisation of Mephistopheles in performance? How are vocal and physical skills used to suggest that they are a devil or do they appear as other ‘human’ characters?

• What do we learn about Mephistopheles past and how does she talk about God?

• It is Faustus that outlines the terms of the ‘deal’ or bargain with the devil. What does the bargain entail and what does this tell us about Faustus and how he progressed since the beginning of the play?

• Look at Section Two below. In this new scene Mephistopheles has disguised herself as Wagner to enter into a vicious and lustful sexual encounter with Faustus. She then reveals her true identity and seek to remind Faustus that he cannot live for virtue only damnation. List all the magical powers Mephistopheles demonstrates in the play including her transfiguration into Wagner’s body. Why has she needed to take such drastic measures?

• In the text and performance, to what extent does Mephistopheles appear to enjoy the tricks played on Faustus or to what extent are they seen as a chore and frustration?

• What does Mephistopheles say about love and free will in the scene? How does this link to the wider theme of free will verses fate in the play? Why does Mephistopheles so emphatically and repetitively state ‘send her back’? What does Wagner represent?

• Look at Section Three below. This is Faustus’ final attempt at redemption and repentance but he is again persuaded by Mephistopheles that damnation is the only possible outcome. Look back through the play and make a list of the many times Faustus wavers and considers or attempts repentance. For each time look at what stops or prevents him, looking particularly at the range of tricks and techniques Mephistopheles uses to keep him from repenting.

• What is the symbolic significance of signing (or resigning) in blood?

• Practical – In threes with one student assuming the role of director select one section to prepare. Consider:

» How to present Mephistopheles – does she move and speak differently as a figure from hell or do they appear as if an earthly character?

» How do Faustus and Mephistopheles interact? Who appears more powerful and dominant? Experiment with different proxemics and positioning onstage.

» Which figure should the audience feel more of a connection with and why? How might a director play with an audience’s responses to Mephistopheles?


Section One

Enter a DEVIL (MEPHISTOPHELES).

FAUSTUS I charge thee to return and change thy shape. Thou art too ugly to attend on me.

Exit DEVIL (MEPHISTOPHELES).

FAUSTUS I see there’s virtue in my heavenly words. Who would not be proficient in this art? How pliant is this Mephistopheles – Full of obedience and humility – Such is the force of magic and my spells! Now, Faustus, thou art conjuror laureate, That canst command great Mephistopheles.

Re-enter MEPHISTOPHELES disguised.

MEPHISTOPHELES Now, Faustus, what wouldst thou have me do?

FAUSTUS I charge thee wait upon me whilst I live, To do whatever Faustus shall command, Be it to make the moon drop from her sphere, Or the ocean to overwhelm the world.

MEPHISTOPHELES I am a servant to great Lucifer And may not follow thee without his leave. No more than he commands must we perform.

FAUSTUS Did not he charge thee to appear to me?

MEPHISTOPHELES No, I came hither of mine own accord.

FAUSTUS Did not my conjuring speeches raise thee? Speak.

MEPHISTOPHELES That was the cause, but yet per accidens. For when we hear one rack the name of God, Abjure the Scriptures and his Saviour Christ, We fly in hope to get his glorious soul; Nor will we come unless he use such means Whereby he is in danger to be damned. Therefore, the shortest cut for conjuring Is stoutly to abjure the Trinity,

And pray devoutly to the prince of hell.

FAUSTUS So Faustus hath Already done, and holds this principle: There is no chief but only Beelzebub, To whom Faustus doth dedicate himself. This word ‘damnation’ terrifies not him, For he confounds hell in Elysium. His ghost be with the old philosophers! But leaving these vain trifles of men’s souls, Tell me what is that Lucifer thy lord?

MEPHISTOPHELES Arch-regent and commander of all spirits.

FAUSTUS Was not that Lucifer an angel once?

MEPHISTOPHELES Yes, Faustus, and most dearly loved of God.

FAUSTUS How comes it then that he is prince of devils?

MEPHISTOPHELES O, by aspiring pride and insolence, For which God threw him from the face of heaven.

FAUSTUS And what are you that live with Lucifer?

MEPHISTOPHELES Unhappy spirits that fell with Lucifer, Conspired against our God with Lucifer, And are for ever damned with Lucifer.

FAUSTUS Where are you damned?

MEPHISTOPHELES In hell.

FAUSTUS How comes it then that thou art out of hell?

MEPHISTOPHELES Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it. Think’st thou that I, who saw the face of God And tasted the eternal joys of heaven, Am not tormented with ten thousand hells, In being deprived of everlasting bliss? O Faustus, leave these frivolous demands,


Which strike a terror to my fainting soul!

FAUSTUS What, is great Mephistopheles so passionate For being deprivèd of the joys of heaven? Learn thou of Faustus’ manly fortitude, And scorn those joys thou never shalt possess. Go bear these tidings to great Lucifer: Seeing Faustus hath incurred eternal death, By desp’rate thoughts against Jove’s deity, Say he surrenders up to him his soul, So he will spare him four-and-twenty years, Letting him live in all voluptuousness, Having thee ever to attend on me, To give me whatsoever I shall ask, To tell me whatsoever I demand, To slay mine enemies, and aid my friends, And always be obedient to my will. Go and return to mighty Lucifer, And meet me in my study at midnight, And then resolve me of thy master’s mind.

MEPHISTOPHELES I will, Faustus.

Exit MEPHISTOPHELES.

Section Two

He pushes the sofa out of the way, and there behind it is MEPHISTOPHELES, immaculate, dressed in the same underwear she wore as Wagner.

MEPHISTOPHELES Hope you didn’t mind me borrowing your body, dear. Well you don’t think I was going to put mine through all that? And with him? Don’t worry, it will only hurt badly for a while. But there again, what are the agonies of the body compared to the torments of the immortal soul? Time you went back to Wittenberg. As you can see, I can satisfy his needs from here on in.

MEPHISTOPHELES goes towards the door. WAGNER looks to FAUSTUS. Pause.

FAUSTUS We’ll both go back to Wittenberg. I’ll return to my researches. That will be enough for us. We’ll live out quietly the rest of our days.

MEPHISTOPHELES You only have ten years.

FAUSTUS So? I will know love for ten years.

MEPHISTOPHELES You’ll be lucky if love lasts the one. The same face, the same body, day-in-day-out, night-in-night-out? And when the kids come? Mewling, pissing, puking. You’ll soon begin to miss the old magic. Remember your parents. What love there was died long before the crash. Love is a crash. One minute you’re flying though the air, the next you are all over the road in pieces. Get rid of her, Faustus, send her back.

FAUSTUS But you knew love.

MEPHISTOPHELES No. I discovered the lie of love. And I hated God for what he did to me. Just as you Faustus hated him for taking away your parents. We hated him that his creation could cause such pain. And that our pain was part of his creation. Send her back, Faustus.

FAUSTUS But without pain there would be no free will, we would all be bound to be good.

MEPHISTOPHELES What free will? Man is bound. Don’t you see? God’s creation is grandest illusion, a spectacle full of light and sound and beauty, which man thinks he moves through at his own free will. But he is just a player in that spectacle. And to love, to procreate is to perpetuate the show, to play along with the whole charade. To play along with the Grand Illusionist. The only power, the only freedom, the only real autonomy man can have is to destroy. To destroy what God has created. Destroy it, Faustus, destroy love. Send her back.

FAUSTUS But what of redemption? What of salvation?

MEPHISTOPHELES For some perhaps it might be possible, Faustus, but not for you. You stood up to him, Faustus, so he hates you. God hates you. Send her back.

Pause. FAUSTUS sits. He is in despair.


Section Three

FAUSTUS Where art thou, Faustus? Wretch, what hast thou done? Damned art thou, Faustus, damned! Despair and die! Hell calls for right, and with a roaring voice Says, ‘Faustus, come! Thine hour is almost come.’

MEPHISTOPHELES gives him a dagger.

FAUSTUS And Faustus will come to do thee right.

WAGNER Oh, stay, good Faustus, stay thy desperate steps! I see an angel hover o’er thy head, And with a vial full of precious grace, Offers to pour the same into thy soul. Then call for mercy and avoid despair.

FAUSTUS Ah, my sweet friend, I feel thy words To comfort my distressèd soul. Leave me a while to ponder on my sins.

WAGNER I go, sweet Faustus, but with heavy cheer, Fearing the ruin of thy hopeless soul.

Exit WAGNER.

FAUSTUS Accursèd Faustus, where is mercy now? I do repent, and yet I do despair. Hell strives with grace for conquest in my breast. What shall I do to shun the snares of death?

MEPHISTOPHELES Thou traitor, Faustus, I arrest thy soul For disobedience to my sovereign lord. Revolt, or I’ll in piecemeal tear thy flesh.

FAUSTUS I do repent I e’er offended him. Sweet Mephistopheles, entreat thy lord To pardon my unjust presumption, And with my blood again I will confirm My former vow I made to Lucifer.

MEPHISTOPHELES Do it then quickly, with unfeignèd heart, Lest greater dangers do attend thy drift.

FAUSTUS cuts his arm and writes with his blood.

FAUSTUS Torment, sweet friend, that base and righteous soul That durst dissuade me from thy Lucifer, With greatest torments that our hell affords.



6 . D r F a u s t u s t e s t s h i s p o w e r s – r e w r i t t e n s c e n e s b y c o l i n t e e v e n 2 0 1 6

This production uses several new vibrant and contemporary scenes to cover the middle section of the play where Faustus is seen to test and exploit his power. It is believed that these sections were, in fact, written by Marlowe’s collaborator and this may account for the differences in Faustus’ personality in this section or it may be that imbued with his magical powers he has become more greedy, foolish and ambivalent to his future. He is certainly less prone to reflection on his ‘bargain’ in this section than elsewhere. Three sections from new scenes, which broadly mirror elements of the original A and B texts, are given below.

• For each section consider:

» What we learn about Faustus? What kind of man has be become?

» Which elements from the A and B texts do they correlate to?

» What is the effect of the contemporary setting and language? How do these correlate with the A and B text characters and settings?

» How do the themes of greed and sin pervade these scenes?

» What sins does Faustus commit in these scenes?

» What is the effect of the dark comedy in these scenes?

» Do the updated versions retain the key themes of the original scenes – find evidence for refer-ences to God, the seven deadly sins, repentance, free will and power.

» Consider in small groups how these rewritten scenes contribute to a ‘modern’ understanding of the play – do they draw out the darkness of contemporary society?

» Looking particularly at Section Two with Wagner, what does this scene add to the audience’s understanding of and response to Faustus? Identify some of Wagner’s key lines that link to the theme of goodliness and godliness.

» Looking particularly at Section Four with the Pope, how does this scene link to the discus-sions of religion in the play? Using your contextual knowledge of the original period and today, what might Marlowe and Teevan in the updated scenes be exploring in relation to religion and power?

• Practical – It is interesting to consider what we learn about Faustus in the mid-section of the play as he moves further and further away from academia and the pursuit of higher knowledge into a world that appears rather futile and vacuous. His questions, however, remain and his inquisitive mind is clear. In small groups select one section of the rewritten scenes below. First consider what you would want the audience to think, feel or understand from the scene – this is the aim. Working as a group consider how the scene might be staged to:

» Enhance comic effect

» Demonstrate Faustus’ character

» Suggest Mephistopheles power

» Demonstrate your chosen aim to the audience


Section One – Faustus and rock band

SAXON BRUNO Long and winding road back to the old vecchio castello. I’ll leave you to your two clams, man, that one [Wagner], and the razor one [Mephistopheles]. But one thing, hermano, the reason I dropped by, we’ve got a tour coming up, and…

FAUSTUS (Excited.) Yes?

SAXON BRUNO I was wondering whether you might be interested in, you know. . .

FAUSTUS (Excited.) Joining the band?

SAXON BRUNO (Laughing/scoffing.) You? Joining the Necros? What would you play? Fucking air guitar? I meant come do the special effects man.

FAUSTUS The special effects?

ROBYN Sax and the boys love illusions.

FAUSTUS Illusions?

SAXON BRUNO Yeah man, you could come be our pyro man. A few stage bombs, a few tricks.

FAUSTUS Tricks?

SAXON BRUNO Hey, what gives? It’s an honour to be asked.

Beat.

FAUSTUS You want to see a new trick?

SAXON BRUNO Yeah, sure man. Why not?

FAUSTUS grabs ROBYN’s crotch.

SAXON BRUNO Hey man, hands off my taco.

FAUSTUS It’s all yours.

FAUSTUS grabs SAXON BRUNO’s crotch.

SAXON BRUNO Oi you fucking poof.

FAUSTUS releases them.

SAXON BRUNO What the fuck? I’ve done better tricks with my dick.

FAUSTUS Not any more.

ROBYN’s dress rises.

ROBYN O my God, Sax, O my God!

SAXON BRUNO What the…?

SAXON BRUNO peeks into his jeans. He is aghast.

FAUSTUS Maybe you need to hang with the pussies for a change.

ROBYN O my God, Sax, what do I do? It’s like I’ve no control over it.

Involuntarily ROBYN’s new genitalia homes in on BRUNO’s. He runs to escape her. FAUSTUS plays an air guitar solo. Eventually BRUNO escapes and exits. ROBYN follows. FAUSTUS has a moment of jubilation, and then is deflated.

FAUSTUS They say you should never meet your heroes.

MEPHISTOPHELES Is this not what you wanted?

FAUSTUS, to the accompaniment of the real sounds,


smashes his air guitar in a temperamental outburst.

Section Two – Faustus and Wagner

FAUSTUS If you could do anything by magic, Wagner, what would it be?

WAGNER I can’t do magic.

FAUSTUS But if you could, would you use it to do something big, something good? Like wars, or hunger?

WAGNER If something like that were possible, someone would have tried it long ago.

FAUSTUS Maybe there hasn’t been someone with my powers.

WAGNER Yeah, sure. Dream on! (Thinking as she works.) But even if you could fix something by magic, like wars or hunger, they wouldn’t stay fixed. You’d have to fix people. And to fix them you’d have to fix their abilities to fuck things up. Which is sort of what makes us human.

WAGNER smacks FAUSTUS’ hand as he reaches for another canapé.

FAUSTUS But if I had real magic?

WAGNER In which case, you’d be, like, God? In which case, what would you be waiting for? The world is full of people trying to be God, or thinking they’re God. The best we can do is try to be decent to those around us, and then maybe if the next person does that, and the next… Maybe then.

WAGNER goes to lift a crate of glasses.

FAUSTUS Let me.

FAUSTUS attempts to take them from her.

WAGNER

(Not unaffectionate.) Get off! You’ve got a show to do and I’ve got a million and one things to sort for the afters.

Beat.

FAUSTUS (Risking it, serious.) Do you like me, Wagner?

WAGNER for the briefest moment stops what she’s doing, then starts again.

WAGNER (Attempted nonchalance.) What kind of a question’s that?

FAUSTUS You know.

Beat.

WAGNER Yeah, sure. But lots of people like you. You’re famous, remember.

WAGNER starts to fold napkins. FAUSTUS goes to help her, by copying what she’s doing, unsuccessfully.

FAUSTUS But as a person, do you like me as a person?

WAGNER You seem happier with many people liking you.

FAUSTUS You think I’m shallow?

WAGNER I didn’t say that. Some people want to be loved by many. Others just want to love one person, and be loved by one person in return. The first are called celebrities, the second…losers, I suppose.

Awkward beat. FAUSTUS looks for something to say.

FAUSTUS What’s your first name, Wagner? You never told me.

WAGNER Grace. FAUSTUS


Grace. Call me John, Grace.

Beat.

Section Three – Faustus and his audience

A thronged party is in full swing in the narrow confines of FAUSTUS’ dressing room. Guests are high spirited and throb in dance as one beast. Amidst the throng are the POPE, the QUEEN, a MINISTER, a BANKER, a MEDIA MOGUL, MEPHISTOPHELES with FAUSTUS at the centre of it. Through the throbbing throng WAGNER struggles valiantly with plates of canapés and trays of champagne. FAUSTUS escapes momentarily as WAGNER goes for fresh supplies.

FAUSTUS What did you think of the show, Grace?

WAGNER Not bad.

FAUSTUS So you thought it was good?

WAGNER gives FAUSTUS a peck on the cheek. She blushes. FAUSTUS smiles and takes the last glass of champagne from her tray and returns to the throng. BANKER and MEPHISTOPHELES above the throng.

BANKER Don’t I know you from someplace?

MEPHISTOPHELES What was it you said you did?

BANKER Banking.

MEPHISTOPHELES Yes, you know me.

BANKER Say, that cheque the conjuror had me hand over.

MEPHISTOPHELES What about it?

BANKER I took a lot of trouble to avoid that tax, I’m not handing it over to some charity.

MEPHISTOPHELES

If you care to sign this contract, I’ll be happy to return your cheque to you.

MEPHISTOPHELES produces a contract. The BANKER reads.

MEDIA MOGUL Hi there, I’ll have my cheque back too, if you don’t mind.

MEPHISTOPHELES And you are?

MEDIA MOGUL I am a media mogul. And I didn’t spend my life building an empire to give it away to poor people.

MEPHISTOPHELES hands the MEDIA MOGUL a contract.

MINISTER Hello, I’m Chancellor of the Exchequer, I couldn’t help but overhear but that money wasn’t really mine to give away –

MEPHISTOPHELES conjures a third contract.

BANKER What’s all this about the soul?

MEPHISTOPHELES Only applicable in the event you have one.

BANKER, MEDIA MOGUL and MINISTER are relieved. They frisk themselves for pens. MEPHISTOPHELES cuts open their arms as she did FAUSTUS’ earlier. They sign their contracts in blood.

MEPHISTOPHELES Gentlemen, your cheques.

It rains down a confetti of cheques. The BANKER, MINISTER and MEDIA MOGUL are delighted. They are once more drawn back into the throng. FAUSTUS has caught a piece of the confetti.


Section Four: Faustus and the Pope

FAUSTUS deeply troubled, takes another glass of wine and goes to him. The POPE strokes the book.

POPE I have long been a fan of conjuring.

FAUSTUS Bread into flesh, water into wine and all that?

POPE How it might appear to those of little faith. But you strike me Dr Faustus as a man of some faith.

FAUSTUS Faith in what? That is the question.

POPE In the existence of the Lord, Our Saviour. The POPE, has hit a nerve, he smiles.

POPE Since, as a man of learning you must accept, that to believe in the antithesis, one must believe in the thesis itself. That is why they say Lucifer is so sulky, since to revolt against God is to acknowledge his existence. (Chuckling.) Every time Lucifer destroys something, he acknowledges God’s creation.

WAGNER comes round with some canapés.

POPE Ah, black truffles with caviar. A fine creation. Black on black, one might say. But what is black? Is there such a thing as pure, sightless black? Or is there always some light, some contour to the dark that offers hope? Evil is so very interesting, don’t you think? Since it gains its existence only from mankind’s abjuration of good, it is itself a product of God’s goodness. But you know this, of course.

FAUSTUS does not respond.

Even in the darkest night, you can only perceive the dark thanks to the light of our Lord. That trick where you had me damn those priests to hell, I’ve read of this trick before. We have this book in the Sistine Library you see. It was obtained by one of my

more wayward predecessors in the Middle Ages. FAUSTUS It wasn’t a trick, I punished the hypocrisy of those who claim to be good.

POPE The only magic in the world is that of God’s creation. The rest is showmanship. All the devil was ever good for. His tricks are as nothing. He longs for there to be nothing. But creation keeps confounding him.

FAUSTUS struggles with himself.

FAUSTUS Sometimes I think of hell, of how long eternity is, and I despair, Holy Father.

MEPHISTOPHELES (Approaching.) I’m afraid Dr Faustus must be going, the President – POPE To despair is hell, Faustus, that is what you must guard against. The hell within. To despair is the greatest sin. And you will be damned to play out your despair night after night, for eternity. Hope is the light. Remember the light.

The POPE stands and smiles. He strokes MEPHISTOPHELES’ cheek.

POPE Mephistopheles, such an evocative name.

MEPHISTOPHELES Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to entertain you, Holy Father.

POPE I’m sorry, I must forego such undoubted pleasures. While the Church of Rome is unchanging and eternal, we have, over time been forced to mend some of our more indulgent indulgences.



7 . D r F a u s t u s a n D h e l e n – a F i n a l s i n

In this section we see Dr Faustus make his final request of Mephistopheles in asking to see Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world. It is one of the most famous moments in the play and is famed for its poetic lyricism.

• Why might this be Faustus’ last request?

• Look closely at the two rhetorical questions in the speech – what does the link between desire and violence suggest and how does this link to Faustus and his plight?

• What is the significance of the kiss? Why does Faustus crave it so? What do we learn about his feelings from the line “make me immortal”?

• Looking at the second half of the speech what imagery does Faustus invoke? How does he appear to want to be seen and/or remembered?

• Practical – It is very interesting to consider how you would perform the role of Faustus in this scene. Working individually select a section of not more than five lines to work with and consider:

» What is Faustus feeling at this point?

» How would you convey through vocal and physical skills his state of mind?

» How do you demonstrate Faustus’ response to Helen’s beauty?

» How would you want the audience to respond to him?


FAUSTUS One thing, good servant, let me crave of thee To glut the longing of my heart’s desire, That I might have unto my paramour, That heavenly Helen which I saw of late, Whose sweet embracings may extinguish clean Those thoughts that do dissuade me from my vow, And keep mine oath I made to Lucifer.

MEPHISTOPHELES Faustus, this, or what else thou shalt desire, Shall be performed in twinkling of an eye.

Enter HELEN, brought in by MEPHISTOPHELES.

FAUSTUS Was this the face that launched a thousand ships And burnt the topless towers of Ilium? Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.

They kiss.

FAUSTUS Her lips suck forth my soul. See where it flies! Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again.

They kiss again.

FAUSTUS Here will I dwell, for heaven is in these lips, And all is dross that is not Helena!

Enter WAGNER.

FAUSTUS I will be Paris, and for love of thee Instead of Troy shall Wittenberg be sacked, And I will combat with weak Menelaus, And wear thy colours on my plumèd crest. Yea, I will wound Achilles in the heel, And then return to Helen for a kiss. O, thou art fairer than the evening air, Clad in the beauty of a thousand stars. Brighter art thou than flaming Jupiter When he appeared to hapless Semele, More lovely than the monarch of the sky In wanton Arethusa’s azure arms; And none but thou shalt be my paramour.

Exit FAUSTUS and HELEN.



8 . F i n a l s p e e c h

In this final scene Faustus has only one hour to live and time is slipping away as he has lost his chance to repent and now only damnation remains. The production omits the allegorical figure of the Old Man and so Faustus’ final scenes seem to accelerate towards his demise. Read the speech closely and consider the overall effect on the audience.

• Look back at Faustus’s first speech. How has he changed?

• What is the significance of time? How do the repeated references to it affect the audience?

• Identify the features of language that make clear Faustus’ despair – questions, exclamations, pleas. How are these heightened in performance?

• Notice all of the juxtapositions between the soul and the body – highlight all of these references and consider how they are significant to the play but also what they reveal in these final moments about the nature of man?

• Consider your emotional response to the scene both in the text and in performance – how does the final scene make you feel? What are your final impressions of Faustus?

• Highlight the three lines that you believe are the most significant in the following terms:

» In revealing Faustus’ character

» The play’s plot

» The play’s key themes

» Creating dramatic effect

• Practical – Working in pairs assign one student a section on speech of not more than ten lines from the first scene of the play and one student the same line allocation from the last scene of the play. Working together consider how you might stage the two speeches in parallel action aiming to show the extent of Faustus’ decline. You will need to decide:

» How to divide the text – you may each speak a line or two lines at a time intersecting each other, you may choose to have some overlap, or even some lines delivered at the same time.

» How to use vocal and physical skills to show the transition from the beginning of the play

» How the two versions of Faustus might interact

» How to use the space onstage to juxtapose the two versions of Faustus

» How much sympathy you wish the audience to feel


The clock strikes eleven

FAUSTUS Ah, Faustus, Now hast thou but one bare hour to live, And then thou must be damned perpetually. Stand still, you ever-moving spheres of heaven, That time may cease and midnight never come! Fair nature’s eye, rise, rise again, and make Perpetual day; or let this hour be but A year, a month, a week, a natural day, That Faustus may repent and save his soul! O lente, lente currite noctis equi! The stars move still; time runs; the clock will strike; The devil will come, and Faustus must be damned. O, I’ll leap up to my God! Who pulls me down? See, see, where Christ’s blood streams in the firmament! One drop would save my soul, half a drop. Ah, my Christ! Ah, rend not my heart for naming of my Christ! Yet will I call on him. O, spare me, Lucifer! Where is it now? ’Tis gone; and see where God Stretcheth out his arm and bends his ireful brows! Mountains and hills, come, come and fall on me, And hide me from the heavy wrath of God! No, no! Then will I headlong run into the earth. Earth, gape! O, no, it will not harbour me. You stars that reigned at my nativity, Whose influence hath allotted death and hell, Now draw up Faustus like a foggy mist Into the entrails of yon labouring cloud, That when you vomit forth into the air, My limbs may issue from your smoky mouths, So that my soul may but ascend to heaven.

The clock strikes the half-hour.

FAUSTUS

Yet for Christ’s sake, whose blood hath ransomed me, Impose some end to my incessant pain. Let Faustus live in hell a thousand years, A hundred thousand, and at last be saved. O, no end is limited to damnèd souls. Why wert thou not a creature wanting soul? Or why is this immortal that thou hast? Ah, Pythagoras’ metempsychosis, were that true, This soul should fly from me and I be changed Unto some brutish beast. All beasts are happy, for, when they die, Their souls are soon dissolved in elements;

But mine must live still to be plagued in hell. Curst be the parents that engendered me! No, Faustus, curse thyself, curse Lucifer, That hath deprived thee of the joys of heaven.

The clock strikes twelve.

FAUSTUS O, it strikes, it strikes! Now, body, turn to air, Or Lucifer will bear thee quick to hell.

Thunder and lightning.

FAUSTUS O soul, be changed into little waterdrops, And fall into the ocean, ne’er be found! My God, my god, look not so fierce on me!

Enter LUCIFER, MEPHISTOPHELES and other DEVILS.

FAUSTUS Adders and serpents, let me breathe a while! Ugly hell, gape not. Come not, Lucifer! I’ll burn my books: Ah, Mephistopheles!

Exit DEVILS with FAUSTUS.


R E S P O N D I N G T O T H E P R O D U C T I O N

Here are some questions to guide your thoughts after seeing the production. You should aim to make as many notes as possible as soon as you can after the performance. The level of specific detail required in your responses will depend on the subject and exam board that is being

studies but remember that performance interpretation examples can be used in English A level essays as examples of other readings but students will need practice to assimilate these into their essays.

• How was a sense of time and place created?

• What was the stage/audience configuration? What was the effect of this?

• Were any casting decisions surprising and what was their effect?

• How did the performers use their vocal and physical skills to create their characters and to show any changes in their characters?

• How did the performers work together in specific moments?

• What were the most significant performance moments for the key characters Faustus and Mephistopheles? Note specific moments within scenes and try and link to key sections of script for precision.

• What mood and atmosphere was created at various moments and how? Link to specific examples.

• What kind of effects were used to create a sense of hell and magic?

• At what moments did you have the strongest response?

• After the performance what did you feel was the most significant theme of the play?

• How was sound and lighting used?

• How were transitions between scenes managed?

• Was there any direct engagement with the audience?

• Were any props particularly relevant?

• Describe the costumes used

• How was stage space used? Were they any levels and how were they used?

• What was the effect on the updated scenes?

• Which moments created the greatest comic effect?

• Did any moments shock or surprise you?

• How did you feel at the interval and at the end of the production?

• What was the overall effect of the production?


Documents

FAUSTUS - ATG Creative Learningcreativelearning.atg.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Education-Pack-FINAL...Faustus has been said to represent a renaissance man in a medieval world. He embodies