Thinking Activity 3 - Dr. Faustus : A Play by Christopher Marlowe

Welcome Readers!

Brainstorming is the term which is used by multinational companies and many corporate sectors. In order to bring out new ideas and suggestions, all the colleagues sit together and discuss the pros and cons of any topic, and rethink the entire plan or agenda.

At the department of English, MK Bhavnagar University, Dr. Dilip Barad encourages students for brainstorming, in which, students rethink the entire syllabus and units, and write their own answers in their blogs. This thinking activity is related to Dr. Dilip Barad's blog in which he has asked questions regarding the play, Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. Click here to visit blog.

Que. (1) The play directed by Matthew Dunster for Globe theatre ends with this scene (see the image of Lucifer). What does it signify?

Last Scene: Lucifer with wide wings

Ans : Lucifer is one of the chief characters in the play. He is master of Mephistophilis and ruler of the Kingdom of Hell. In the stage performance Mephistophilis takes Faustus's soul and bows down in front of his master Lucifer. Each time any soul enters into Lucifer's Kingdom of Hell is expanded. May be his devilish smile and widespread wings shows the wrath and cruelty of his character.

Que. (2) Is God present in the play? If yes, where and how? If No, why?

Ans : When we say the word "GOD", we are actually imagining some personality, which, as a human beings we've never seen. This play somehow denies the theory of existence of God with reference to Dr. Faustus's character. It can not be established that, a person with good moral and ethical values should be considered as Godly Persona. There may be some place for virtues as well as vices in every person.

Que. (3) What reading and interpretation can be given to this image (see the image of Daedalus and Icarus) with reference to central theme of the play Dr. Faustus?

Father Daedalus and Son Icarus

Ans : This picture is related with Greek Mythology. Daedalus, a master craftsman and artist, is ordered to prevent the knowledge of the Labyrinth and not to be shared to anyone. He wants to escape from the prison-like ship from which he cannot come out, he fabricates wings with bees wax, joins all feathers and ties them with strings. He makes waxen wings for himself and for his son, Icarus as well. Daedalus tells Icarus not to fly closer to the Sun; it would melt the wings, and also not to fly nearer to the sea surface; it would soak the wings. Icarus forgets father's instructions and flies higher and too close to the Sun, wings melt down and Icarus falls in the water and dies.

This incident can be perfectly connected with the play Dr. Faustus. With the context of the play, Daedalus, can be seen as Old Man and Good Angel, and Icarus can be seen as Dr. Faustus. Dr. Faustus ignores the sayings of Good Angel and Old Man throughout the play, and tragic end occurred. Just as Icarus met with tragic death.

Que (4) How do you interpret this painting?

Ans : This painting, at first sight, seems very normal. A ship is sailing ahead, a farmer is ploughing the land, a shepherd is going on his way, and an angler is busy with fishery. But the painter Peter Bruegel the Elder, has perfectly minimized a tragic incident. In the lower right corner, we can see that a person is drowning in water. He is none other than Icarus, a son of Daedalus. Father makes Waxen Wings told son not to fly closer to the Sun, but Icarus goes flying higher and higher. Greater the height, greater the fall. Because of the heat of the sunlight, Icarus loses his waxen wings and falls in the water. People around him don't even know that Icarus is drowning in the water. In the previous question, the idea of Fall was in the center, but here it has become a periphery, somewhere in the corner. This picture makes us think how the dynamics of the time changes gradually. Myth of a fallen hero, is considered as insignificant thing in the picture, weather a person lives or dies, nobody is concerned to that, the routine life goes on.

Que. (5) Read this article by Bhagat Singh. In light of the arguments made by Bhagat Singh in this article, can you re-write last monologue of Doctor Faustus?

Ans : Bhagat Singh was a strong atheist. If we place Bhagat Singh in place of the character of Dr. Faustus, the end would be very different. The last monologue of Bhagat Singh can be like this.

(Half an hour left to twelve.)

Bhagat Singh : O Lucifer, don't make me wait this long, if you want to take my soul, take right now, I am not going to weaver or repent for my deeds, nor I shall pray to God because I am an atheist. O stars of the heaven stop not till you end up your lives. O the eternal time, make your clocks faster so that I can die on the very moment. Let Lucifer and Mephistopilis take my soul and enlarge the kingdom of hell, I challenge all the mighty powers that keep your weapons ready, make your armors tight, I will never stop my quest for knowledge, take me, take my soul, let my books burn with entire library, I will return, O Mephistophilis, I will return.

Que. 6) Summarize articles discussed in the class:

• Marlowe and God: Tragic Theology of Dr. Faustus

- Summary of the article

Here, Robert Ornstein has pointed out the atheism of Marlowe and the depiction of spiritual machinery of good and bad angels. Faustus struggles a lot with his spiritual self but fails to judge what is good and what is bad. Ornstein has taken the reference of Faustbook to raise arguments about plot structure. By writing this play, the author is doing his own catharsis. Marlowe's life was full of controversies. In this young age, the fiery passion he has got, is unbearable to him, that is called Marlovian Enthusiasm. It looks like Marlowe has succumbed down from atheism to theism, because his character, Faustus does is so.

• Myth, Psychology and Marlowe's Doctor Faustus

- Summary of the article

In this article, Kenneth L Golden, points out the theory of psychology of archetypes given by Carl Jung. According to Carl Jung, the images of Christian Mythology, created in Dr. Faustus, continue to operate in a neurotic way, and that images fail to form a basic concept of a healthy approach towards life. Jung points out that some dialogues and behavior of Faustus shows ego-inflation state of the human psyche. In prologue, we can see, Faustus is "swollen with cunning of a self-conceit". Many dialogues and exclamations are taken for deep psychological studies. Gradually after meeting mephistophilis, Faustus becomes more childish, primitive, thoughtless and vindictive prankster. In myth this change of behavior is called enantiodromia.