Concetti Chiave
- Christopher Marlowe, an influential playwright, was known for his tumultuous life and accusations of atheism, before his untimely death in 1593.
- Doctor Faustus centers on a scholar who trades his soul with the devil for 24 years of knowledge and pleasure, ultimately facing eternal damnation.
- Faustus's final soliloquy expresses his torment and regret as he awaits his fate, highlighting his despair and the inevitability of his pact's consequences.
- Marlowe's tragedies often feature a hero dominated by a consuming passion, leading to a dramatic and inevitable downfall, as seen in Faustus's tale.
- Marlowe's characters speak in a heightened, literary language that reflects their complex emotions and philosophical depth, setting them apart from everyday speech.
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was the son of a shoemaker. He was educated at Canterbury and then he graduated from Cambridge University. We know about Marlowe’s life that he was violent and wild and he was accused of atheism and blasphemy. He was killed in 1593. His most famous plays are: Tamburlaine, The Jew of Malta, Edward II and Doctor Faustus.
Doctor Faustus
Faustus’s soliloquy covers the last hour of his life. He is alone, waiting for midnight. At that time the devil will come and take his soul to hell. When he was young, Faustus had signed an agreement with Mephistopheles to give him his soul in exchange for 24 years of knowledge and pleasure. Now Faustus is terrified at the thought of eternal damnation.
He repents of what he has done and prays to God for forgiveness nut in vain. He wishes that time would stop or he would transform into an element of nature. But they are impossible wishes; his fate is inevitable. He realises that his bargain it has deprived him of the joeys of heaven. The soliloquy has a double function: it shows the end of the plot and gives a clear insight into Faustus’s suffering and despair.The soliloquy is divided into two parts which correspond to two half hours but they differ in length. This difference reflects Faustus’s subjective perception of the passage of the time (time seems to run faster just when you wish it went slower). Faustus’s anguish is conveyed through his obsession with the time, his wish to escape damnation, his desperate invocations to God, Lucifer and nature for help which cannot be granted. Faustus’s manner of speech is that of a learned man. His language is rich in imagery and shows literary, philosophical and religious knowledge. He speaks in blank verse, which consists of unrhymed line of iambic pentameter.
Features of Marlowe’s Tragedies
- The tragic hero lives in a world beyond that of ordinary human experience (Faustus’s lifelong agreement with the devil and its consequences don’t belong to everyday life).
- Although the tragic hero is dominated by a single passion, he isn’t a flat character (Faustus desires knowledge and pleasure, but at the end he repents).
- The tragic hero inevitably meets a tragic end which always occurs in a theatrical, frightening way (Faustus is taken away by the devils).
- The dramatist has given the character a distinctive manner of speech, a heightened language which isn’t that of everyday life.
Summary
Doctor Faustus is a proud scholar who becomes dissatisfied with science and turns to magic. He signs a compact with the devil, Mephistopheles, whereby he exchanges his soul for 24 years of knowledge and pleasure, which lie beyond the realm of human capacity. Now the moment to give up his soul has come.Domande da interrogazione
- Chi era Christopher Marlowe e quali sono le sue opere più famose?
- Qual è il tema centrale del soliloquio di Faustus in "Doctor Faustus"?
- Quali sono le caratteristiche delle tragedie di Marlowe?
- Qual è la trama principale di "Doctor Faustus"?
Christopher Marlowe era il figlio di un calzolaio, educato a Canterbury e laureato all'Università di Cambridge. Era noto per la sua vita violenta e selvaggia e fu accusato di ateismo e blasfemia. Le sue opere più famose includono "Tamburlaine", "The Jew of Malta", "Edward II" e "Doctor Faustus".
Il soliloquio di Faustus copre l'ultima ora della sua vita, in cui attende l'arrivo del diavolo per portare la sua anima all'inferno. Esprime il suo terrore per la dannazione eterna, il pentimento per il patto fatto e il desiderio impossibile di fermare il tempo o trasformarsi in un elemento della natura.
Le tragedie di Marlowe presentano un eroe tragico che vive in un mondo oltre l'esperienza umana ordinaria, dominato da una passione singola ma non piatto come personaggio. L'eroe incontra inevitabilmente una fine tragica in modo teatrale e spaventoso, e il drammaturgo gli conferisce un linguaggio elevato e distintivo.
"Doctor Faustus" narra di un orgoglioso studioso insoddisfatto della scienza che si rivolge alla magia. Firma un patto con il diavolo, Mephistopheles, scambiando la sua anima per 24 anni di conoscenza e piacere, che vanno oltre la capacità umana. Alla fine, arriva il momento di cedere la sua anima.
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