STUDY QUESTIONS FOR DOCTOR FAUSTUS

Need help? Or just interested? Access Christopher Marlowe & Dr. Faustus - A Unit for High School English Teachers for an introduction. For something more in-depth, try Marlowe's Faustus and faustus.

1. Using the concepts of theme, conflict, and climax, summarize the plot of Doctor Faustus.

 2. Why does Faustus sell his soul? What is his motivation for this deal? How does the deal, the motivation, and the outcome make Doctor Faustus a peculiarly Renaissance work?

3. The full title of the work is The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. The genre of tragedy has received numberless analyses and definitions. One of the most enduring was provided by Aristotle (ca. 330 B.C.). As the study guide indicates, key concepts in Aristotle's definition of tragedy are tragic protagonist, tragic reversal, tragic recognition, hamartia, hubris, catharsis, and the classical unities. Using these terms, analyze Doctor Faustus.

4. Faustus repeatedly is told by the devil himself that if he sells his soul, he will burn forever in the everlasting fires of hell. Yet, Faustus is reputedly the most intelligent man of his time. Giving Marlowe credit for knowing how to construct a believable story, we must reconcile these two apparently irreconcilable positions. How? In answering, you might want to address the function of the devils and the "good angel vs. bad angel" debates. Specifically, did Marlowe intend for these characters to be "real" and "persons," or did he intend them as personifications? If he did intend them as personifications, what is their function?

5. One of the great intellectual movements of the Renaissance was organized around John Calvin (1509-1564). Calvinism was based on five points (TULIP, as an acronym): Total Depravity of the human race after the fall (only a very , very few people were "saved," while the vast majority of people were damned); 2) Unconditional salvation for the saved, called "the Elect" (people could not do anything to deserve salvation, which was a complete gift from God); 3) Limited atonement provided by the death of Jesus (Jesus did not atone for everyone's sins, only those of "the Elect); 4) Irresistible grace experienced by "the Elect" (people could not choose salvation, it had to choose them; and when it did, you were saved in spite of yourself); and 5) Perseverance of "the Elect." Though Marlowe was sometimes popularly known as "an atheist" (a free-thinker in regards to religion), his play is in some ways profoundly Calvinist. Explain why, keeping in mind Faustus' motivation for selling himself and his subsequent refusal to repent.

6. Identify the following: Mephastophiles, Charles V, Wittenberg, Helen of Troy, the Pope and the Cardinals, and the Clown.

7. Marlowe is a great innovator in English versification. He developed an especially effective blank verse. First, what is blank verse? Second, provide an example from the play that you consider especially striking.

8. Marlowe also is known for his creation of the Marlovian protagonist. Using Doctor Faustus as evidence, what are at least four characteristics of the Marlovian protagonist?

9. Give four characteristics that suggest Doctor Faustus as a play that could be written in Renaissance England.