2.15 Reading Guide to Doctor Faustus (pp. 1025-55)
Due before class on September 27. 10 points.
Please note: No reading guide is due for Friday, September 24, although your assignment is to read pages 1023-41 of Doctor Faustus by then. This is a double reading guide on the entire play, and is due on Monday.
1. Faustus opens Scene 1 of the play on pages 1025-26 by rejecting, in turn, four major fields of study. What are these four, as represented by Aristotle, Galen, Justinian and Jerome?
2. What is the danger of studying magic, according to the Good Angel? What, according to the Evil Angel, is the reward?
3. On page 1031, Faustus suggests a deal with Lucifer. What does he ask the devil to give him? What does he promise in return?
4. What question does Faustus ask that Mephastophilis refuses to answer? Why won't he answer?
5. Here's the big question: Why would anyone make a deal with the devil? Specifically, why do you think Faustus made a deal with the devil? Support your answer by referring to anything you noticed in the Prologue or scenes 1-5.
6. In what European city does Scene 7 take place? What spell does Faustus ask Mephistophilis to put on him? Name two tricks Faustus plays on the Pope.
7. Look back over scenes 7, 9 and 11. In general, how does Faustus use his powers in these passages? How do his actions in these scenes compare to his comment in the opening speech (page 1026) that "A sound magician is a mighty god."
8. What famous beauty does Faustus conjure up in Scene 12? By what name is she more commonly known? One of the most famous lines in British literature occurs in Scene 12. Locate this line and fill in the blanks below:
"Was this the __________ that launched a thousand __________,
And burnt the topless _______________ of _______________?"
9. The three scholars appear in Scene 13. What is their dramatic purpose? (In other words, what action do they urge?) Looking back over the play and the list of characters on pages 1023-24, what other characters have urged the same action?
10. The final speech of Faustus on pages 1054-55 is an example of a soliloquy. Why do you think Faustus waits until his last moment on earth to say, "I'll burn my books"? What does the Chorus warn the audience against in the Epilogue on page 1055?
Due before class on September 27. 10 points.
Please note: No reading guide is due for Friday, September 24, although your assignment is to read pages 1023-41 of Doctor Faustus by then. This is a double reading guide on the entire play, and is due on Monday.
1. Faustus opens Scene 1 of the play on pages 1025-26 by rejecting, in turn, four major fields of study. What are these four, as represented by Aristotle, Galen, Justinian and Jerome?
2. What is the danger of studying magic, according to the Good Angel? What, according to the Evil Angel, is the reward?
3. On page 1031, Faustus suggests a deal with Lucifer. What does he ask the devil to give him? What does he promise in return?
4. What question does Faustus ask that Mephastophilis refuses to answer? Why won't he answer?
5. Here's the big question: Why would anyone make a deal with the devil? Specifically, why do you think Faustus made a deal with the devil? Support your answer by referring to anything you noticed in the Prologue or scenes 1-5.
6. In what European city does Scene 7 take place? What spell does Faustus ask Mephistophilis to put on him? Name two tricks Faustus plays on the Pope.
7. Look back over scenes 7, 9 and 11. In general, how does Faustus use his powers in these passages? How do his actions in these scenes compare to his comment in the opening speech (page 1026) that "A sound magician is a mighty god."
8. What famous beauty does Faustus conjure up in Scene 12? By what name is she more commonly known? One of the most famous lines in British literature occurs in Scene 12. Locate this line and fill in the blanks below:
"Was this the __________ that launched a thousand __________,
And burnt the topless _______________ of _______________?"
9. The three scholars appear in Scene 13. What is their dramatic purpose? (In other words, what action do they urge?) Looking back over the play and the list of characters on pages 1023-24, what other characters have urged the same action?
10. The final speech of Faustus on pages 1054-55 is an example of a soliloquy. Why do you think Faustus waits until his last moment on earth to say, "I'll burn my books"? What does the Chorus warn the audience against in the Epilogue on page 1055?
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