Act 5 - Lesson Blog

In Act 5 - Scene One, the image of heaven/hell and God/the devil really come into play -there are, of course, references made prior to this point that they are polar opposites and, on account of that, do mirror each other in a way (for example, Mephistopheles speaks of praying to the prince of hell) - In this scene, as was discussed in class, there's the irony of the traitor (Faustus) repenting to the ultimate traitor (Lucifer) for considering repenting in the first place...oh what a tangled web we weave...it's all getting rather confusing...but my main point is that the clear parallels between Heaven/Hell and God/Lucifer are being shown - Marlowe's really hammering home his concept of those things in this scene and even has an old man randomly popping up as a type of God-like figure. Religious/moral themes at the fore-front keeping the play topical (especially to an Elizabethan audience)

It's an interesting scene because of the little details that make you think twice...for example, in saying 'I think my master means to die shortly', it made me question whether this was just a way of saying 'I think he's going to die shortly' or...as 'means' implies, if it's an indication of Faustus' controlling, power-hungry nature again in that he even wants to control life/death itself...he spoke of wanting to raise the dead initially but seeing as his plans are all going downhill and the magical powers aren't all they're cracked up to be...he's maybe downscaling his ambition...at least he can be in control of his own life. It's ironic that in doing what he thought would give him the power that he so desperately craved (signing his soul away), he sacrificed it all. Another part that made me think twice was the stage direction 'Mephistopheles gives him (Faustus) the dagger' (supposedly to kill himself with) - in this scene, we see a shift in Mephistopheles...he's playing up a bit, making a mock confession saying that Faustus' state is his fault ('I turned the leaves and led thine eye') and I questioned whether M really was willing F to kill himself (maybe so Lucifer could get full ownership of his soul...no danger of attempting repentence again) or whether he was just using reverse psychology. In saying he was the cause of F's state and supposedly urging F to commit suicide, he's almost taking what little power F has left...no control over his own life or destiny.

This scene reinforces previous ideas also...the fact that, just as M and the devils bring 'empty gifts' and 'hollow gestures', F and the scholars, when it comes down to it, only seem to want 'empty gifts' e.g. the 'image' of Helen. The moral issues are also reiterated with Mephistopheles giving an indication of his value of the soul and the importance faith/God has in protecting the soul ('His faith is great. I cannot touch his soul') Also...I finally found the quote I've been trying to find for ages (I mentioned it in my previous blogs when speaking of Mephistopheles)...the old man says 'No mortal can express the pains of hell'...as I've stated before...through M, Marlowe tries.

A change can be noticed in Faustus - it's almost as if he is now experiencing the hell that M described to him earlier - as opposed to before, he accepts hell and doesn't question it ('...with greatest torment that our hell afforded') He's in a horrible place mentally - making enemies of the devil and God - even everything that seems good to him is sourced from evil e.g. Helen - As Mephistopheles says 'His store of pleasures must be sourced with pain'...A really important chunk of act 5, scene two is Mephistopheles' speech summing up F to Lucifer as it bascically reiterates the point about his 'idle fantasies' and how much trouble they've got him into. The Bad Angel exposes itself as a false friend (a point the Third Scholar later confirms 'The devils whom Faustus served have torn him thus') 'Gave ear to me/And now must taste hell's pains perpetually' and, upon the Good Angel's exit from Act 5, Scene 2, the goodness from F's life is lost. Faustus shows how he is in tune with the Bad Angel when he continues its rhyme ('Thou shalt see/Ten thousand tortures that more horrid be'...'O! I have seen enough to torture me!') Also, Faustus who had taken great pride in the knowledge he had got from his books now blames them ('O, would I had never seen Wittenburg, never read book!' and later goes on to say 'I'll burn my books' at the end of the scene.


We didn't talk about this in class but I think Marlowe's portrayal of 'scholars' is quite interesting, especially in this scene - he seems to slate scholars for their ambition (Faustus' ambition...sparked by his reading and studying of books) yet makes those who aren't scholars fools! Like I said in my last blog, I think characters like Benvolio are the 'human' characters and, in a way, the scholars are presented as having their humanity and restraint taken away from them on account of their studies - maybe arrogance and a desire to know even more sets them apart from the others...I haven't quite made my mind up yet! There's certainly a divide between the scholars and everyone else and, while the scholars support Fasutus in his magic, the 'others' don't...as if Marlowe's trying to make the point that, even the peasants, even the fools can see that what Faustus is doing is wrong.

That's enough incoherent blogging for one day...if anyone does actually read this, I'm sorry it's made no sense...these few scenes, to me, have been the most interesting yet so it's been difficult documenting my thoughts...as is evident in the shotgun approach to blogging today...let's just say I've flitted from one idea to the next as quickly as Faustus flits between God and the Devil in Act 5 and, like Faustus...it's all going downhill!!