Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #63414 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-30
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Synopsis
This edition is based on the earlier version of this hugely successfulRenaissance tragedy, the A-text published in 1604 which, it isgenerally agreed, preserves much of Marlowe's original version. Inaddition, it separately includes the scenes that were adapted or addedin the B-text of 1616. Marlowe joined the form of the late medievalmorality play to the historical material found in the German tale ofJohann Faust, who sells his soul to the devil in return of infinitepower and knowledge. Ironically undercutting the aspirations ofRenaissance Man, the play presents a devil who fails to impress thesinner with the realities of hell - 'I think hell's a fable,' Faustusshrugs - and calls into question the medium of theatre, which time andagain serves the devil to distract Faustus when the pious promptings ofhis heart threaten to lead him to repentance.

Customer Reviews

One Of The Classics?
Hmm, not sure.

This is the only one of Christopher Marlowe's works that I've read so far and to be honest I was expecting a lot more.

Apparently Marlowe wasn't too big on Christianity so you would've thought that scripting a play like this, where an important individual sells his soul to be able to have anything his heart desires, he'd go to town. But it's almost like Marlowe is warning us against doing that. I'm not saying that Marlowe was a practising satanist but for a non-believer, let's call him, his imagination regarding what Faustus does once he makes the "sale" is non too extraordinary; Flies around a bit; Makes fun of the Pope & his Cardinals invisibly; Turns a bale of hay into a horse; Gets grapes in Winter for someone. That's about it.

It's quite short too, but does include the differences from the "B" text afterwards so you can compare the two so that's quite good.

Basically I thought it would move me a lot more than it did, but that might just be me.

Sweet analytics, 'tis thou hast ravished me!
This play is possibly the best example of Elizabethan theatre. Its soliloquies are passionate and eloquent, and have a beauty and poetry to them that I feel surpasses even Shakespeare. The themes of the play are so much more interesting than usual themes, many of which are overly concerned with love - here Marlowe recognises the depravity of man's base nature and shows it to great theatrical effect. Strangely, considering the dislikeable nature of the protagonist and the vile deeds he commits, we are still sympathising with him when he meets his grisly end. This brings us back to the idea of forgiveness for all sins, and whether that does actually apply. Can any sin committed on earth be worthy of such eternal punishment? This play makes us question our ideas about God, about religion, about sin, about the afterlife, and about the effects of our own actions. It is a shocking and thought-provoking play which I can honestly say was a pleasure to study - and anyone who knows me will attest to my hatred of English Literature!
Read it - it will change your life.

A farcical drama but no tragedy
This drama never reaches the level of a tragedy. Faust only signs his pact with the devil to know evanescent pleasures and aimless pointless powers. He becomes a trickster who builds a horse with straw and gets fun from mocking the Pope and supporting the German Emperor Charles V against him. He gets a glimpse of Helen, the object of the Trojan war, but about nothing else, except grapes in december and wine from anywhere. Faust is the dupe of the deal because he gets nothing serious, not even real love, from this devil who in the end gets averything : the soul, the body, the flesh, the blood, the brain, and he can even tear every limb off the body of the foolish doctor. We could think it is a tale that supports the puritan fundamentalist vision of God and the devil, yet he laughs at the Pope, systematically creates havoc in Wittenberg, Luther’s homeland, and he ridicules anything sacred in the world. Is Marlowe an iconoclast, or is he the precursor of Shakespeare who deals with these spirits as if they were dreams, nothing serious, just entertaining friendly beings, or even Purcell who reduces these witches to fairies who help humans in their matrimony ? Marlowe was a child in a way and he embodies both the total lack of respect of teenagers for anything adult, and the fears of children in front of the bad dark boogeyman in the cupboard or under the bed. This play has aged tremendously.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU