THE TRAGICAL HISTORY
OF
DOCTOR FAUSTUS
By Christopher Marlowe
(From The Quarto of 1604)
.gutenberg.org
Excerpt
FAUSTUS. Where are you damn'd?
MEPHIST. In hell.
FAUSTUS. How comes it, then, that thou art out of hell?
MEPHIST. Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it:57 Think'st thou that I, who saw the face of God, And tasted the eternal joys of heaven, Am not tormented with ten thousand hells, In being depriv'd of everlasting bliss? O, Faustus, leave these frivolous demands, Which strike a terror to my fainting soul!
FAUSTUS. What, is great Mephistophilis so passionate For being deprived of the joys of heaven? Learn thou of Faustus manly fortitude, And scorn those joys thou never shalt possess. Go bear these58 tidings to great Lucifer: Seeing Faustus hath incurr'd eternal death By desperate thoughts against Jove's59 deity, Say, he surrenders up to him his soul, So he will spare him four and twenty60 years, Letting him live in all voluptuousness; Having thee ever to attend on me, To give me whatsoever I shall ask, To tell me whatsoever I demand, To slay mine enemies, and aid my friends, And always be obedient to my will. Go and return to mighty Lucifer, And meet me in my study at midnight, And then resolve61 me of thy master's mind.
MEPHIST. I will, Faustus.
[Exit.]
FAUSTUS. Had I as many souls as there be stars
I'd give them all for Mephistophilis.
By him I'll be great emperor of the world, And make a bridge thorough62the moving air, To pass the ocean with a band of men; I'll join the hills that bind the Afric shore,And make that country63 continent to Spain, And both contributory to my crown: The Emperor shall not live but by my leave, Nor any potentate of Germany. Now that I have obtain'd what I desir'd,64
I'll live in speculation of this art, Till Mephistophilis return again.
[Exit.]
In the centuries since his violent death, Marlowe has been celebrated as gay icon whose works explored the realities of homosexual desire while it was still deeply dangerous to do so. Alongside the Baines note, the British Library has uploaded scans of the director Derek Jarman’s notebooks for his avant-garde film of Marlowe’s Edward II (1991). The play focuses on Edward’s love for his favourite male companion, Piers Gaveston; Jarman’s take on the story is nakedly political, featuring references to contemporary battles over gay rights.www.theguardian.com/...
Christopher Marlowe (a biography )
This play tells the story of the man who sells his soul to the devil in return for 24 years of power and knowledge - a legend that began in Germany in the 1500s. The story has inspired countless writers, dramatists and composers ever since, but the first major stage version of the story in England is this one by Shakespeare's contemporary Christopher Marlowe (1564-93). Written sometime between 1588 and 1592, but first published in 1604, the play was extremely controversial at the time, as it explores the paths human beings can take when they allow the devil into their lives.
Doctor Faustus was performed many times around the year of Marlowe's death, and its demonic impact on the audiences became the stuff of legend. During the Elizabethan period, the popularity of theatre had grown so much that the Crown was concerned about the effects of controversial plays. Plays were given an official licence if they were deemed suitable, but playwrights could be censored, arrested or even imprisoned. James I passed an act in 1606, which forbade any blasphemous or profane references to God or Christ - actors were fined £10 for each profanity. Marlow was forced to make a number of revisions to Doctor Faustus.www.bl.uk/...
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