Richard Olley

P677437X Assignment 1

Discuss how Marlowe uses language in Act 2, Scene 3, 11.13-38; in John OConnor (ed.) (2003), Doctor Faustus: the A text, Pearson Longman, p.49 and consider how this contributes to the characterisation of Faustus.
Throughout the course of the morality play, Doctor Faustus, Marlow employs a rhythmic variation of the blank verse iambic pentameter. Such rhythmic variation was popular with dramatic poets and playwrights of the 16th century. The blank verse refers to the lines of verse being unrhymed and iambic pentameter refers to a pattern of five stressed and five unstressed syllables in a line of verse; there is a rhythmic variation to the pentameter of the syllables used in the passage where Marlowe reverses the poetic meter where the final syllable is unstressed. Marlowes use of blank verse combined with the iambic pentameter coupled with the Elizabethan English of the 16th Century is an ideal vehicle to convey the intellect of an ambitious man who seeks to transcend humanity and gain knowledge first hand from the philosophers and academics whose books and treatise have granted him his knowledge of medicine, theology and astronomy through a bargain with the devil. The appearance of Good and Evil angels battling for the soul of Faustus is just one of the devices Marlowe uses to convey to the reader that Faustus does have the option of repentance however, when he considers repentance he is treated to another spectacle of grandeur from Mephistopheles and begins to think of the intellectual pleasures on offer. The use of the rhythmic variation of the iambic pentameter in the line spoken after the good and evil angels have talked to Faustus of repentance, Who buzzeth in mine ears I am a spirit?(Marlow, in AA100 Assignment Book 2010, pg.18)

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Richard Olley

P677437X Assignment 1

, gives the passage a feel of building tension within the protagonist and highlights his battle of conscience. The way the syllables are stressed make Faustus appear quite aggrieved at his fear of damnation. Faustus, thou are damned! Then swords and knives, Poison, guns, halters, and envenomed steel, are laid before me to dispatch myself ;( Marlow, in AA100 Assignment Book 2010, pg.18) The soliloquy in which Faustus talks of suicide quickly leads to another of the protagonists digressions in which his thoughts swiftly turn once again to those of intellectual pleasure Have I not made blind Homer sing to me, Of Alexanders love and Oenones death, And hath not he that built the wall of Thebes, With ravishing sound of his melodious harp (Marlow, in AA100 Assignment Book 2010, pg.18) Marlowes use of allusion regarding Amphion, and the myth of his having built the walls of Thebes by charming the very bricks to stack themselves, shows Faustus to be a highly educated man who craves to feel, see and hear the wonders the classic ideals and myths. In conclusion Marlowes use of rhythmic variation of iambic pentameter in blank verse, in conjunction with the various literary techniques such as digression and allusion, builds a characterisation of the protagonist that the reader can both sympathise and identify with.

Bibliography
Pancheco, A. (2010) Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, in Pancheco (ed.) Reputations (AA100 Book 1), Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp. 29-54

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P677437X Assignment 1

OConnor, J. (ed.) (2003) Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus: The A text, Pearson Longman, pg.49

Hobsbaum, P. (1996) Metre, Rhythm and Verse Form

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