Category Archives: Marlowe’s Faustus

Discussions of Christopher Marlowe’s “The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus”

Marlowe’s “Dr. Faustus,” Freedom, Censorship and Speculation

Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, Sir Francis Bacon and Queen Elizabeth I all lived in England during the late 1500s. An odd lot of history and literature buffs have said that Marlowe, Bacon or someone else wrote Shakespeare’s plays. I suspect … Continue reading

Posted in Marlowe's Faustus, Series | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Wagner, Servant of Faustus: What’s He Doing in the Play?

I’d like to say that my ‘Marlowe’s Faustus’ series follows some grand scheme, marching down a well-organized path toward a profound conclusion. But it doesn’t, so I won’t. I started re-reading Christopher Marlowe’s “The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus,” a … Continue reading

Posted in Marlowe's Faustus, Series | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Faustus, Valdes and Cornelius: With Friends Like These…

(From Jürgen Ludwig, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) I talked about angels, real and imagined, last month; mentioned Doctor Faustus’ big plans, including putting a brass wall around Germany, and said that I’d talk about Valdes and Cornelius next … Continue reading

Posted in Discursive Detours, Journal, Marlowe's Faustus, Series | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Faustus: Good Angel, Bad Angel, Parma and Politics

(From Ken Eckert, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) A year and three weeks ago, I started writing about Marlowe’s “Faustus” play: “The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus.” Three months later, I’d finished three more. … Continue reading

Posted in Discursive Detours, Marlowe's Faustus, Series | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Marlowe’s Faustus: Chorus, Soliloquies and Film Noir

“Doctor Faustus…” starts with a 194-word soliloquy. Sort of. It’s delivered by Chorus, named last in Marlowe’s “Dramatis Personae.” Ancient Greek tragedies had a chorus, acting like today’s narrators. Again, sort of. Aristotle said that chorus was a character, so … Continue reading

Posted in Discursive Detours, Marlowe's Faustus, Series | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments