Overview

Marlowe uses many theatrical device to present themes, for example allegorical characters. There are many of these throughout the play; the good and bad angel, the seven deadly sins and the old man at the end of the play. These all provide different messages. Additionally, he also uses comedy scenes. These can be interpreted as an attempt to lighten the mood of the play, which has heavy topics that would especially effect the audience at the time. However, they can also be compared to Faustus to show how similar he is to these fools, and therefore his lack of power.

Allegorical characters

• ‘But must thou sit and I stand‘ - Said by envy during the seven deadly sins show in 2.2. Shows his constant comparison to other people. Can compare to Faustus saying he will ‘reign sole king‘, meaning he wants to be the only King and there can be no one else above him.

• ‘Faustus, repent; yet God will pity thee‘ ‘Thou art a spirit; God cannot pity thee‘ Lines said by the good and bad angel in 2.2. The angels show up whenever Faustus has an internal struggle, both representations of both sides of the argument - heaven and hell. The good angel tells Faustus he can still repent, while the bad angel argues he is now a spirit. This references the discussion over whether Faustus is a spirit the moment he signs a contract, or he becomes this later on. After they say this, Faustus says ‘Who buzzeth in mine ears‘, hinting that this could perhaps reference him falling into insanity due to his decisions, and these characters are figments of his imagination.

• ‘Then call for mercy, and avoid despair‘ - Said by the old man to Faustus in 5.1. He attempts to convince Faustus to repent, and tells him to avoid the mortal sin of despair. His focus on this shows this may be the worst of Faustus crimes - to despair and believe God will never forgive him. This is also Judas greatest crime after betraying Jesus, showing that God will forgive any and all crimes. The old man is said to represent God in his final attempt to convince Faustus to repent.

Comedy scenes

• ‘Teach thee to turn thyself into a dog, or a cat, or a mouse, or a rat, or anything.’ - Said in 1.4 by Wagner to Robin. Tells us you can only move down the chain of being, not up. They can never move up their social class but only into animals. This is achieved by Wagner even just after Faustus summons Mepho, showing how easy it is to perform these spells, as Wagner is only his student and simply seeks to copy him. Yet, he does not require a contract with the devil, showing Faustus foolishness compared to him. It also shows him trying to teach Robin, who is a lowly servant, showing how anyone can learn conjuring.

• ‘I’ll clap as fair a pair of horns on’s head’ - Said by Robin in 2.3 to Dick. Can be compared to 4.2 when Faustus puts horns on Benvolio’s head as a punishment for making fun of him. Faustus says ‘I’ll play Diana and send you the horns presently‘. This is a reference to the story of a hunter who saw the goddess Diana bathing naked, and was turned into a stag and killed by his own hounds as punishment. Horns on the head are also said to reference a cuckold - a man whose wife has cheated on him. This is a silly trick that yields no benefit for Faustus and is extremely childish, and shows he falls into the same mindset as the servants did when they first got their skills in conjuring.

• ‘for pleasure of these damned slaves‘ - this happens in 3.3 when Dick and Robin attempt to conjure. Mepho appears immediately, highlighting that it is not that hard to summon a demon. Unlike Faustus, they had no huge ceremony showing that his efforts were for nothing, and that Mepho would have arrived anyway. Additionally, he refers to them as ‘slaves‘, but to what? Slaves perphaps to their desires, or slaves lower in the great chain, or simply slaves to God and Satan.

• ‘snatches it‘ - this happens in 3.2, when Faustus is mocking the Pope. It shows him using his power in order to tease someone by stealing their drink, which an extremely childish act. This tells us Faustus may be unable to do anything more drastic against the Pope, and must revert to annoying him. This shows Faustus having him own comic scene, so he has fully devolved to the level of Dick and Robin.

• ‘He never left eating til he had eat up all my load of hay’ - Said in 4.6 by a carter describing Faustus. Shows he has moved down the chain of being, as he is acting like an animal. Also shows him using silly tricks to fool people below him on the chain, showing that he has no power against those above him.