Christopher Marlowe

Question 1

What was Marlowe’s upbringing?

Answer 1

Son of a Shoemaker

Question 2

Where/When did he go to school?

Answer 2

At 15, attended King’s School in Canterbury: heavily classical education

Question 3

When was the first performance of Doctor Faustus?

Answer 3

1592-1594

Question 4

What is the difference between Text A and Text B?

Answer 4

1604 – A Text
1616 – B Text (enlarged and altered)

The B text probably has some additions by other authors.

Question 5

Which translation do scholars believe his comes from?

Answer 5

Some scholars believe that Marlowe developed the story from a popular 1592 translation, commonly called The English Faust Book.

• There is thought to have been an earlier, lost, German edition of 1587, which itself may have been influenced by even earlier, equally unpreserved pamphlets in Latin.

Question 6

Characters

Answer 6

Chorus
Doctor John Faustus
Wagner
Good Angel
Bad Angel
Valdes and Cornelius
Mephistopheles
Robin, the Clown
Rafe
Seven Deadly Sins
Pope and Cardinals
Charles V, Emperor of Germany
Alexander the Great
Helen of Troy

Question 7

What is interesting about the structure of this play?

Answer 7

Episodic, allows for addition and removal of scenes

Question 8

What do all three of Marlowe’s major plays have in common?

Answer 8

Heroes who seek power

Question 9

What is Faustus’ nationality?

Answer 9

German

Question 10

What are some memorable things Faustus does with his power?

Answer 10

• Summons Helen of Troy
• Antagonizes the Pope

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Question 11

Where does Faustus study?

Answer 11

Wittenburg

Question 12

What are some big questions explored in the play?

Answer 12

• What form should knowledge take?
• What is the nature of true power?
• Should we believe in fate or free will?

Question 13

What religious “hot-button” issue was being discussed at the time of the play’s writing?

Answer 13

Calvinism, or pre-destination. Faustus eventually concludes that he was always going to be damned.

Question 14

Who provides the comic relief in this play?

Answer 14

Rafe and Robin, who blunderingly try to use Faustus’s books of magic. We might compare to the more seamless integration of high and low in Shakespeare’s comedy.

Question 15

How many years does Faustus trade his soul for?

Answer 15

24

Question 16

What structural feature does this play have in common with Greek tragedy?

Answer 16

It has a chorus

Question 17

Who is Faustus’s servant?

Answer 17

Wagner