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Doctor Faustus – Short Notes

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1. What does the Chorus reveal about Faustus in the Prologue? In the Prologue of Doctor Faustus, the Chorus functions like the narrator and sets the stage for the audience by giving a brief overview of Faustus’s background and character. We are told that Faustus was born to humble parents in Germany and grew up in the town of Rhodes. He studied at the University of Wittenberg, where his brilliance made him famous as a scholar. Faustus mastered many subjects—logic, medicine, law, and theology. The Chorus highlights that Faustus’s rise was due to his intelligence and ambition, but also foreshadows that this ambition will lead to his downfall. Unlike traditional tragedies that speak of kings, warriors, or great battles, this play focuses on the downfall of a scholar whose “waxen wings did mount above his reach,” an allusion to the myth of Icarus. Just like Icarus who flew too close to the sun, Faustus also aspires beyond human limits and faces destruction. Thus, the Chorus sets the mor...
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Background Reading

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The Neo-Classical Age in English literature, spanning roughly from the late 1600s through the early 1700s, emerged in the wake of the Restoration of Charles II and solidified its outlook during the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the Act of Union of 1707. In these decades of political restoration and consolidation, writers embraced the ideals of ancient Greece and Rome—reason, balance, and order—as antidotes to the chaos of civil war and religious conflict. This reverence for classical antiquity shaped a cultural moment that valued harmony in thought and expression, and it set the tone for literature that both reflected and sought to improve the society around it. Coffeehouses, private salons, and the newly founded Royal Society became crucibles for intellectual exchange, turning London into a vibrant public sphere. An emerging literate middle class—eager for reading that combined amusement with instruction—found in essays, drama, and poetry the perfect vehicles for polite discourse...
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The Restoration Age: Kings, Crises, and Comebacks

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The Restoration Age in England, spanning roughly from 1660 to 1700, marks the return of the monarchy after a period of Puritan rule. When King Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, it signaled a dramatic shift in political and cultural life. The earlier Puritan regime under Oliver Cromwell had imposed strict moral codes, banning public celebrations, theater, and even colorful clothing. In contrast, Charles II’s court embraced elegance, wit, and pleasure, ushering in a more liberal and indulgent atmosphere. While the monarchy was restored, Parliament retained significant influence, leading to ongoing tensions—especially around religious succession. Key political events like the Exclusion Crisis and the Glorious Revolution (1688) reflected these struggles, ultimately steering England toward a constitutional monarchy. In literature, the Restoration Age was a renaissance of satire, wit, and theatrical innovation. The reopening of theaters after years of suppression led to the...
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Understanding Dryden’s Satire in Absalom and Achitophel: An Introduction

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John Dryden’s Absalom and Achitophel transforms a biblical revolt into a sharp commentary on Restoration politics. By casting real historical figures as Old Testament characters, Dryden exposes the ambitions and follies of his contemporaries. Historical Context King Charles II ruled England after the turmoil of civil war and the Protectorate. Fearing a Catholic succession, the Whig party—led by the Earl of Shaftesbury—sought to undermine the king’s decision to name his brother James as heir. In response, Dryden, as Poet Laureate and a Tory loyalist, penned Absalom and Achitophel in 1681 to defend the crown. Dryden borrowed the story of Absalom’s revolt against King David and the scheming politician Achitophel to mirror the Monmouth rebellion and Shaftesbury’s intrigues. By framing current events as an epic allegory, he elevated a partisan pamphlet into a work of enduring literary power. Dryden’s satire operates on two levels: - A direct allegory where Absalom represents the...
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Doctor Faustus Decoded: Marlowe’s Life, Legend, and Legacy for First-Year Students

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Christopher Marlowe was born in 1564—the same year as William Shakespeare—and quickly made his mark as one of the so-called “University Wits,” a group of Cambridge-educated playwrights who transformed Elizabethan theatre. Marlowe’s fierce intelligence and bold style helped pioneer blank verse drama, often called the “Mighty Line” for its unrhymed iambic pentameter that gave his characters an almost musical force. His major plays—Tamburlaine the Great, The Jew of Malta, Edward II, and above all Doctor Faustus—explore ambition, power, and the darker side of human desire. Marlowe’s life was as dramatic as his works: he died at just twenty-nine in a tavern brawl, leaving behind a legacy of restless energy and poetic innovation. The story of Doctor Faustus itself sprang from German folklore about a man named Johann Faust, a charismatic astrologer, magician, and alchemist who supposedly sold his soul to the devil in exchange for supernatural powers. In 1587, a popular chapbook called ...
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Bound by Ambition: A First Glance at Dr. Faustus

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Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus takes us into the world of late sixteenth-century England, when new ideas about human potential and knowledge were shaking up old religious certainties. At its heart is Dr John Faustus, a scholar dissatisfied with the limits of traditional learning. Seeking more power, he turns to magic and makes a pact with the devil, trading his soul for twenty-four years of service from the demon Mephistopheles. This dramatic premise grew out of the familiar “morality play” tradition, but Marlowe pushed it onto a grander stage, exploring ambition, doubt, and the price of forbidden knowledge. Christopher Marlowe himself was a brilliant and controversial figure. Born around 1564, he attended Cambridge University and then wrote for the bustling theatres of London. He died young at twenty-nine, under mysterious circumstances, but not before revolutionizing English drama with bold characters and the first sustained use of blank verse. His style gave his heroes a ma...
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Heroic Couplet

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A heroic couplet is a pair of lines written in iambic pentameter (five beats per line), where both lines rhyme with each other. This form became popular in English poetry during the 17th and 18th centuries, especially in epic and satirical poems. The term “heroic” comes from its use in serious, elevated subjects—like heroism, politics, or moral reflection. In other words, a heroic couplet is like poetry’s version of a well-crafted argument—structured, rhythmic, and elegantly rhymed. Each line in a heroic couplet follows a da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM rhythm (iambic pentameter), and the two lines rhyme at the end. For example, in Dryden’s Absalom and Achitophel : In pious times, ere priestcraft did begin, Before polygamy was made a sin. Here, “begin” rhymes with “sin,” and both lines have ten syllables with a steady beat. The couplet often expresses a complete thought, making it easy to quote and remember. This structure helps poets deliver sharp, wit...
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