Doctor Faustus

Drama | Christopher Marlowe

Doctor Faustus has only a beginning and an end but no middle.

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Doctor Faustus has only a beginning and an end but no middle Elucidate This quoted statement is often used to explain the structure of Christopher Marlowe s - play Doctor Faustus written in or The beginning of the play is very strong It shows Faustus s great ambition and his decision to sell his soul The ending is also very powerful It shows Faustus s fear regret and tragic death However the middle part of the play is weak and loose It does not develop the main tragic action properly This is why critics say the play has a beginning and an end but no strong middle nbsp A Strong and Serious Beginning The beginning of the play is very impressive In the Prologue and early scenes we see Faustus as a great scholar He is intelligent ambitious and proud He studies logic medicine law and theology but he is

not satisfied He wants unlimited power and knowledge So he chooses necromancy and rejects God He thinks nbsp A sound magician is a mighty god nbsp Faustus dreams of ruling the world and controlling nature The appearance of the Good Angel and Evil Angel shows his inner conflict The Good Angel repeatedly tells Faustus to repent to God nbsp Repent yet God will pity thee nbsp The summoning of Mephistophilis and the signing of the bond with Lucifer are very serious moments These scenes clearly set up the tragic theme of the play The audience feels that something great and terrible is about to happen nbsp A Powerful and Tragic Ending The ending of the play is also very strong In the final act Faustus finally understands his mistake Time is running out His twenty-four years are ending He feels fear guilt and deep sorrow He wishes time could stop He begs the mountains to fall on him and hide him from God s anger In fear he says nbsp Mountains and hills come come and fall on me And hide me from the heavy wrath of God nbsp He cries for mercy and wants even one drop of Christ s blood to save him These scenes are full of emotion and terror When the clock strikes midnight devils appear and drag Faustus to hell The Chorus then gives a moral warning to the audience This tragic ending creates pity and fear and leaves a deep impression nbsp A Weak and Scattered Middle Part However the middle part of the play is not very strong After Faustus sells his soul the audience expects him to do great and meaningful things with his magical power But instead we see many comic and meaningless scenes Faustus plays tricks on the Pope He fools a horse-courser He entertains the Emperor by showing spirits These actions do not match his earlier grand dreams He wanted to gain deep knowledge and control the world But he wastes his power on jokes and cheap entertainment The seriousness does not move forward properly in the middle nbsp Comic Scenes Break the Tragic Flow Another reason the middle feels weak is the frequent comic scenes Characters like Wagner the Clown Robin and Rafe appear again and again They misuse magic for silly purposes These scenes may entertain the audience but they reduce the tragic seriousness of the play Instead of deepening Faustus s inner struggle the middle becomes full of laughter and delay nbsp Little Inner Development of Faustus In the middle of the play Faustus does not change much He neither fully enjoys knowledge nor truly repents He keeps moving between regret and pleasure but there is no strong development As a result the middle feels empty and repetitive nbsp In conclusion the statement is largely true Doctor Faustus has a powerful beginning that presents Faustus s ambition and sin and a tragic ending that shows his punishment and regret But the middle part lacks seriousness depth and development It is filled with comic scenes and weak repetitive action

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