Impressions of the writer of the first 3 letters

Initially he seems somewhat ambitious, as he speaks of what he wants to accomplish and the previous things he has done, but overall in the first letter he seems to be more interested in seeking an adventure to escape from the luxury he lives in than doing something serious. Furthermore the longer he is away, the more we get a strong impression that affection is very important to him and he longs for it. However he is clearly devoted to his cause, and puts everything behind this in order to succeed which would further imply he is ambitious. The final letter suggests impatience and the long for human company at a heightened level, also rather than being as floral and well written as the previous two, it is more hasty and uneasy. Overall, the writter has a clear longing for human company and affection, but perhaps his ambition prevents him from gaining this which suggests he is a restless character who must feel powerful in order to be fulfilled.

How should Faustus be played in 2.3...

Arguably, Faustus should be played as a fearful character, as it appears he immediately changes his disposition to avoid angering Lucifer after being entertained by the seven deadly sins, 'O, this feeds my soul.' However Lucifer does not believe his response, 'Tut, Faustus,' this suggests that Faustus should be played as nervous, not his usual confident and arrogant self. 'Farewell, great Lucifer,' despite usually mocking the idea that anyone is greater than himself, Faustus seems obsequious, defying his previous attitude. Overall I think that Faustus should be played as servile, but obviously dishonest and nervous.

Why Wagner and Robin are in Faustus...

Wagner and Robin are in the play perhaps to parallel what happens to Faustus, this is done by subtly referencing things that happen to him, 'I will make thee go like Qui mihi discipulus,' this Latin phrase means one who is my student, showing that Robin, like Faustus wants to gain knowledge and will sell his soul to do so. They also serve a dark comic addition to the play by adding puns, 'beaten silks,' Robin recognises the positivity of the silk, but subtly hints that abuse will come with it. Robin also plays with the audience's interpretation of him by initially making them think he is better than Faustus by refusing to sell his soul for raw mutton, he then reassures the audience of his dark character by then saying, 'I had need to have it well roasted, and good sauce to it, if I pay so dear.' It would also appear that Robin serves to show that, despite being well educated, Faustus is not as witty as him!

The legend of the extra devil in Dr Faustus

A man claimed he saw another devil on stage during a performance of Faustus, this happened several times with different people. It made people believe that the play was haunted!

Passion play

A passion play is a depiction of Christ's trial, suffering and death. It is a traditional part of Lent in various Christian denominations, in particular the Roman Catholic Church.  They were performed first in Latin from the 13th century onwards. 

Performance in Dr Faustus

The way Faustus is preformed can change the audience's interpretation. For example when the Good Angel and Evil Angel are on stage, whether Faustus acknowledges them or not depends on the way it is performed. It could be that the Angels are on a higher level than Faustus, creating a barrier which would seperate them. This would explain why Faustus does not directly acknowledge them when they speak, it may be that Marlowe wanted them to be more like Faustus' subconcious battling itself.

The way the characters are dressed also tells the audience alot about them, Faustus would probably be dressed in expensive looking clothes and perhaps glasses to show intelligence. Whereas a beggar would be dressed in rags to make it clear to the audience what the persons circumstances are. Also what props the character holds would be important, if they held a knife the audience would immediately think them dangerous, just as if Faustus wore glasses it would make him appear intelligent.

What is the audience supposed to think about Faustus after the chorus?

We are initially not introduced directly to Faustus himself, but to the idea that he is 'not' extraordinary and does not compare to greatness, Marlowe creates this negative image by repeating 'nor' and reciting what he does not live up too, whereas typically we would expect the opposite from a chorus. It could be interpreted that Marlowe does this to add suspense, but another argument could be that this alternative beginning symbolises that Faustus will not be typical of Gothic protagonists. Marlowe immediately gives us a mixed impression of Faustus, 'good or bad' which almost questions the audience to whether they will condemn his actions or empathise with him.

It becomes clear from an early stage we should be 'patient' in our 'judgements' of Faustus. Marlowe gives us a humble impression of Faustus initailly, 'his parents base of stock,' pulling him away from a traditional Gothic protaganist and allowing the audience to feel as though they are on a level with him and he is not above them in social status. We are also encouraged as an audience to look at whether his fate was inevitable, as Marlowe suggests the 'heavens conspired his overthrow,' which although is not in direct relation to Faustus, it still invokes pity in relation to him.

However, as we continue, we hear of his intelligence, 'to Wertenberg he went' which makes us question his personality, and whether his intelligence is dangerous. Those fears for the audience are soon realised as Marlowe talks of his 'self-conciet' and how he 'glutted.' It is  then up to the audience's interpretation of whether he has always been an evil person, or whether external influences have corrupted him. Marlowe compares his initial love of theology, 'heavenly matters of theology,' with his later passion for magic, 'nothing so sweet as magic,' arguably this suggests his gluttony swallows him, reminding the audience that he is a flawed character.

Overall, as an audience it is clear we are meant to be left with a mixed opinion of Faustus. We are meant to debate whether he is a victim or a wholly evil character. However it appears Marlowe would prefer us to go in to the play without judging too harshly, and perhaps try and put ourselves in the place of Faustus to empathise with him.

Why was there tension between Catholics and Protestants in the Renaissance/Elizabethan era?

After Henry VIII’s break from Rome in 1532 more protestant ideas are formed. When Elizabeth succeeds Henry she transforms Britain to Protestant, increasing taxes on Catholics and banning them from some occupations. This angers Catholics, particularly in Rome. Elizabeth then forces citizens of Britain to make an oath of Supremacy and including that they attend Sunday church or are fined. Elizabeth eventually wins autonomy from Rome; however there were still a minority of Catholics in Britain who hatched plots against the Protestant government, notably in 1605 when Guy Fawkes and his followers hatched the infamous Gunpowder Plot, which was unsuccessful!

Happy!

Happy is tragic because he shares his father's deluded views on life, he buys into the fantasy which Willy creates and follows his path to failure. It appears he is tragic because he cannot accept reality and would prefer to be like his father. In my opinion the most tragic aspect of Happy is his constant desire to be favoured by Willy, whilst Biff is Willy's clear favourite even though he does not share his views.

End of Act 1 of Death of a Salesman

I feel the end of Act 1 conveys a visual imagine of two things happening simultaneous which reveal that Willy may be a 'fake' as he wants to commit suicide, however shows a false sense of happiness, although I feel this could be him simply reminiscing of his old life and saying goodbye to his new life. The end of act 1 leaves suspense as I feel there is tension between Biff and Willy which is unresolved, as they are very similar characters, despite Biff being more outspoken about his true feelings. They both have delusional views of how to be successful and alternating moods towards each other. It could be seen that their relationship is tragic because they cannot help each other.

Tragic Hero - Hagel

Hagel's theory was that by attempting to act ethically, the characters actions would inevitably become unethical. Willy Loman fits with this to an extent because he does try and act in an ethical way sometimes, e.g. providing for his family by working as a salesman, however this is self destructive because his real talents lie with working with his hands, so not only is he damaging his own life he is damaging the life of his family. He also tries to forge a positive relationship with his children which is ethical, however the results of his actions are destructive because it ends up that his children share the same distorted views as him, that being 'liked' is the most important trait to be successful. However it can be that Willy's actions are unethical but still destructive, for example he has an affair which leads to his guilt and dishonesty to Linda, which is self destructive. His negative attitude also is self destructive as it means he can never be as successful as he would like because he does not believe in himself.

Research task

Mimesis is the imitation of an action according to the law of probability.
The incentive moment is the thing which starts the cause and effect chain in the tragedy.
The denouement is were the cause and effect chain unravels, leading to the climax of the tragedy.
The deus ex machina is where each actions leads to the next, inevitably.Anagnorisis is a change from ignorance to knowledge, producing love or hate for the person destined for good or bad fortune.

My First Impression of Biff and Happy

My first impression of Biff is that he takes after his father but is desperate to escape this, they both share the same dreams and aspirations, however are burdened with their delusions. My first impression of Happy is that he is unhappy and discontented with his life and feels in the shadow of his brother and has to over compensate by making himself feel superior, e.g. when he sleeps with a married woman it makes him feel as though he is better than her husband.

Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller is an American playwright and essayist. His most important works include Death of a Salesman, The Crucible and A View From A Bridge. Often his work includes the theme of 'The American Dream.' His work was often turned into broadway. Often his work showed how he was accused of communism and was a victim of McCarthyism, e.g. The Crucible.