Doctor Faustus (B Text) (New Longman Literature) [Paperback]

Christopher Marlowe (Author)

Book Description

Series: New Longman Literature | Publication Date: June 20, 1995

Doctor Faustus exists in two versions, both of which were edited from performances in the time of Marlowe. Both are considered to be authentic, but there are notable differences, both the b text containing additional scenes as well as different wording. Doctor Faustus: A text *Written to help students make the transition from GCSE to AS/A level;*Contains a detailed introductory section that puts the play in its historical context;*Provides in-depth textual notes;*Contains exam-style questions;*Includes carefully selected extracts from key critical works on the play;*Offers additional study skills for AS and A2 learning.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Ad Wes Lon Education (June 20, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0582254094
• ISBN-13: 978-0582254091
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,965,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars No work of the devil, this..., February 1, 2006

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Doctor Faustus (B Text) (New Longman Literature) (Paperback)

'Was this the face that launched a thousand ships...' There are so many great lines in this play! The greatness of Marlowe was recognised in his own time (a gentle modern reminder of this came in the film 'Shakespeare in Love', when almost every actor auditioning chose a bit from Marlowe, and all of those defaulted to this play).

It is somewhat ironic that if Shakespeare and Marlowe were writing today, they should most like be charged with plagiarism and copyright infringement; 'The Tragedy of Doctor Faustus' is likewise not an entirely original construct of Marlowe's, but rather derives from an anonymously penned German poem translated into English shortly before Marlowe recast it for his play. The German poet Goethe was influenced by the same anonymous source, and perhaps knew of Marlowe's play during his writing.

Dr. Faustus may have been based on a brilliant professor in Germany a generation or two prior to Marlowe. In any event, the idea of the seduction of the power of knowledge was (and continues to be) inspiring. The idea of selling one's soul to get the object of one's desire is also not a unique concept. Knowledge in the ancient world often always involved the spiritual realm, which had both its light and dark sides (one has but to think of the Star Wars saga to see how such concepts remain firmly rooted in our own time). Faustus becomes a conjurer, and strikes a deal with Lucifer to maintain power and knowledge in return for his soul after 24 years.

Despite the temptations to repent, Faustus in Marlowe's text never manages to break free of the temptations. 'My heart's so hardened I cannot repent. / Scare can I name salvation, faith, or heaven, / But fearful echoes thunder in mine ears: / "Faustus, thou art damned." ' Even recognising this, in the span of this one monologue, Faustus talks himself out of despair with the temptations of knowledge and secret power. Unfortunately for Faustus, he spends so much of his time and power doing ultimately useless tricks that he ends up in a worthless position despite his deal, and pays the ultimate price for his deal with the devil.

Marlowe had great appeal to the play-going audience of his day, and his words were considered very powerful art, indeed. One story bears repeating, dealing with the performance history of the play: 'A legend developed that during a performance in Exeter, in one scene in which Faustus called up devils, the actors counted one more devil than the scene called for and realised that Satan himself was in the their midst. In terror, they stopped the play; the audience bolted from the playing place; and the actors quitted the town the next morning.' Such was the power of Marlowe's rendering, that his language was thought to have magical conjuring power.

This edition is designed both for students as well as for those who might want to do the play in performance for classes. The spelling is modernised and edited for ease of reading. There are generous notes for the changes in the text versions (there was a publication of this text in 1604 and again in 1616 with changes and revisions). This text also includes many stage-direction and theatrical notes to give a good sense of how the play is performed. It includes many photographs of productions along the way. In addition to all of these features, editor Sylvan Barnet provides an introduction to the play which includes biographical details about Marlowe as well as more details about the background of the play.

Don't let the devil fool you - this is a good text.