Gothic features in Dr Faustus

Sin:

Within the text there are many aspects of sinning as Faustus moves away from God and towards Lucifer. 'O, this feeds my soul!'. The rejection of God is of course a sin and adds to the Gothic in the play because in turn Faustus rejects goodness in favour of evil. During the period of Marlowe's writing the Church had plenty of control over the people, and all were meant to conform. As a result Faustus breaks this conformity, and is an aspect of the Gothic.

Power as a corrupting influence:

The search that Faustus makes to take all the power possible and become God-like leads him to corrupt himself. Throughout the play there are aspects that he is overreaching, 'Here, Faustus, try thy brains to gain a diety'. Faustus also corrupts himself with the power he gains through his pact with Lucifer because he does not utilise his intelligence in the best possible ways, instead he becomes a mere performer, 'But such spirits as can lively resemble Alexander and his paramour shall appear before your Grace...', and deludes himself. This adds to the Gothic because corruption of good fits within the genre.

The divided nature of man:

There is an internal struggle within Faustus about whether he has made the correct decision in following Lucifer against God, and yet he always decides God is false.'And Faustus vows never to look to heaven' The divided will is a factor of binary opposition and adds to the Gothic genre in the play because there is a blurring of ideas.

Supernatural:

Supernatural is a key aspect in the Gothic, and there are features running throughout the play. The Devil can be licensed as a supernatural character and would invoke fear into the audience... the scare factor is a part of the Gothic. 'That holy shape becomes a devil best'. Also there are spells done to call the Devil, 'And characters of signs and erring stars, By which the spirits are enforced to rise' and this is a supernatural factor so adds to the Gothic.

Blood:

Faustus cuts himself to bind himself with the Devil, 'I cut mine army, and with my proper blood Assure my soul to be great Lucifer's'. This is a connection with Christ on the cross but has been flipped. Transferring strict thought patterns into something more sinister is a Gothic quality, and once again the play fits into the genre.

Good and bad Angel:

The good and bad Angel are characters that have a blurring between them. 'Read, read the Scriptures. That is blasphemy' and 'Be thou on earth as Jove is in the sky, Lord and commander of these elements'. Essentially they are the same characters but with two opposing ideas, a binary opposition. So the characters add to the genre of the Gothic.

How does Marlowe explore the Gothic themes of over-reaching ambition, sin and evil in the first Act of Dr Faustus?

At the start of Doctor Faustus there is a long soliloquy where he tries to identify what vocation would be most suitable for him. With each different vocation he decides he is much too clever, ‘Divinity, adieu!’. This can be identified as over-reaching as they are subjects that require intelligence, whilst also he is still able to achieve plenty by becoming accomplished in the vocations. Finally he decides that he would be most suited to magic as it would make him untouchable and Godly, ‘Here, Faustus, try thy brains to gain a deity.’ This is also over-reaching as no-one but God can possess God’s power. This is also a reference to Lucifer who became the devil after attempting to possess the powers of God and falling from his right shoulder.

Marlowe uses the Good and Bad Angel on stage as forewarning to the fate that could behold Faustus if he decides that he will or will not practice magic. The Good Angel wants to warn that if magic is used then Faustus will have a swift demise, ‘...lay that damned book aside And gaze not on it, lest it tempt thy soul And heap God’s heavy wrath upon thy head!’; whereas the Bad Angel uses the rewards from magic as temptation, ‘Be thou on Earth as Jove is in the sky, Lord and commander of these elements.’. This forewarning from two angels is important as it shows that there is a God watching Faustus’ actions and deciding on his fate. Also they act as mythical representations of Faustus’ real and fake friends that will also attempt to tempt him.

Although Faustus is sure that he could be an accomplished Magician, he is unsure that possessing so much power would be wise. These insecurities are abandoned after the gentle cooing of Valdes and Cornelius. ‘Then doubt not, Faustus, but to be renowned And more frequented for this mystery Than heretofore the Delphian oracle.’

Once again Faustus overreaches as he believes that he has conjured Mephistopheles and is able to have control of the devil with his wit and powers. ‘I charge thee to return and change thy shape. Thou art too ugly to attend me.’ And ‘How pliant is this Mephistopheles, Full of obedience and humility!’ Faustus has illusions of grandeur. He is confident in his abilities, but does not truly understand the situation of necromancy, heaven and hell. ‘Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it.’

From these ideas there is ample evidence of Faustus’ overreaching ambition. He does not understand what he is heading towards, even though there is forewarning. It is true that Faustus has surplus intelligence that would allow him to become successful in the dark arts but the challenge set by higher beings is keeping to a moral life. Finally Faustus’ presumption is that there is only hell, and that he will have total control, rather than truly contemplating a heaven. To Faustus, how can there be a hell if there is no heaven?

                                          

Modern Mephistopheles

This is a modern version of Mephistopheles and is in the form of a man. It is plausible that the Director decided this format as a representation of  the closeness of humans and the Devil. Also the Devil does not appear any different from other people so is able to entice Faustus. Mephistopheles' dress is a clean cut, he is well dressed and so gives him an air of importance. The cape is a signifier of the Devil and acts as a shroud of mystery.

Mephistopheles as a reflection of Jesus

Not the actual picture, but Mephistopheles has been represented as an adaptation of Jesus on the cross in a theatre version of Dr Faustus.
Mephistopheles being represented as Christ makes him easily recognisable and therefore a signifier. The representation in this form is to shock the audience as a system of belief has been turned on its head. Marlowe was accused of atheism and the Director of this version may have wanted to portray this feeling. This is also a binary opposition; the Devil is a fusion of both good and evil. Dr Faustus is a morality play and presenting Mephistopheles like this makes the determination of evil much harder. Also temptation is a key factor during the play, a fusion of Christ and the Devil represents this. Finally Mephistopheles presents himself as a tormented Christ to create a revulsion within the audience and is ironic.

Mephistopheles in classic Devil form

This is the classic Mephistopheles in Devil form. The audience is in no doubt who this character is or what it represents. The horns are a sign of the devil, as are the claws. This version of Mephistopheles is very different from human form.

Mephistopheles in Faustus

• Devil figure
• Some critics believe Mephistopheles is a possible lover for Faustus 
• Mephistopheles could be Faustus' alter-ego; a construction of his suppressed feelings
• Mephistopheles could be a distortion of the Christian angel.. no God, only the Devil
• Some critics believe Mephistopheles is the demon who comes to collect the souls of those already damned, rather than a figure of temptation
• Mephistopheles serves the Devil, rather than being the Devil, and acts as a physical representation on Earth

Mephistopheles outlined

• A demon featured in German folklore
• First appearance in 'The Faust' legend
• Has made many more literary appearances since as a stock character for the demon