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Scene Study prepares you to perform key scenes for your theater class or audition. We've got all the information you need for a great performance.
Excerpt from Scene 13 Monologue: Faustus
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Understanding the Given Circumstances
- Dr. Faustus, a renowned scholar, has sold his soul to Lucifer in exchange for twenty-four years of magical knowledge, political power, and great wealth. Mephistophilis, a demon serving under Lucifer, is to do Faust’s bidding for the duration.
- Despite all the gifts of Lucifer, Faustus squanders his powers on cheap tricks, immediate gratification, and fame instead of the sacred knowledge he originally hoped to acquire.
- Over the course of twenty-four years, whenever Faustus contemplates a higher purpose and redemption, Mephistophilis and Lucifer divert his attention to more carnal matters. When an Old Man begs Dr. Faustus to choose salvation before it is too late, Faustus briefly repents, only to renew his bargain with Lucifer. In return, Faustus asks for Helen of Troy as his mistress, hoping to find immortality in sex with her rather than in God.
- On the last night of his life, Faustus tells friends he has bargained away his soul and nothing can rescue him. Left alone as the clock strikes eleven, he envisions the horrors of Hell, briefly calls on God for salvation, and tries to make one last bargain with the Devil.
Blocking and Movement
In theater, blocking is the process of planning the actors’ physical movements and positions. Be sure to show respect and establish trust when working with scene partners. As you prepare to block this scene, ask yourself the following questions:
- Is Faustus in a confined space, such as his study, or is he outside in nature? If in his study, what objects remind him of his choices? Where are they, and how does he physically respond to them? If in nature, does he use the elements around him to trigger his thoughts?
- Faustus is racing against time, trying to get a reprieve. The clock chimes at critical points in this monologue. Where is the clock, and how does his movement and line delivery change each time he hears it?
- Most monologues have a dramatic arc. The character starts in one emotional or mental state and shows the journey to another state, reaching some sort of realization or decision. What is Faustus’s emotional journey, and how does that change his physicality? What is his realization, and does this energize his movement, stop him in his tracks, or something else?
- Throughout the monologue, Faustus is trying to make a bargain—with time, with the elements, with Christ, and ultimately with Lucifer. How does he change his approach with each of these bargains? Does he try to use his powers of magic? What is his reaction when his bargains fail?
Historical Context
Based on a real Faustus who lived around 1480–1540, Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus is set in a time when medieval thought was giving way to the more scientific views of the European Renaissance. Medieval scholars believed that people could find salvation only through God’s will. God alone determined a human being’s destiny in life and decided who to save. It was an individual’s job to fulfill that Divine Will. These scholars believed that dabbling in magic to alter God’s universe was the work of Lucifer, and they considered it a sin.
Renaissance scholars believed that human beings had free will to determine their fate and could influence destiny through knowledge, science, and the humanities. Magic, although not generally practiced, was a means to further one’s understanding of the sacred Universe. It was up to the individual to make choices that determined salvation or damnation. Correct choices, faith in God, and repentance ensured a pathway to redemption.
Although Dr. Faustus shares the scientific beliefs of the Renaissance, his struggle for salvation remains rooted in the Medieval concept of God’s will. He discovers that his knowledge, political power, and wealth cannot save or even comfort him as he faces death. Although others urge him to repent, Faustus can only believe in the God of vengeance. In the end, he turns instead to Lucifer and Mephistophilis, offering to burn his books as a final bargain.
Meaning of Heightened Language
Read an in-depth explanation of Faustus’s monologue.
When approaching a work like Dr. Faustus for performance or audition, it’s important to closely examine the text so that you have a clear understanding of its meaning and what it may reference. Make sure you look up each unfamiliar word or phrase so you can convey that intention to your audience.
Consider the following questions:
- Latin was the language of Medieval scholars and the Catholic Church. Dr. Faustus uses a Latin chant to initially summon Mephistophilis and quotes the Latin from Ovid’s Amore in this monologue: “O lente, lente currite noctis equi” (“Oh run slowly, slowly, horses of the night!”). How can you use the rhythm of the Latin text to emphasize Faustus’s approaching fate? Does he resort to Latin as a scholar, a magician, or something else?
- Repetition is another device in heightened speech. For example, “Fair Nature’s eye, rise, rise again, and make Perpetual day; or let this hour be but / A year, a month, a week, a natural day.” How does the delivery of certain words within the repetition change the emotional context?
- Faustus uses poetic imagery and blank verse to emphasize his fate and convey a sense of grandeur. How can you color these poetic words to draw the audience into his emotional state? How can you use consonants and rhythm for emphasis?
Full Scene 13 Monologue: Faustus
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