Doctor Faustus: Genre craft
15 lenses on genre craft for Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: G1 G2 G3 G4 G5 G6 G7 G8 G9 G10 G11 G12 G13 G14 G15
G1. Genre and subgenre, and how well the book fits. AI
This is a tragedy and a morality play. It fits the Renaissance tragedy genre well, with a protagonist of high status who falls through his own choices and pride.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2
G2. The genre's must have scenes: present or missing? AI
The genre's must have scenes are present: the temptation (pact already made), the display of power (Section 1 courts), the moment of grace refused (Old Man in Section 2), and the final doom (midnight).
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2
Accursed Faustus, where is mercy now? I do repent; and yet I do despair (Ch 2, para 26)
O lente, lente currite, noctis equi! The stars move still, time runs, the clock will strike (Ch 2, para 66)
G3. The genre's conventions: which are used? AI
The play uses the morality play convention of a protagonist tempted by evil forces and offered grace. It employs the tragic convention of a fall from high estate through fatal flaw (pride and lust for knowledge).
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2
G4. Mystery: clue list, red herrings, fair play test. AI
Not a clue mystery. See the full lens on the book page.
G5. Thriller: clocks, chases and set pieces. AI
Not a feature of this book. The play is not a thriller. It has no chases or set pieces, though the approaching midnight creates a sense of time pressure.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 2
O lente, lente currite, noctis equi! The stars move still, time runs, the clock will strike (Ch 2, para 66)
G6. Romance: the meeting, the barriers, the grand gesture. AI
Not a feature of this book. The play is not a romance. Helen appears as a temptation and lover, but the focus is on damnation, not on romantic union or obstacles.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 2
Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships, And burnt the topless towers of Ilium (Ch 2, para 35)
G7. Horror and gothic: how dread builds, when the monster is seen. AI
Dread builds through the motif of time running out and the approach of midnight. The devils are seen as real forces that physically claim Faustus. Hell is presented as a tangible destination.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 2
O lente, lente currite, noctis equi! The stars move still, time runs, the clock will strike (Ch 2, para 66)
Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight, And burned is Apollo's laurel-bough (Ch 2, para 70)
G8. Science fiction: the new idea and its rules. AI
Not a feature of this book. The play is not science fiction. Magic is presented as supernatural and demonic, not as a new scientific idea with rules.
G9. Fantasy: moments of wonder, and the cost of magic. AI
Magic grants Faustus earthly power and pleasure but at the cost of his soul. The play shows the cost of magic through his final despair and damnation. Wonder is present in his tricks; the price is eternal.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2
the restless course That time doth run with calm and silent foot, Shortening my days and thread of vital life (Ch 1, para 87)
What art thou, Faustus, but a man condemn'd to die? Thy fatal time doth draw to final end (Ch 1, para 102)
Accursed Faustus, where is mercy now? I do repent; and yet I do despair (Ch 2, para 26)
G10. Adventure: stages of the journey and physical trials. AI
Not a feature of this book. The play is not an adventure. There are no stages of a journey or physical trials. Faustus remains in courts and chambers.
G11. Literary: inner life and the moment of insight. AI
The play explores Faustus's inner conflict between ambition and repentance. His moment of insight comes too late: he sees his damnation is certain and despairs. The play is deeply concerned with his soul.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 2
Accursed Faustus, where is mercy now? I do repent; and yet I do despair (Ch 2, para 26)
O lente, lente currite, noctis equi! The stars move still, time runs, the clock will strike (Ch 2, para 66)
Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight, And burned is Apollo's laurel-bough (Ch 2, para 70)
G12. Children's: age of the lead, level of peril, humour. AI
Not a feature of this book. The play is not children's literature. Faustus is an adult scholar, the peril is existential damnation, and the tone is serious and tragic.
G13. Plays: entrances, exits and stage time per character. Count
Faustus has the most stage talk, 47% of all spoken words.
| Character | Speeches | Words | Share | Scenes | First scene |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faustus | 49 | 2012 | 47% | 2 | 1 |
| Robin | 17 | 443 | 10% | 1 | 1 |
| Emperor | 8 | 375 | 9% | 1 | 1 |
| Mephist | 17 | 241 | 6% | 2 | 1 |
| Chorus | 2 | 189 | 4% | 2 | 1 |
| Old Man | 4 | 163 | 4% | 1 | 2 |
| Ralph | 10 | 155 | 4% | 1 | 1 |
| First Scholar | 6 | 149 | 3% | 1 | 2 |
| Knight | 7 | 98 | 2% | 1 | 1 |
| Duchess | 3 | 85 | 2% | 2 | 1 |
| Wagner | 2 | 77 | 2% | 2 | 1 |
| Duke | 4 | 74 | 2% | 2 | 1 |
| Vintner | 6 | 60 | 1% | 1 | 1 |
| Second Scholar | 5 | 51 | 1% | 1 | 2 |
G14. Where the book bends or breaks its genre's rules. AI
The play bends the morality play convention by making the protagonist's fall inevitable from the start. Faustus's pact is already made when the play opens, so his choice to refuse grace feels predetermined rather than free.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2
the restless course That time doth run with calm and silent foot, Shortening my days and thread of vital life (Ch 1, para 87)
What art thou, Faustus, but a man condemn'd to die? Thy fatal time doth draw to final end (Ch 1, para 102)
G15. Tropes present, with where they appear. AI
The play uses the Faustian bargain trope (pact with the devil for power), the temptress trope (Helen as seduction), the mentor trope (Old Man offering salvation), and the tragic fall trope (pride and ambition leading to damnation).
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2
Monarch of Hell, under whose black survey Great potentates do kneel with awful fear (Ch 1, para 51)
Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships, And burnt the topless towers of Ilium (Ch 2, para 35)
Accursed Faustus, where is mercy now? I do repent; and yet I do despair (Ch 2, para 26)
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