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2.54: Reading and Review Questions

  • Page ID
    8908
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    1. What is Faustus’s true ambition? Why is it that he turns to magic and to Mephistophilis, against whom he has been particularly warned? What relationship, if any, does he seem to have with the Christian God? What is his attitude towards the Christian God? How does Faustus’s character compare with the Redcrosse Knight’s, for example?

    2. How do Faustus’s ambitions for his magic compare with what he achieves with his magic? If you see a discrepancy between the two, then what accounts for this discrepancy, do you think?

    3. Why do you think that Faustus has several opportunities to repent? Why does he reaffirm his pact with Lucifer? What keeps him from repenting, even to the very end of the play?

    4. The Old Man appears near the end of Faustus’s term of contract. Who is the Old Man, do you think? Why does he appear so suddenly at this point in the play? What purpose, if any, does he serve? What might he represent?

    5. How, if at all, does the character of Faustus and his actions reflect the religious conflicts and concerns that occurred during Marlowe’s lifetime?


    This page titled 2.54: Reading and Review Questions is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Bonnie J. Robinson & Laura Getty (University of North Georgia Press) .

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