The prologue tells us how Faustus was born into a poor, working class family, and was his “parents base of stock”. This could be interpreted that he acted as the building blocks, his parent’s only hope of accessing the money they needed in order to survive. He later went on to Whittenberg, where his intelligence gained him a “scholarism” and he was “shortly graced with a doctor’s name”. This is significant as it reflects his intellectual abilities. He “excelled all”, and it takes many years to acquire a doctorate qualification, which could show that Faustus has some sort of ‘power’ or ‘supernatural’ talent which allows him success. This could link to him being “cunning of a self-conceit” showing his vast amount of knowledge yet his arrogance towards others and the world, his big-headed and cocky personality. He is described as having “waxen wings”, which links to Greek mythology, the tale of Icarus and his overreaching ambition which lead him into his death, “melting” from the heat of the sun. Could this be foreshadowing Faustus’s life? If he “surfeits upon cursed necromancy” and believes that “nothing” is “so sweet as magic to him”, could he be entering a dangerous and risky world of magic? Could this “cheifest bliss” be joy in hell rather than heaven...
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| 'Doctor Faustus', Source: anitasullivan.co.uk |
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