On Dr. Faustus: Due November 6
Note: in response to pressure, this as been extended from the original intended due date of Nov 1. Although the written work is due after the weekend, please be prepared to discuss this question in class on Nov 1.
You will need to have read the whole play in order to answer this effectively.
Read the guide to Tragedy on this handout. Argue whether or not Doctor Faustus meets Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy. You will need to come to terms with whether or not Faust represents a tragic hero, and how well or poorly the character and in fact the play as a whole meets our expectations about what is or is not “tragic.” I am looking for an objective analysis based on the criteria outlined in the handout, but you need to base your decision not only on your own response to the character but also your perception of how a Renaissance audience will respond. Be sure to include some commentary on all the aspects of tragedy outlined below, including the question about the chorus.
Brief grading guidelines:
Satisfactory – will demonstrate understanding of criteria for Tragedy and provide brief examples to present an argument for or against Faust being a tragic hero. May not be absolutely clear on all areas
Good – will do this well. Detailed, thorough analysis with sound examples
Excellent – will do all of the above, plus will demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the difficulties of the question. Probably will have done some extra research to provide more than the obvious examples, particularly in the aspect relating to the Renaissance audience response to this play.
Tragedy
Aristotle, Poetics, Chapter 13
We must discuss next what a writer should aim at and what he should avoid in constructing his plot, how tragedy will come to fulfill its proper function. As already stated, the plot of the finest tragedies must not be simple but complex; it must also represent what is fearful or pitiful, as this is characteristic of tragic imitation. It clearly follows that, in the first place, good men must not be seen suffering a change from prosperity to misfortune; this is not fearful or pitiful but shocking. Nor must the morally vicious be shown passing from bad fortune to good, for this does not satisfy our human feeling, nor does it arouse pity or fear. Nor again must the very crooked man be shown falling from prosperity to misfortune either; this plot would satisfy our human feeling but would not arouse pity or fear. For pity is concerned with unmerited misfortune, fear with someone like ourselves. We are left with a character in between the other two; a man not pre-eminent in moral excellence, not falling into misfortune through vice or depravity, but through some hamartia, being one of good reputation and good fortune, like Oedipus, Thyestes, and the noted men of such noble families… This change (from prosperity to misfortune) should not be caused by outright wickedness but by a serious hamartia in a character such as been described, or one better rather that worse than that….
The Tragic Hero
Should be a man of higher than average moral standing and birth, but human, not a demi-god, and capable of mistakes. He is often a person of high social standing such as a king, prince or nobleman, whose own character brings about his misfortune (see Aristotle). He usually has a hamartia, or “tragic flaw”. Oedipus, of the play Oedipus the King among others, was considered by Aristotle to be the model tragic hero.
The Tragic Flaw
The flaw in a tragic hero’s character which causes or helps to bring about his or her downfall. With Macbeth, it is too much ambition, with Hamlet it may be indecision or too much reliance on his own intelligence. In many tragedies, the tragic flaw is something called Hubris: overconfidence or “over-weening pride”. This may simply be a case of tempting fate: there is always a sense, when someone says “I’m the greatest!,” that a god is waiting with a thunderbolt to strike him down. The verb in Greek from which the noun hubris occurs means “to insult”, so hubris may also occur when a character insults the gods or someone older, wiser or of higher rank
Catharsis
Catharsis is the emotion felt by the tragic hero, and by us the audience through sympathy with him or her, after all the tragic events have taken place. It is a kind of emotional cleansing, relief, and a learning experience. You can see that it is not necessary, or even desirable, for the hero to die; he may suffer more if he remains alive, but he will be wiser as a result. After Oedipus blinds himself in Oedipus the King, he goes into exile and eventually purges himself of all his sins, in fact becomes a demi-god.
The Chorus
A peculiar aspect of Greek drama is the use of the chorus to appear at intervals to comment on the action. They represent the average citizen trying to understand the meaning of what is going on, or sometimes relate moral truths that the author wishes us to be aware of. They can be regarded as something like the “panel of experts” on a news broadcast, discussing and interpreting events. The chorus leader sometimes interacts with characters in the play. The chorus would have sung some of their lines, and performed a kind of dance when they were chanting, though not what we think of as a “chorus line.” What or who fills the role of the chorus in Doctor Faustus, and do you think it is effective in helping us understand the progression of Faustus’ “fall”?
