Faustus' final hours

"Doctor Faustus" Act 5

We will be reading from Act 5 of "Doctor Faustus" to ensure you have plenty of material for your explorative study. After reading, answer these questions:

1. What is the role of the Old Man in scene 1?
2. What does the conjuring of Helen of Troy reveal about Faustus at this point in the play?
3. What means are used to persuade Faustus to repent in this final act of the play?
4. What does Faustus' final soliloquy reveal about his state of mind?
5. What roles do the angles, the scholar and the chorus have in the ending of the play?

Creative Critical Piece

Spend some time at the start of this session going over your creative critical piece with a partner and discussing how you could improve your references to context and audience reception.

The Explorative Study

Time to feedback about the secondary sources you have found. Compare notes with a partner and then be prepared to give some examples of quotations you have found that you could use in your explorative study about the plays.

These should give examples of other readers' view about the plays that interest you.

You should also have time today to develop your coursework draft about 'human desire' in both plays.

Homework

1. Redraft Creative Critical Piece by 3rd April 2009.
2. Continue drafting Explorative Study to hand a draft in after the Easter break.

Please check previous posts on the website about the essay and its requirements below. Go especially to:

• Desire in "Hamlet" and "Doctor Faustus": Preparing the Explorative Study
• Preparing for the Explorative Study

Image: Helen of Troy and Menelaus, Louvre Museum Paris.

"Doctor Faustus": The Banquet Scene (Act 3 Scene 2)

"Doctor Faustus" Act 3 Scene 2

We will be reading the continuation of Faustus' visit to Rome. After reading, work together to make notes about:

1. What does Mephistophilis' spell at the start of the scene achieve for Faustus?
2. What does Faustus do to disrupt the Papal Banquet?
3. What are the reactions of those present at the Banquet?
4. How are the Papacy presented to the audience in this scene? Why?
5. What is the effect of the excommunication delivered at the end of the scene?

Themes in "Doctor Faustus" and "Hamlet"

As part of your homework, you should have worked on this. Compare notes with a partner and we will brainstorm themes together.

Explorative Study - Making comparisons

At this point you should have a mind-map of key ideas about the question:

Compare Shakespeare and Marlowe’s treatment of human desire in "Hamlet" and "Doctor Faustus". This should include reference to performance criticism and critical interpretation as well as the significance and influence of the contexts in which the plays were written. (Approximate word count: 1800)

Begin to add ideas from "Doctor Faustus" and then make a comparison chart showing similarities and differences between "Hamlet" and "Doctor Faustus" in how they deal with the theme of your coursework - human desire.

I will be placing a coursework outline on this site for download shortly; it may help you to structure your notes and draft.

Deadline for draft of essay: Friday 3rd April 2009

Final Deadline: 5th May 2009

Individual Tutorials

I would like to offer each of you an individual tutorial to discuss coursework progress before the end of term and to set targets. I will post dates and times on my door - please sign up for a time.

Homework

1. Find two secondary sources about "Hamlet" and Doctor Faustus" - use the links on the sidebar to help you. Highlight at least five quotations you could include in your explorative study about the play - they should be relevant to the task in some way.
2. Download the coursework outline and begin drafting your coursework.

Image: The Vatican

Desire in "Hamlet" and "Doctor Faustus": Preparing the Explorative Study

Creative Critical Response

Please hand in your revised draft today for checking.

"Doctor Faustus" Act 1 Scene 3

After reading this scene in which Faustus and Mephistopheles discuss how they are going to spend their time, make notes together on these questions:

1. What do we learn from the Chorus about Faustus' movements since he signed the Contract?
2. What does Faustus tell us he has been doing in his opening speech?
3. What motivates Faustus to go to visit Rome?
4. How is the Pope presented in this scene?
5. What does Bruno do in this scene? Why is he introduced?

Explorative Study

Compare Shakespeare and Marlowe’s treatment of human desire in "Hamlet" and "Doctor Faustus". This should include reference to performance criticism and critical interpretation as well as the significance and influence of the contexts in which the plays were written.

Approximate word count: 1800

Go to here to Edexcel to see the four Assessment Objectives for the Explorative Study again. This links to the Specification - go to pages 24-25 to see the Objectives for your coursework.

1. Brainstorm ideas about how Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus" approaches the theme of human desire focusing on the key scenes we have studied.
2. What links can you think of between "Hamlet" and "Doctor Faustus" that are relevant to this theme?

Make notes about this together and be prepared to present your ideas to the group.

Homework

1. Go to Sparknotes and make notes on themes in "Doctor Faustus"
2. Make a mind map of the explorative study question using examples from both "Hamlet" and "Doctor Faustus" and bring to class next Friday 20th March 2009.

Doctor Faustus goes to Rome

"Doctor Faustus" Act 3 scene1

After reading this scene in which Faustus and Mephistopheles discuss how they are going to spend their time, make notes together on these questions:

1. What do we learn from the Chorus about Faustus' movements since he signed the Contract?
2. What does Faustus tell us he has been doing in his opening speech?
3. What motivates Faustus to go to visit Rome?
4. How is the Pope presented in this scene?
5. What does Bruno do in this scene? Why is he introduced?

Creative Critical Response

Having read a good number of your responses now, a few general points need addressing in your second draft:

1. Make sure you write as if you are a director with experience, confident that your adaptation is a good one and one you can justify for modern audiences
2. Imagine you will publish your commentary on a website, for example a Film, TV and Drama website about your production of "Hamlet" on film/TV
3. Make sure you refer carefully to how you think audiences will receive what you direct and why they might receive it this way
4. Try to refer to the audience and context of 1600 as a contrast (e.g. about politics or power)

There is lots of good writing on the go. Some redrafting with these in mind should help you produce a focused piece of work about an adaptation for a theatre- and film-loving audience.

You will have time for redrafting today.

Homework

1. Find out who was Pope/who were Popes at the time of the Council of Trent in the 16th century and when Faustus was being written and performed.
2. Redraft your Creative Critical Response.
3. Make further notes about your Exploratory Study focus - human desire in "Hamlet". Please see last week's post about this.

Hand in second draft of Creative Critical Response on 13th March 2009.

Image: St Pius V, Pope.

Preparing for the Explorative Study

"Doctor Faustus" Act 2 Scene 1: The Contract scene

We will be reading this scene together - we missed it last week. After we have, make notes together about:

• How Faustus makes the contract
• How Marlowe shows us his uncertainty about it
• The role of Mephistophilis and the angels in the scene.

Explorative Study:

Compare Shakespeare and Marlowe’s treatment of human desire in "Hamlet" and "Doctor Faustus". This should include reference to performance criticism and critical interpretation as well as the significance and influence of the contexts in which the plays were written.

Approximate word count: 1800

Go to here to Edexcel to see the four Assessment Objectives for the Explorative Study again. This links to the Specification - go to pages 24-25 to see the Objectives for your coursework.

Brainstorm

Work with a partner to identify how Shakespeare treats human desire in "Hamlet". Think about:

• Hamlet's desire for the truth and for justice
• Hamlet's desire to hide his purpose in an 'antic disposition' (pretend madness)
• Hamlet's desire for death
• The Ghost's desire for revenge
• Hamlet's desire to know what to do in his situation and how he deals with it
• Claudius' desire for power
• Claudius' greed for the throne and how he tries to hang on to it
• Claudius' guilt
• Gertrude's desires to avoid the truth
• Laertes' desire for revenge compared to Hamlet's
• Hamlet and Ophelia's desires for each other and how these are approached
• Ophelia's stifled desires under the command of her father
• Fortinbras' desire for national expansion and conquest
• Horatio's desires to help Hamlet and to kill himself at the end

Think also about: lust, passion, power, treachery, guilt, deception, conscience, madness.

Find quotations to go with your ideas from the play.

Homework

1. Compete any final working on your Creative Critical Response
2. Develop your brainstorm on "Hamlet"

Image: Old Hamlet's Ghost.

"Doctor Faustus": The Contract Scene.

"Doctor Faustus" Act 2 Scene 1: The Contract scene

We will be reading this scene together. After we have, make notes together about:

How Faustus makes the contract

How Marlowe shows us his uncertainty about it

The role of Mephistophilis and the angels in the scene.

Creative Critical Response

Make sure you have a draft to hand in today. 600 words (max).

Homework

Make notes on the scenes from Doctor Faustus that we have already read. Focus especially on what we learn about the theme of "human desire" from them.

Follow links on the left for Marlowe/Doctor Faustus in The Marlowe Mall and make notes on the scenes we have read so far.

Image: The Fall of Lucifer from Milton's Paradise Lost by Gustave Doré.

What does "The Significance of Context" mean?

Assessment of The Creative Critical Response

Here are the two key assessment objectives again:

AO1: Articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to literary texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts, and coherent, accurate written expression.

AO4: Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and achieved.

In the first part of today's lesson, we will explore what "context" means in relation to "Hamlet" and the range of meanings we can ascribe to this. Think about:

Political/Social/Scientific/Religious/Literary/Artistic

for example.

For each of these, what might be relevant for Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus"?

How is this different from today's contexts for literary study and dramatic performance?

Many of the links to the left on this site will help you when you apply this to your coursework.

Completing the Director's Notes

I hope by now you have completed you copy of the edited scene with Director's commentary. Please be willing to discuss this a partner and the group.

Writing a Commentary about your adaptation

This needs to be both a description of what you did but also and analysis of how and why. It should include reference to how you considered the contemporary context versus the Renaissance context for your version.

Homework

Begin a draft of your commentary about your adaptation of "Hamlet" explaining carefully the choices you made/would make, their significance in terms of context and of course the drama itself.

Make sure you refer closely to the script and include analysis of meanings you think your adaptation focuses on.

Target length: 600 words.

Image: Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.