This lesson we were looking at the very last scene of Dr. Faustus (whoo finally finished!). The very first stage direction of the scene is interesting because it says, “Thunder. Enter Lucipher, Beelzebub, and Mephistopheles (above).” The weather has been used to show to the audience that the upcoming scene is going to be serious and full of tension. The other part of that stage direction that is interesting is that the devil comes from above. Hell is usually associated with being down below and heaven above, and so this one direction challenges that idea. I do not know why this has been done, but maybe it is simply used to enforce that these characters are otherworldly.
Faustus’s last speech contains quite a lot of interesting ideas. The one that me and Rosie originally picked up on was where Faustus says, “Let Faustus live in hell a thousand years, a hundred thousand, and at last be saved.” This shows that Faustus accepts what he has done wrong, he sees that he has sinned, “o, if my soul must suffer for my sin,” and understands that he does deserve a punishment. However, what Faustus wants is for the punishment to come to an end and not be eternal. This is very similar to catholic purgatory, where people who have sinned receive temporary punishment from God before being allowed to be admitted to heaven.
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