Literature of antiquity and the Middle Ages - Summary - 2019

The Tragic History of Doctor Faustus
Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)

The choir comes to the stage and tells the story of Faust: he was born in the German city of Rhodes, studied in Wittenberg, received his doctorate. "Then, filled with darey self-righteousness, / He rushed to forbidden heights / Wings of wax; but the wax melts - / And the sky has condemned him to death."

Faust in his study reflects on the fact that, no matter how succeeded in earth sciences, he is just a man and his power is not infinite. Faust disappointed in philosophy. Medicine is also not omnipotent, it can not give people immortality, can not resurrect the dead. Jurisprudence is full of contradictions, the laws are naughty. Even theology does not give answers to the tormenting Faust questions. Only magic books attract him. "A powerful mage is like God. / So, your mind, Faust, exhort, / Aspire to the divine reach authority. " The good angel persuades Faust not to read the damned books full of temptations that bring the wrath of the Lord to Faust. An angry angel, on the contrary, instigates Faust to engage in magic and comprehend all the secrets of nature: "Be on earth, as in heaven, Jupiter - / Lord, the ruler of elements!" Faust dreams to make spirits serve themselves and become almighty. His friends Cornelius and Valdes promise to dedicate him to the mysteries of magical science and teach them to spell spirits. His call is Mephistopheles. Faust wants Mephistopheles to serve him and fulfill all his desires, but Mephistopheles obeys one Lucifer and can serve Faust only by order of Lucifer. Faust denies God and recognizes Lucifer as the supreme ruler - the ruler of darkness and the master of spirits. Mephistopheles tells Faust the story of Lucifer: once he was an angel, but he showed pride and rebelled against the Lord, for this God had descended from heaven, and now he is in hell. Those who have risen together with him in the Lord are also condemned to hellish torments. Faust does not understand how now Mephistopheles came out of the realm of hell, but Mephistopheles explains: "Oh no, here is hell, and I am always in hell. / Il think you, I, the face of the Lord is angry, / I have tasted eternal joy in paradise, / Thousands of hell do not get tormented, / Bliss is irrevocably lost? "But Faust is firm in his decision to deny God. He is ready to sell his soul to Lucifer for twenty-four years to "live, eat all bliss" and have Mephistopheles as his servant. Mephistopheles goes to Lucifer for an answer, while Faust dreams of power in the meantime: he wants to become king and subjugate the whole world to himself.

Faust's servant Wagner meets a jester and wants a joke to serve him for seven years. Shout refuses, but Wagner summons two devils of Baliol and Belcher and threatens that if the shout refuses to serve, the devils will immediately drag him to hell. He promises to teach a jester to turn into a dog, cat, mouse or rat - in everything. But the jerk, if anyone wants to turn into someone, then into a small sharp flea to jump where he wants to, and to tickle cute little babies under the skirts.

Faust hesitates. The good angel persuades him to quit magic, repent and return to God. An angry angel inspires him to think about wealth and glory. Mephistopheles returns and says that Lucifer has ordered him to serve Faust before the coffin, if Faust writes with the blood a will and a gift to his soul and body. Faust agrees, he knocks his knife in his hand, but the blood heals in his veins, and he can not write. Mephistopheles brings a roaster, the blood of Fausto warms up, and he writes a will, but here he appears on his hand the inscription "Homo, fuge" ("Man, save"); Faust does not pay attention to her. To entertain Faust, Mephistopheles leads devils who give Faust the crown, rich clothes and dance in front of him, then they are removed. Faust asks Mephistopheles about hell. Mephistopheles explains: "The only place hell is not limited, / Limits are not available to him; where are we there is hell; / And where hell, we must be forever. " Faust is not believed: Mephistopheles talking to him, walking on the ground - and all that hell? Such a hell Faust is not afraid. He asks Mephistopheles to give him the wife of the most beautiful girl in Germany. Mephistopheles leads him to the devil in the female face. Marriage is not for Faust, Mephistopheles offers every morning to bring him the most beautiful courtesans. He handed Faust a book where everything is written: both how to extract wealth, and how to call spirits, it describes the location and movement of planets and lists all the plants and grasses. Marriage is not for Faust, Mephistopheles offers every morning to bring him the most beautiful courtesans. He handed Faust a book where everything is written: both how to extract wealth, and how to call spirits, it describes the location and movement of planets and lists all the plants and grasses. Marriage is not for Faust, Mephistopheles offers every morning to bring him the most beautiful courtesans. He handed Faust a book where everything is written: both how to extract wealth, and how to call spirits, it describes the location and movement of planets and lists all the plants and grasses.

Faust curses Mephistopheles for depriving him of heavenly joys. The good angel advises Faust to repent and trust in the mercy of the Lord. An angry angel says that God does not crumble over such a great sinner, however, he is sure that Faust does not repent. Faust does not really have enough to repent, and he begins with Mephistopheles a debate about astrology, but when he asks who created the world, Mephistopheles does not answer and reminds Faust that he is cursed. "Christ, my Redeemer! / Save my suffering soul! "- Faust exclaims. Lucifer blames Faust for breaking the word and thinking about Christ. Faust swears that this will not happen again. Lucifer shows Faust seven mortal sins in their genuine appearance. Pride, Gentleness, Rage, Envy, Death, Lameness, Excitement pass before him. Faust dreams of seeing hell and returning again.

The choir says that Faust, wishing to know the mysteries of astronomy and geography, first goes to Rome to see the pope and take part in the celebrations in honor of St. Peter.

Faust and Mephistopheles in Rome. Mephistopheles makes Faust invisible, and Faust is entertained by the fact that in the refectory, when the dad treats Cardinal Lorraine, pulls out dishes from his hands with dishes and eats them. The Holy Fathers are perplexed, the dad begins to be baptized, and when he is baptized the third time, Faust gives him a slap. The monks betray him to the curse.

Robin, a horse of the courtyard, where Faust and Mephistopheles stopped, steals Faust's book. He and his friend Ralph want to learn how to make miracles on it and to steal the cup from the innkeeper, but here Mephistopheles interferes, whose spirit they inadvertently cause, they return the cup and promise never to steal magic books. In punishment for the audacity of Mephistopheles promises to turn one of them into a monkey, and the other - into a dog.

The choir says that visiting the courtyards of the monarchs, Faust returned home after long wanderings in heaven and earth. The glory of his scholarship comes to Emperor Charles Fifth, and he invites him to his palace and surrounds him with reverence.

The Emperor asks Faust to show his art and to invoke the spirits of great people. He dreams of seeing Alexander the Great and asks Faust to make Alexander and his wife rise from the grave. Faust explains that the bodies of long-dead persons have become dust and he can not show them to the Emperor, but he will cause the spirits who will take the images of Alexander the Great and his wife, and the emperor will be able to see them in the color of the years. When spirits appear, the emperor, to ascertain their authenticity, checks whether Alexander's wife has a mole at his neck and, having discovered it, penetrates Faust with even greater respect. One of the knights doubts in the art of Faust, the punishment on his head grows horns, which disappear only when the knight promises to continue to be more respectful to the scientists. The time released to Faust is coming to an end.

A horseshoe forty coins buys a horse from Faust, but Faust warns him so that he does not in any way drive into it. The horseshoe thinks that Faust wants to hide some sort of rare horse's quality from him, and the first thing goes to him into a deep pond. As soon as he dipped to the middle of the pond, the lady finds out that the horse has disappeared, and under it instead of a horse - a hump of hay. Without a miracle drowning, he comes to Faust to demand his money back. Mephistopheles tells the lady that Faust is asleep. The bastard draws Faust behind her leg and tears her apart. Faust wakes up, shouts and sends Mephistopheles for constable. Baryshnik asked to let go of him and promises to pay for it forty coins. Faust is pleased: his leg is in place, and unneccessary forty coins will not hurt him. Faust invites the Duke of Anhalt. The Duchess asks for her to receive in the winter grapes, and Faust immediately gives her a rill bunch. Everyone is wondering about his art. The Duke generously rewards Faust. Faust brags with students. At the end of the feast, they ask him to show them Elena Troyan. Faust fulfills their request. When students leave, comes the Old Man who tries to return Faust to the path of salvation, but unsuccessfully. Faust wants the beautiful Elena to become his beloved. On the orders of Mephistopheles Elena appears before Faustom, he kisses her.

Faust says goodbye to the students: he is on the verge of death and is condemned to burn eternally in hell. Students advise him to recall God and ask him for indulgence, but Faust understands that he has no forgiveness, and tells the students how he sold the soul to the devil. It's about the time to pay off. Faust asks students to pray for him. Students leave. Faust has only one hour left to live. He dreams that he should never advent at midnight, so that the time would be stopped for an eternal day to come, or at least at midnight, he would have managed to repent and be saved. But the clock is beaten, the thunder rattles, lightning shines, and the devils take away Faust.

The choir invites viewers to learn the lesson from the tragic fate of Faust and not seek to know the reserved areas of science that tempt man and teach him to do evil.