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Setting
Key Examples in Doctor Faustus
Scene 3
Explanation and Analysis—Faustus the Fearless:
Once Faustus successfully summons the devil Mephastophilis for the first time, he eagerly expresses his wish to learn more about Lucifer and hell. In an instance of situational irony, Faustus claims to have no fear of devils or Hell or Lucifer himself, even as he stands before a literal devil:
So Faustus hath
Already done, and holds this principle:
There is no chief but only Beelzebub,
To whom Faustus doth dedicate himself.
This word ‘damnation’ terrifies not him,
For he confounds hell in Elysium.
His ghost be with the old philosophers!
But leaving these vain trifles of men’s souls,
Tell me what is that Lucifer thy lord?
Related Themes:
Scene 5
Explanation and Analysis—Unwilling Blood:
Faustus’s desire for magic and power leads him to offer his soul to Lucifer in exchange for attaining 24 years of Mephastophilis’s servitude. However, in a perfect example of situational irony, just as Faustus readies himself to sign his soul away to the devil, his very blood congeals in rebellion against the deed. In fact, his blood is so solidified that it takes burning coal fetched by Mephastophilis to liquify it enough for writing. Faustus marvels at the possible meaning of this phenomenon:
Unlock with LitCharts A+What might the staying of my blood portend?
Is it unwilling I should write this bill?
Why streams it not, that I may write afresh?
‘Faustus gives to thee his soul’ – ah, there it stayed!
Why shouldst thou not? Is not thy soul thine own?
Then write again: ‘Faustus gives to thee his soul.'
Related Themes:
