So now down to some proper blogging. Faustus- first impressions? OK, this guy is some sort of mega genius- reading Latin, questioning Aristotle, disregarding Galen and so on. Trouble is, this seems to have led to arrogance; he's so clever he feels like he can rule the world. To me he also seems to be getting a bit deranged and slmost believes he can usurp God, talking about power and omnipotence. The Chorus says he was born from pretty ordinary stock so unlikely,at first, to be anything special. Is it a surprise then, to see a man so capable of achieving vast amounts of power? He is not of noble blood, yet wants to excel the power of emperors and kings.
A typical gothic protagonist? It could be argued, particularly with his dangerous ambitions and remarkable intelligence, that he can be described as such, though his rather standard social status is not in line with the conventions of such characters e.g. Count Dracula.
Personally, my reaction to his introduction is that I find him a thoroughly disagreeable character. His disregard of major intellectuals thought of as the top of their fields is annoyingly arrogant, and I won't be surprised if Marlowe intended this reaction so the audience would feel little sympathy for him. Maybe his wish to be able to "make men live eternally", comparable to the powers of God, could have angered some of the contemporary audience, as though they felt he was almost mocking religion.
In short, Dr Faustus is clearly a very intelligent and ambitious man, though his arrogance and determination to get powers that would triumph anyone living are no doubt going to lead to his downfall. He may think he is amazingly bright, but his wish to explore the use of magic makes me think otherwise.
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