ETS Essays
The Scholar’s Scholar:
A Literary Essay on The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus
William Shakespeare and other play writes of the 1500’s – 1600’s usually made but one attempt when writing a script or producing a play, and that goal, as simply as it may seem, was to direct the play to the common man (“Shakespeare”). Modern day students may wonder why the old plays were filled with such violence, crude sexual humour and other pleasantries and the fact is that that’s what the crude and violent man wanted. He wanted (as some still do) to watch a man dress up as a woman and prance across the stage getting into all sorts of trouble for their amusement. An attribute that can still be seen in much of today’s cinema, even Shakespeare wrote in some sexual jokes for the guy with the tomatoes.
One odd exception was found to be a tragically funny script by none other than the rumoured Shakespeare himself, Christopher Marlowe. Though filled with gaudy humour, one-sided violence and an enjoyably tragic ending it was not at all written for the common man. In fact, if a regular working class man had gone to watch the play all that he would have understood would have been the jokes and violence. Even with today’s student crowd the meanings escape the readers because, unlike Doctor Faustus, they are not scholars. In today’s English classes it is only through careful interpretation, deciphering and research that the true meanings can be obtained. It is only through mimicking the work of an ancient scholar that the common man can fully read Faustus. This is because as The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus is the tale of a scholar written for scholars, one must understand Latin, German, and the informal integration of both languages to have a grasp on the story.
The ancient indo-European language of Latin left Rome to become the language of science and scholarship until the 17th century (“Latin”). As the general folk of Marlowe’s time couldn’t read they couldn’t read Latin either. If the many citizens of Europe were unable to write their own name they couldn’t possibly have been expected to understand lines of a play written in the vernacular. After every few stanzas of Doctor Faustus, a jumble of Latin mumblings, incantations or curses crop up, that none of the spectators would have understood. While the element of confusion may have added a bit of mystery and imagination to the play, while elevating the status of the actors of academia, it took away from the comprehension of the plot line, as only the lone scholars watching would understand.
For instance, as Faustus slowly begins his first rant of the play, the first notion he gives of ending his career as a man of education is written as “Bene disserere est finis logices”(36). The line translates to “Beneficial is the end of logic”(“Latin”) and is insightful into the mind of the protagonist, but nobody would have known that.
Later, when casting the spell to raise Mephistopheles there is a long paragraph in indecipherable Latin. A distinct section of the text, however, “ Valeat numen triplex Jehovoe”(144-145) translates to “The divine will of Jehovah” (“Latin”). If this phrase has only been in English most of the audience could have grasped the religious reference, however as this section of the play was left in its academic form only the scientists of the audience were not left in the dark.
To confuse the public even more Christopher Marlowe decided to throw some German (the native language of Faust) into the play. Unless, the European audience happened to be from Germany or picked up some of the dialect from their travels they would have been confused by that twist as well. Outside of Germany, the language is spoken primarily in Austria and Switzerland, as well as within small communities elsewhere in Europe (such as Belgium). It is not a dominant language in England, Marlowe’s native land.
While a select few of the audience members could have picked up on the fact that the actors were speaking Latin and connected it to their evident appearance as scholars, the German would have really thrown them off. Even if a spectator had remembered that the character of Doctor Faustus was from Germany they wouldn’t have clued into “Exhoereditare”(60) translating to “Exhibitionist”(“Latin”), a title that is used in reference to scholars in the context of the text. Though this comparison between the educated and the exhibitioner provides insight into Faustus’s views hardly any of the watches would have caught it. Only those studying germa would have made the link.
Often, the name “Faustus” is referred to in its shorter version of “Faust”. Ironically, this name is also a German translation, for the term fist (“German language”). Faust punches the pope in the face, metaphorically raises his fists in anger to god and raises them in desperation, and ironically the German translation is fist. Only a scholar, knowledgeable in German to English translation could have caught this.
Most troubling of all is how Marlowe both mocks the public and flaunts his excellence through the use of these two languages, fitting with the theme of the play. Marlowe knew his audience and knew that they would understand neither Latin nor German, unless they were reflective of the characters of the play and were educated, and yet he mingled both dialects. While every foreign phrase was primarily written in Latin every so often some German would be added in. Not only that, but often words are used that have meanings in both languages.
To state that the scholarly view death as a sin as “Stipendium peccati mors est” (68) is reflective of those that you understand the message. “Stipendium” being a German word and “peccati mors est” being Latin creates an academic phrase that fuses both languages together. All the while it says to the audience who understand that you, as a Scholar, view death as a sin. It’s a warning to pay attention and avoid the path of Doctor Faustus.
Used in line 42 is the word “incipit”. In Latin, the term refers to the beginning. Taken from the Latin term is its English use as the opening words of a poem. Appropriate is the use of the word as it is used in Faustus’s first body of text and it introduces his character.
Contrary to all other plays of the generation is Christopher Marlowe’s Doctors Faustus. The clever playwright used attributes of the scholar to portray and likes of a scholar, while incorporating all aspects of the popular plays of the time. Like with the movies of today while most of the audience was laughing at the man getting a pie in the face there was still a man in the corner smiling to himself for getting the joke, the real joke.
