Marlowe - Pre-writing

Fill in the chart below. Some suggestions are given to help you get started. Remember that there are many possibilities for "right" answers. One of the delights of the play is its ambiguity!

Aristotelian characteristic	Plot point descriptions, questions, thoughts	Quotes
"a man like us" often of "high estate"	Is Faustus just a regular guy? How many of us have four doctorates? Does having a good education made one classed "of high estate?" What’s his economic status?	"Now he is born, his parents base of stock, /In Germany..." (Prologue)
"hamartia" (fatal flaw, tragic error, cosmic boo-boo)	Selling his soul? Kissing Helen of Troy? Vanity?
evidence of suffering		" O soul, be changed into little water drops,/ And fall into the ocean, ne’er be found./ My God, my God, look not so fierce on me!" (Scene 13)
evidence of enlightenment	How late is too late to be enlightened?	"I’ll burn my books--ah, Mephastophilis!"
opportunities for provoking catharsis in the reader	What are the lessons of the play?	"Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight...? (Epilogue)