Summary of Bluebeard

One upon time a very powerful lord with many riches lived in France; his name was Bluebeard this was a nickname he had because of his black beard with blue. He was handsome and charming but he made some people feel uneasy.  

He often went away to war and left his wife in charge of his castle, he had many wives, unfortunately hey had all died and so he had to keep remarrying. Someone asked him how his wives died and he told them of varies diseases and ailments, he had buried them in the castle chapel. Bluebeard had to leave his new wife to go away but said she could do whatever she pleased, he gave her a bunch of keys which open all the doors in the castle but he had forbidden her to use one of the keys.

After few days his wife began to wonder why she should not enter that room, so she went in out of sheer curiosity and found hanging bodies of Bluebeard’s dead wives. She then noticed the small key was stained with blood but no matter how much she washed it, it would not come clean. Bluebeard returned, When she gave him back the keys he was infuriated as to why the key was stained with blood and accuses her of entering the room he had forbidden her from going in. He said he would have to kill her immediately but she begged for another 10 minutes and went to visit her Sister Anna asking for her brothers. Before she could arrange anything Bluebeard came and fetched her dragging her by the hair holding knife. He was about to kill his wife when her brothers show up and rescue her they catch and kill Bluebeard. His other wives were buried and the girl remarried to a good man, she completely lost her sense of curiosity. 

Presentation of the creature in chapter two

Our first presentation of the creature from Frankenstein's narrative is negative from the outset, as Frankenstein describes even the setting of the creature as 'terrifically desolate' this creates a sense of fear about the creature from the outset as it associates him to his setting 'desolate' empty and bare. When the creature is visible to Frankenstein he is described as 'the figure of a man' this immediately places the creature outside of mankind as 'figure' suggests he has the appearance and stature of a man but is not a man, this isolation of the creature displays him as typically Gothic, where he is isolated to himself and alone in his setting. Frankenstein also describes the creature to have 'superhuman speed' creating the image of him being of higher power than man and more than human in physicality, this also shows that even before any contact with the creature Frankenstein immediately judges him for his physical appearance, giving negative connotations to the creature from the outset 'too horrible for human eyes'. The first things Frankenstein says to the creature is 'Devil' which creates a very negative idea of the creature and again displaces him to something awful and inhuman, he also later refers to him as 'Daemon' building on the negative connotations to the creature. The most striking feature of the presentation of the creature in chapter two is that the creatures reaction to all of this negativity and build up of fear, is to retaliate with reason. 

 

'I expected this reception' this completely contradicts what you would think of the creatures reaction, this reason and intelligence of his first words to Frankenstein suggests that he is already one step ahead of him and despite him knowing he is of higher stature and bigger physical presence, he continues to almost allow Frankenstein to calm down and use his own method of reason. The creature presents himself to Frankenstein as the authority with the use of his archaic language 'thy creature to whom thou art bound' this creates a clear sense of authority and order and presents the creature as rational against his creator who responds with threat and aggression. 'My rage was without bounds' this seems to only heighten the creature in comparison to Frankenstein as he is the one who resorts to violence, which lowers him compared to the creatures reasoning values 'you accuse me of murder.. yet you would with a satisfied conscience destroy your own creature' from our impression of Frankenstein so far I think this shows the creatures sly ways to get round his creators plan to destroy him, as secretly he sees that his passion for what he has produced is too great possibly showing the reader the first glimpse of the creature as a sly and deceptive character. 

The creature is extremely clever in the way that he adheres to Frankenstein's values of reason, order and pride in this achievement, which allows us as an audience to have some positivity toward the creature as in this instance he shows Frankenstein kindness by not reacting and showing intellect and an offering of peace, rather than violence, however alternatively I feel there is a glimpse of deception as the creature is trying to reason with Frankenstein to get what he wants, although at this point he seems to be succeeding, this could be a front as clearly he is trying to argue for his own life. 

Summary of Prometheus

Prometheus means 'Forethought' he had the ability to see the future, the son of Iapetus. Given the task to shape man along with his brother Epimetheus, Prometheus did so with clay and then Athena brought these clay figures to life.
Zeus stated that all men must present a portion of the animal they sacrificed to the gods. With this Prometheus tricked Zeus as he made two piles, one which contained meat and the other bones and fat, as Zeus picked the bones he had no choice but to take the bones and fat as a share of any future sacrifices. With Zeus now angry he took fire away from man, so this lead to Prometheus to light a torch from the sun to give fire back to man.
Zeus punishes Prometheus and man, the punishment to man was the first woman Pandora who although was beautiful she was deceiving, she was sent to Epimetheus. She had a jar which she was forbidden to open, but when she gave in, evil was brought about, and also hope.
Prometheus' punishment was to be taken to the Caucasus mountains and chained to a rock where he was tormented by an eagle tearing at his liver. The only ways out were to tell Zeus who the mother of the child to dethrone him was. Or that an immortal volunteer (Pandora) would die and that this mortal must kill the eagle and unchain him.
In the end it was Chiron who agreed to die for him and Hercules who killed the eagle to unbind him.

Half term homework

Sin Redemption and Damnation- Faustus completes the ultimate sin despite his tested trials to repent he never fully fulfils this and returns to his role with the rulers of hell, this presents the idea he knowingly brings about his own downfall and turns away from god

‘Had I as many souls as there be stars, I’d give them all for Mephistopheles.’

Conflict of Medieval and Renaissance values- Faustus in the first scene rejects traditional study and the value of philosophy and religion. But instead her focuses on his high ambition to pursue the unknown in the form of magic and witchcraft, this fits with the more modernised values of the renaissance.

‘Lines, circles, signs, letters and characters’ for which he believes he will gain ‘Power.. Honour.. Omnipotence’

Power as a corrupting influence- ultimately I feel Faustus’ desire to sell his soul is to have his own way and be seen as ambitious and of high status. However this does prove the corruption of him as his pride means that he believes he is correct in his action and that he will gain high status and power. When in fact this power is reduced to nothing more than slapstick, when he sells his soul his ambition is transformed into petty jokes.

Before- ‘ A sound magician is a mighty god’

After- ‘charm me that I may be invisible to do what I please’

Divided man of nature- internally Faustus is fighting with his own emotions and in his case the good angel and the evil angel present his split loyalty and presents to the audience that Faustus has a choice. However it would seem that the angel who speaks last wins Faustus over and causes him to act upon their word.

Good angel- ‘repent and they shall never raze they skin’ to which Faustus reacts- ‘Ah Christ my saviour’ showing he has taken notice of this statement.

Magic and the supernatural- Faustus has a clear fascination with exploring the unknown in some ways this is probably to fulfil his ambition to be regarded ‘omnipotent’. He certainly involves himself with magic through summoning the devil as he has the power to shape shift, turn Faustus invisible and turn Robin and Rafe into a dog and a monkey.

‘ Well villains for your presumption I transform thee into an ape and thee into a dog’

Practical jokes- the ultimate downfall, where his ambition is belittled into no more than childish games played upon the pope who would be viewed badly by the audience for starters as they were protestants and he catholic. The lowest form of wit is slapstick which Faustus has reduced himself to.

‘Snatching the dish’ shows how childish he is.

Blood- when Faustus sells his soul his body tries to prevent the signing in blood showing it is unnatural and inhumane.

‘My blood congeals’ ‘why streams it not that I may write afresh’

Faustus’s reflection of the ancient authorities- in the first scene he rejects the knowledge and tradition of well established subject ideas such as philosophy and law which he replaces with the unknown modern subject of magic which has no establishment, he wishes to explore the new.

‘Divinity adieu’ He dismisses the most ancient authority religion.

Good angel and evil angel- these angels symbolise his inner turmoil of choice for the devil and repentance.  Constant conflict draws Faustus to take sides with whoever speaks last structurally showing possible that he doesn't know which to choose so it is like tossing a coin just to take his chances. 

The legend of the extra Devil, Faustus.

Dr Faustus would have been an extremely controversial performance of the time due to it's use of the devil. As many people would have been strongly religious the idea of going to watch a play involving the devil where the devil was summoned to take some ones soul would have been really terrifying.

In early performances of the play around 1590's it was rumoured that someone had seen an extra devil on stage, not an actor either but the real devil. This spurred fear and controversy amongst the audience and actors and it was also rumoured that this extra devil was present in more than one performance and witnessed by many individuals. This not only led to rumours of the play being cursed and bewitched but also the curiosity and interest of the general public who wished to see for themselves 'the extra devil' no doubt adding to the popularity of the play and the reputation good or bad amongst people of the time. 

What is a Passion Play?

Simply when typed into Google passion play comes up as 'A dramatic performance representing Christ's Passion from the Last Supper to the Crucifixion.'

Traditionally a product of the catholic church and passion plays were often shown in the Easter play as a part of lent. They were first performed in Latin in the 13th century becoming more popular through the 15th century when they begun to be performed not only in church but in village squares etc.

The plays consisted of readings of the gospel, the last supper and the tales of Mary Magdalene. 

These plays became adapted and reinterpreted from place to place and country where they were performed eg. the introduction of Satan (which became typical of German and Czech plays), and thus of introductory representations of the fall of Lucifer and the Fall of man.

Staging notes for a production of Faustus.

Act 1 scene 3 in Dr Faustus marks the arrival of Mephistopheles. 

This scenes staging notes may be crucially important from both the point of Faustus and Mephistopheles as it could completely shape the interpretation of the what the character says but also how the audience view the situation. From Faustus's role when the devil enters Faustus states 'Thou art too ugly to attend me' - this could be interoperated in two ways in my opinion, either that Faustus is saying this through arrogance in a mocking tone or that he is actually fearful. In my opinion if he was acting in an arrogant manor this would further emphasise his later point that he believes the devil has been summoned under his command. This could further contrast to the role of Mephistopheles as he could be presenting him self in a mocking manor. For example when he says 'which strike a terror to my fainting soul' this first seems a mockery anyway as devils are not said to even have a soul and also 'terror' implies that he is in some way warning Faustus. But is it a warning or a temptation presentation?

Is Mephistopheles saying this in a means of reverse psychology? by describing hell as so awful if he further tempting Faustus using  the mentality that if you tell someone not to do something they will do it.

These staging notes would not only create a sly sense of corruption with the devil which would fit the common conception of a Christian audience's at the time that the devil is evil. This would also both in some ways explain the temptation posed to Faustus by the devil. But also post the blame completely to Faustus as despite this warning whether it be serious or not he still chooses to sell his soul. 

This makes Faustus seem either incredibly stupid for giving into an obviously corrupt temptation or would make the audience sympathise that he is merely drawn to do something that is a common human reaction and that this is a tragic downfall of his character. The audience may be inclined to sympathise with his temptation of sin.