Doctor Faustus (Blog 4)

Right so I have just finished reading the B-Text version of Faustus, which is pretty much the same just with added scenes and dialogue and a few slight changes which don't impact on the main plot at all.
I said in my previous blog that I might make a "cheeky comparison" between the two texts but I can't think of anything of real merit to compare so that's not going to happen. =D

To my great surprise I actually preferred this version, despite it's longer length, as I felt I understood what was going on more. This may have been due to the extra scenes providing more information, or I may have just been paying more attention this time! I particularly benefited from the extra scene with the Pope and the Emperor as I feel in sort of understand what they're doing there now.  =P. I also realised there were notes in the back of the book, which correspond to certain lines etc. Although they weren't of great help, they were useful when facing "Bloody Shakespeare" type language barriers! =D Hahaaa.

So yeah that's Faustus.

Doctor Faustus (Blog 3)

I have finished reading the Text-A play of Doctor Faustus! I don't really get everything that happened but in the end I did find the language easier to understand than "bloody Shakespeare" as I so-named him in my first blog on this play. Also I liked the length of it! Can easily be read in one sitting, an hour and a half or something.

Faustus visits the H.R.E in act four, who has heard of Faustus' powers and wants to make Alexander the Great appear before him in return for money I think, or a "bounteous reward". Faustus tricks some Horse-courser to buy this horse from him but it turns out it wasn't really a horse at all, just a bottle of hay transformed into a horse. Confusing yet again. Then some Duke and Duchess want some grapes so Faustus gets Mephistopheles to go and get some from like India or somewhere, then Faustus wants to see Helen of Greece brought back and so Mephistopheles does this and Faustus kisses her. Completely confused.

Finally Faustus gets cold feet yet again and goes to his three scholar friends and admits what he did. He has given his soul to the Devil and now it's time for him to be taken to hell. So in the end Faustus can't repent as it's too late, so Mephistopheles, Lucifer and other Devils drag him to hell. Joyful.

So yeah that's it. Overall I didn't dislike it and it wasn't that hard to read. I obviously got the main idea of what was going on but may have missed some rather crucial points in some of the longer paragraphs of dialogue which were harder to understand. 

As far as morals of the story are concerned it seems to me to be a play all about morality itself and what is right and wrong. Also how the Human Race is accountable for it's actions and has to pay the price. In this play it's done through this idea of religious morality and denying you creator just for your own greed and knowledge. So obviously it relates to the Gothic here with the idea of corruption of religion. It also has similarities with Frankenstein (which we're also studying) as the protagonist is going against God due to their greed for knowledge and power. However what Faustus does is arguably worse as he actually goes to the other side and makes deals with the Devil, whereas Frankenstein is only guilty of playing God, not outright going against him. 

Anyhoo I will read the B-Text as well, which I gather is pretty much the same, just with added material and a few changes. It is also, sadly, longer in length. =). I won't write three blogs on that as well, maybe just one to sum up what's different and what I thought about it, maybe a cheeky little comparison as well. =D

Doctor Faustus (Blog 2)

Ok so I just finished reading act 3. Meaning I am just over half way through Faustus Text-A.
In act two scene one, Faustus officially signs his soul away to the Devil in return for the knowledge and service of Mephistopheles. Faustus seems to be very indecisive and guilt-ridden about his choice however, and later on seems to wish to repent. However he is easily swayed when the evil 'angel' mentions wealth and wider knowledge of magic etc. So he seems a very greedy man, and this greed overpowers his judgement and guilt. Lucifer then appears and for some reason presents Faustus with the seven deadly sins in a kind of spirit form. This seems to reassure Faustus and he pledges his allegiance once more to Lucifer. Then in act three, Faustus and Mephistopheles visit the Pope in Rome and sneak into his chamber while he is eating his meal. Faustus asks to become invisible so Mephistopheles gives him a cloak (Hazzy P reference) and they taunt the Pope and his friars. For example Faustus "snatches" the Pope's plate and then hits the Pope! They then both beat the friars and throw fireworks at them on their way out! Random or what!? I don't really get how someone who seems so guilt-ridden about his decision to follow the Devil is backtracking one minute and then smacking the Pope the next =P. 
The final scene in act three is with Robin (the clown) and his sort of accomplice called Rafe. It appears that the have stolen one of Faustus' magic books he himself had acquired from Lucifer and they are teasing the Vintner (which I think is a wine merchant)over one of his goblets, which I assume they have stolen from him. They then use the spell to summon Mephistopheles, perhaps not thinking it will actually work. However Mephistopheles then turns up, coming to them all the way from Constantinople and he is not a happy bunny. He turns Robin into an ape and Rafe into a dog for their "presumption". Strange. 


I have started to get into this more now though! Although it seems very bizarre to me! I'm sure I will understand it better when we study it at school. After all, it is the summer holidays! 

Doctor Faustus (Blog 1)

Helloooo. So I started reading Doctor Faustus this morning and was genuinely happy to discover that the book which I have contains Doctor Faustus "and other plays". Yusssss. Less reading to do then!
So I've just finished reading act one and am already confused. The language is just so SO waffly and reminiscent of bloody Shakespeare, who is not my favourite guy in the whole world. But oh well.

So far Faustus seems to have decided that he's going to follow magic and dismiss religion, even though some angel appeared and tried to get him to repent etc. He then meets his two accomplices if you like, who help teach him magic. I think. =P.
Then this devil appears to him, who has a very long and funky name, Mephistopheles. What a guy. Faustus asks him to be his servant and he says he'll have to check with good old Lucifer first.
Then there's a random scene I really don't understand where Wagner (Faustus' mate) and this clown called Robin are talking and Wagner is trying to give Robin money to work for him. Confused. Two devils, a man and women then quickly appear and disappear which seems to scare the clown into agreeing to serve Wagner. "I'll serve him, that's flat."

Also there are two texts of Faustus in this book and I don't understand which one we are studying or if we are doing both. Anyhoo I have read act one of Dr Faustus A-text.
Onward with the reading! Only 4 more acts/33 pages to go!!

The Bloody Chamber (Blog 3)

Ok so I didn't make it three blogs in a day yesterday. Sad times. I had finished the book but frankly couldn't be bothered! I seem to have so much to do all of a sudden, reading, homework and the bloody personal statement. Anyhoo now onto The Bloody Chamber.

I will go through each short story in the last half of the book and briefly say what I thought.

Puss in boots; This is by far my favourite story in the collection. I just thought it was so funny! It is about a cat (the puss in boots) and his part in helping his master be with his love. Carter has written it from the cat's perspective, so he is our narrator and I just thought it was brilliantly crude and blunt when it came to the very comical sex scenes (major contrast with the darker feel of the Bloody Chamber for example).


The Erl-King; This is a strange one. The characters seemed a lot less apparent and detailed than in previous stories. For example I just felt we weren't really introduced to a main character on such a level as in other stories like the puss in Puss in Boots. The story follows a girl who falls in love with this creepy man in the forest who has loads of birds in cages which he has collected to sing with him. However it turns out these birds are women and they aren't singing they're weeping. I'm sure this relates to some form of feminism, but I'm not sure at the moment. Perhaps Marxist feminism as it's like the man owns these women and he keeps wanting to collect more and trap them, so he's showing greed and it impacts badly on women whilst the men get the benefits. Perhaps.

The Snow Child; All I have to say is that I blinked and missed it, so I re-read it and then wished I had missed it. EW!

The Lady of The House of Love; This is about a female vampire who lures travelers to her lair and then eats them. However then this particular guy comes along and she falls in love with him and can't go through with her plans to eat him. He then cares for her overnight and sucks the blood out of a wound she has or something. She then becomes human and then dies. I quite liked this story but I'm not sure as to which forms of feminism it would fit if any, as the man is the savior. However perhaps it could show that women cannot change the patriarchal nature of society all by themselves as the men can only truly change of their own accord. For example all the men the vampire eats only accept to enter her bedchamber because she is very beautiful and they want to sleep with her. So they only really see her as an object. Whereas this one man stands out from the norm. But then again in doing so he kills her and makes her weak. Confused.
Maybe it is supposed to symbolise how it is against nature for men to treat women with respect like the man in the story does, as the story arguably doesn't have a happy ending.

The Werewolf; This is, like The Snow Child a rather short short story =). It, like the two that succeed it, is a form of the fairy tale Red Riding Hood. A young girl goes to visit her grandmother through the dark woods in which wolves live. She takes a knife just in case, she is attacked by a wolf and manages to cut one of it's paws off. She then wraps it up and puts it in her basket (as you do). She then arrives at her grandmothers and finds her very ill, she then sees she has a hand missing, and she unwraps the werewolf's paw and it turns out to be her grandmothers frail little hand. Her grandmother was the werewolf. She calls for help and the neighbors beat the grandmother to death. Cheery. No idea really how this relates to feminism. Perhaps it could be linked loosely to Anarchic feminism as they have to take justice into their own hands and take control, even though the 'bad guy' so to speak, is a woman. Hmm. These stories aren't simple.

The Company of Wolves; Weird one this. Red Riding Hood again and this girl on her way to grandma's meets a man and says she'll race him to there or something. He turns out to be a werewolf and kills her grandmother. He then traps the girl and says he's going to eat her, however she isn't at all scared of him and she even laughs at him, "The girl burst out laughing; she knew she was nobody's meat". She then strips him and sleeps in the bed with him (as you do), the now "tender" wolf. This could perhaps have elements of liberal feminism as it emphasises the importance of the actions and bravery of women in gaining equality or respect. For example the man wolf is easily turned "tender" once the woman has asserted her authority over him. This could also support the feminism that wants a total flip round of current society in which women are at the top. For example men will be seen as "tender" (a normally female trait) and women will be the leaders.

Wolf-Alice; This is about this feral human girl who was raised by wolves and therefore initially thinks and acts like one. She is then, however taken away from her pack and put in this big house. There's something about this Duke character who I think she saves but I don't really get it to be honest. I will have to read it again, it wasn't all that clear in my opinion. But then I probably skipped a crucial explanation section by accident. Oh and the C-bomb is also dropped most skillfully in this story. I really dislike that word. There are so many better ones of the same caliber.
On that lovely note, I have finished The Bloody Chamber blogs. I did enjoy this book as for one I didn't really know what to expect and at least it was interesting and cleverly done. I know my slight analysis is rather poor but I'm not great at analysing first time round. Anyhoo, can't wait to read Dr Faustus. NOT!

The Bloody Chamber (Blog 2)

I'm Back! Two blogs in the same day. How thrilling. =D.

I have just read two more short stories that succeed 'The Bloody Chamber' in the copy I have. They are 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon' and 'The Tiger's Bride'. This leads me to page 75 in a 150 page book so I am slap-bang in the middle, so to blog at any other time would be insane.

Both of these two stories are based on the story of Beauty and the Beast but with a bit more of a sexual presence, haha. I personally think these two are more sad and you feel sorry for the Beast in both, as apposed to the whole men are bad, women good approach of feminism. So of all the ones we studied in class, I'm not sure which would apply here. Maybe Marxist feminism for The Tiger's Bride as the father bets his daughter in a card game as if she is an object or possession to be traded. In The Courtship of Mr Lyon the woman isn't actually what I would call the heroine or good character as she seems to become vain etc and ignore the promise she made to visit the Beast again.
I'm getting quite into these stories now and might even make it three blogs in one day if I finish soon! =D

The Bloody Chamber (Blog 1)

I have been told I have to blog about each of the three texts we are studying next year at beginning, middle and end. So this is my impressions on the beginning of 'The Bloody Chamber' by Angela Carter. When I say beginning I mean the whole of the first short story which is included in the book, which is the title story, 'The Bloody Chamber'.

I was really interested to start reading this book after we looked at the different kinds of feminism in class, and so am on the look on throughout my reading! =D So anyway I read the bloody chamber and I found it really interesting yet also very very strange. I'm confused as to when these stories are supposed to be set as they would appear to be set in like the 18th century onward, but I then cars etc are mentioned. Who knows.
But I did like the story in which a young innocent girl marries this older man who has had three previous wives. He gives her a key to his secret room but tells her not to go in it whilst he's away on business. So naturally she goes in and discovers his previous three wives dead in what is basically a torture chamber, for example one is still bleeding in the iron maiden. Lovely. He then comes back and he notices blood on the key and so knows she disobeyed him. So he goes ape and says he's going to chop her head off with some form of long sword (as you do). However then the girl's mum comes in and shoots this weirdo in the head. Woo. Happy times, women prevail =D.
I enjoyed the story (especially the short length of 40ish pages) and as expected was shocked by the totally random and detailed description midway through when the girl discovers her new husband's graphic pornography  and as Holly would say the 'C-bomb' is dropped. Hahaaa.However as we discussed in lesson this is done on purpose to shock you and show the characters shock as well at finding such things and being thrown into this suddenly very adult world.  There is a very Gothic feel throughout and the sensuality in the first story was painted as almost painful and very unpleasant. I am confused as to why this girl married this man whom she appears to be repulsed by when they are intimate, yet the story has feminist undertones. Food for thought. Overall I think I am going to really enjoy analysing these stories further and looking into deeper meanings which I will almost certainly of missed first time round!!

Cool, so I will read until exactly half way through and then blog again.

Christopher Marlowe

I have been told to keep this short and snappy, so I will.

Marlowe born 1564 and died 1593. Sad times.
He was a dramatist and poet and influenced Shakespeare, who was born in the same year. One of his most successful plays was Doctor Faustus--which we will be studying next year. It's about a doctor who sells his soul to the devil.

Maybe he was an atheist. Maybe not.
Maybe he was gay. Maybe not.
Maybe he was a government spy. Maybe not.
Maybe he was killed in connection to his arrest 10 days previously. Maybe he died in a drunken bar brawl. Maybe not.
He was stabbed to death by some bloke named Ingram Frizer. Sad times indeed.

The end.