ENGLISH.
Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. Produced 1588? 1592? Two alternate versions of the play which you must be aware: the shorter 1604 and the longer 1616 text, See W.W. Greg's parallel text (1950) and Keith Walker's edition (1973). The Penguin paperback edition (ed. J.B. Steane) is acceptable; or any other recent annotated edition. If you have time, read other plays by Marlowe, especially Tamburlaine the Great and The Jew of Malta.
Secondary Reading
Friedereich, Kenneth, "A Poet and a Filthy Play-maker":
New Essays on Christopher Marlowe, New York, 1988.
O'Neill, Judith, ed. Critics on Marlowe.
London, 1969.
Sales, Roger. Christopher Marlowe, Basingstoke,
1992.
Sanders, Wilbur. The Dramatist and the Received
Idea. Cambridge, 1968.
Steane, J.B, Marlowe: A Critical Study. Cambridge,
1964.
Tydeman, William. Christopher Marlowe: A Guide
Through the Critical Hate. Bristol, 1989.
Essay Topics
2. "Dr. Faustus should be a heroic figure, but he is not." Discuss.
3. Doctor Faustus has many comic scenes . Do these enhance or detract from the play's central concerns. Explain.
4. Does Dr. Faustus affirm or deny the values of Christian faith?
Essay Subject: "The Prince is the life, the head and the authority of everything that be done in this realm of England," wrote Sir Thomas Smith in De Republica Anglorum. Is this an adequate description of the government of Elizabethan England?
Brooks, F.W. The Council of the North. History
Association pamphlet, 1953.
Elton, G.R. Tudor Government: The Points of Contact
(three essays on Parliament, Council, and Court), Transactions of the
Royal Historical Societv. 1974, 1975, 1976.
Haigh. C. Elizabeth I.
Smith, A.G.R. The Government of Elizabethan England.
Smith, A. Hassell. Court and Country:
Government and Politics in Norfolk. 1558-1603, Part II.
Williams, P. "The Crown and the Counties," in
C. Haigh, ed., The Reign of Elizabeth I.
In this week's history reading, consider the following questions: Did Elizabeth rule as well as reign? How extensive was her authority in theory and in practice? What functions did the royal court, parliament, and council play in the formulation of policy? How much control did the centre have over its unpaid representatives in the localities--the Justices of the Peace (JPs) , Lords, and Deputy Lieutenants? Which ideology bound together the various elements of the Elizabethan polity?
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