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Faustus and the Censor: The English Faust-Book and Marlowe's Doctor Faustus
Analyzes Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, argues that the original text was subjected to religious censorship, and speculates on the original theme of the play
226 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 1987
16 people want to read
About the author
William Empson
65 books61 followersSir William Empson was an English literary critic and poet.
He was widely influential for his practice of closely reading literary works, fundamental to the New Critics. Jonathan Bate has said that the three greatest English Literary critics of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries are Johnson, Hazlitt and Empson, "not least because they are the funniest".
Empson has been styled a "critic of genius" by Sir Frank Kermode, who qualified his praise by identifying willfully perverse readings of certain authors; and Harold Bloom has stated that Empson is among a handful of critics who matter most to him, because of their force and eccentricity. Empson's bluntness led to controversy both during his life and after his death, and a reputation in part also as a "licensed buffoon" (Empson's own phrase).
He was widely influential for his practice of closely reading literary works, fundamental to the New Critics. Jonathan Bate has said that the three greatest English Literary critics of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries are Johnson, Hazlitt and Empson, "not least because they are the funniest".
Empson has been styled a "critic of genius" by Sir Frank Kermode, who qualified his praise by identifying willfully perverse readings of certain authors; and Harold Bloom has stated that Empson is among a handful of critics who matter most to him, because of their force and eccentricity. Empson's bluntness led to controversy both during his life and after his death, and a reputation in part also as a "licensed buffoon" (Empson's own phrase).
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 28, 2016
Empson's basic contention is that Marlowe's Doctor Faustus was heavily censored, that the A-text is the direct result of the censorship, and that the B-text is a compromised stage-friendly version with copious amounts of non-Marlovian (I love that word) verse added to complete the running-time.
All well and good, and hardly controversial. But Empson decides to go further, and to uncover what was censored, performing a sort of forensic literature analysis. And this is where things get interesting.
The short-short version is this: Mephistopholes is not a devil, but a Middle Spirit. He acts as a broker between Faust and the actual devils, who are trapped in hell. Now, Middle Spirits live a few thousand years and include beings such as the Greek gods: they have no souls, and therefore die "like beasts" unless they can obtain the soul of a human. The Faustian pack suddenly becomes less one-sided: Faust, having no interest in the afterlife (in fact wanting to die like a beast), sells his soul to Mephistopholes directly: Faust gets fame, knowledge, and enjoyment (but not possession!) of the world's riches; Mephistoheles gets a soul, and therefore a shot at paradise when the End Times come.
This adds new meaning to Faust's last words ("Ah, Mephistopholes!") and clears up the many many contradictions in Mephistopholes' theological lectures. Empson asserts that the existence of Middle Spirits was heretical under Calvinist doctrine, and that the rejection of God/Heaven must be punished, just like in the old movie codes (which may still exist, judging by the fifth and final season of a popular drug-themed TV show which shall not be named).
The actual proof, however, involves some reaching. I'm not sure I'm convinced, but I do like to entertain the theory.
A fifth star added for the academic smack-talking. Empson really gets his digs in where he can, making this a surprisingly entertaining read.
All well and good, and hardly controversial. But Empson decides to go further, and to uncover what was censored, performing a sort of forensic literature analysis. And this is where things get interesting.
The short-short version is this: Mephistopholes is not a devil, but a Middle Spirit. He acts as a broker between Faust and the actual devils, who are trapped in hell. Now, Middle Spirits live a few thousand years and include beings such as the Greek gods: they have no souls, and therefore die "like beasts" unless they can obtain the soul of a human. The Faustian pack suddenly becomes less one-sided: Faust, having no interest in the afterlife (in fact wanting to die like a beast), sells his soul to Mephistopholes directly: Faust gets fame, knowledge, and enjoyment (but not possession!) of the world's riches; Mephistoheles gets a soul, and therefore a shot at paradise when the End Times come.
This adds new meaning to Faust's last words ("Ah, Mephistopholes!") and clears up the many many contradictions in Mephistopholes' theological lectures. Empson asserts that the existence of Middle Spirits was heretical under Calvinist doctrine, and that the rejection of God/Heaven must be punished, just like in the old movie codes (which may still exist, judging by the fifth and final season of a popular drug-themed TV show which shall not be named).
The actual proof, however, involves some reaching. I'm not sure I'm convinced, but I do like to entertain the theory.
A fifth star added for the academic smack-talking. Empson really gets his digs in where he can, making this a surprisingly entertaining read.
January 12, 2012
Christopher Marlowe was one of England's most famous playwrights, a contemporary of Shakespeare and his rival for a brief period until his life was cut short by a mysterious dagger-thrust to the eye. The result of a tavern brawl? Political assassination? No one knows. The mystery survives to this day.
As with his life, one of Marlowe's classic dramas, “Doctor Faustus”, the tragic legend of the man who sold his soul to the devil, is also the subject of much debate for the simple reason not one but two different manuscripts exist, the A and B Texts, and no one has been able to adequately explain why there is more than one version for this remarkable work. The A text was first published in 1604, and republished twice, but the B Text, which contains far more material than the A Text, eclipsed this version in 1616 and was republished five times.
For years, Marlowe scholars have attempted to discover how these two texts came into existence and why the B Text seems more complete than the A Text, however, all they have provided are theories, but no definite answers.
William Empson had his own unique theory, which is the subject of this scholarly work. Empson, a literary critic famous for his close reading of texts and his controversial analysis of them, proposed Marlowe was attempting to introduce something dangerous into this particular drama, something that would have rang alarm-bells for the theologians of his day, and therefore attracted the attentions of the state censor.
Texts were closely scrutinized in Elizabethan times lest dubious material might corrupt the morals of the spectators, and Empson believes the A Text was chopped when Marlowe deviated from acceptable Christian theology by having Faust desire to become a Middle Spirit and escape damnation, yet rejecting God's plan for salvation. Under this plan, Faust would have enjoyed all the benefits of selling his soul, without the expected punishment of falling into Hell. Emspon proposes that Marlowe “skipped” this version out into the public before the censor could catch him, but was later forced to cut the objectionable material for later performances. The cut version is supposedly the A Text, and a later Christianized patch-up resulted in the B Text.
This book explores the various “clues” Empson believed he discovered in the two texts that point to this strange unorthodox plot, which he claims was excised by the censor. The problem is, Empson died and left the his study unfinished and unpolished. John Henry Jones was granted permission to edit and publish Empson's draft as he had discussed the subject many times with him and had a fair idea of how the critic wanted to present his theories. However, in deciding not to edit Empson's original work too much, the book reads in a disjointed manner as the editor had nothing but a working draft to use. In this form, it is difficult at times to grasp what Empson was trying to point out, and the text suddenly ends, leaving the reader dangling in mid-air.
Yes, you know what his theory is from the introduction, but how Empson arrived at his conclusion is difficult to discern from his text due to its nature as a draft in progress. While scholars must be grateful that Empson's work was not lost after his death, this book tends to be frustrating to read for the above mentioned reason, and the fact he and the editor presupposes readers to be familiar with W.W. Greg's analysis of Marlowe's text, which may not be the case. Moreover, we also have to remember this is just a theory, we have no idea if Marlowe included this unorthodox plot in “Doctor Faustus” as Empson suggests. However, there are other interesting sections, such as the various explorations of early Faust material, information on the Faust books, and the Renaissance debates on the existence of Middle Spirits and how they play into the Faust legends.
E.A. Bucchianeri, author of Faust: My Soul be Damned for the World Volume 1
As with his life, one of Marlowe's classic dramas, “Doctor Faustus”, the tragic legend of the man who sold his soul to the devil, is also the subject of much debate for the simple reason not one but two different manuscripts exist, the A and B Texts, and no one has been able to adequately explain why there is more than one version for this remarkable work. The A text was first published in 1604, and republished twice, but the B Text, which contains far more material than the A Text, eclipsed this version in 1616 and was republished five times.
For years, Marlowe scholars have attempted to discover how these two texts came into existence and why the B Text seems more complete than the A Text, however, all they have provided are theories, but no definite answers.
William Empson had his own unique theory, which is the subject of this scholarly work. Empson, a literary critic famous for his close reading of texts and his controversial analysis of them, proposed Marlowe was attempting to introduce something dangerous into this particular drama, something that would have rang alarm-bells for the theologians of his day, and therefore attracted the attentions of the state censor.
Texts were closely scrutinized in Elizabethan times lest dubious material might corrupt the morals of the spectators, and Empson believes the A Text was chopped when Marlowe deviated from acceptable Christian theology by having Faust desire to become a Middle Spirit and escape damnation, yet rejecting God's plan for salvation. Under this plan, Faust would have enjoyed all the benefits of selling his soul, without the expected punishment of falling into Hell. Emspon proposes that Marlowe “skipped” this version out into the public before the censor could catch him, but was later forced to cut the objectionable material for later performances. The cut version is supposedly the A Text, and a later Christianized patch-up resulted in the B Text.
This book explores the various “clues” Empson believed he discovered in the two texts that point to this strange unorthodox plot, which he claims was excised by the censor. The problem is, Empson died and left the his study unfinished and unpolished. John Henry Jones was granted permission to edit and publish Empson's draft as he had discussed the subject many times with him and had a fair idea of how the critic wanted to present his theories. However, in deciding not to edit Empson's original work too much, the book reads in a disjointed manner as the editor had nothing but a working draft to use. In this form, it is difficult at times to grasp what Empson was trying to point out, and the text suddenly ends, leaving the reader dangling in mid-air.
Yes, you know what his theory is from the introduction, but how Empson arrived at his conclusion is difficult to discern from his text due to its nature as a draft in progress. While scholars must be grateful that Empson's work was not lost after his death, this book tends to be frustrating to read for the above mentioned reason, and the fact he and the editor presupposes readers to be familiar with W.W. Greg's analysis of Marlowe's text, which may not be the case. Moreover, we also have to remember this is just a theory, we have no idea if Marlowe included this unorthodox plot in “Doctor Faustus” as Empson suggests. However, there are other interesting sections, such as the various explorations of early Faust material, information on the Faust books, and the Renaissance debates on the existence of Middle Spirits and how they play into the Faust legends.
E.A. Bucchianeri, author of Faust: My Soul be Damned for the World Volume 1
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews