Frankenstein - Impressions of Walton (Letters 1 to 3)

  On reading the first lines of the first letter, it is reasonable to observe that Walton is an affectionate brother as he adresses his 'dear sister'. This is backed up by the way he ends each letter, with well-wishes, reassurances and, in the second letter, with the affirmation 'I love you very tenderly'.
  It is made very clear in each letter that Walton is adventurous, eager to travel and hungry for knowledge. Through his descriptions of the beauty of his destination, the fervent manner in which he conveys his objective and the history that has led up to this decision, we can understand his ambition and the part of his character that leads to it. On a number of occasions, he explains his desire to 'satiate [his] ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited' and the 'trembling sensation, half pleasurable and half fearful' that describes his excitement warring with his anticipation at the prospect of his journey.
 
   He appears very sensible and dedicated as he relates the experiences he undertook in order to prepare him for his big expedition. He professes twice that he will not act 'rashly' and once that he will be 'cool, persevering and prudent'. The implication of this is that Walton is not an thoughtlessly impulsive man but a meticulous and vigilant one. Though he tries to think positively and hopes to succeed, he does not delude himself, accepting the possibility that his venture may be unsuccessful and could even potentially end in his demise -which is evidence of his intelligence and prudence.

  One thing suggested is that he is not ignorant, but perhaps covetous, of the glory a new discovery would bring him -so perhaps his motives are not entirely unselfish. He appears confident when he infers that himself and his crew are 'experienced navigators'.

  In the second letter, we gather that along with his brave independence, Walton is afflicted with a mournful sense of lonliness as he expresses his want of a friend -a man to 'participate [his] joy', 'sustain [him] in dejection' and 'whose tastes are like [his] own'. He is so desperate for a friend that he repeatedly calls a man he has not known long, the master, his friend.

The Legend of the Extra Devil in Dr Faustus!

  The tragical history of Dr Faustus achieved a certain notoriety due to the rumours, that circulated from as early as 1594, that a member in the audience nearly caused a riot at a performance -by claiming that he counted an extra devil present on stage midway through the performance! This frightened both the audience and the actors alike. According to some sources, this apparition of an extra devil occurred in more than one performance. It contributed to the reputation of the play as haunted and cursed, which no doubt added to its popularity.

What is a Passion Play?

  A Passion Play is a dramatic production of what is known as the Passion of Christ -his trial, suffering and death. Usually, it depicts from the Last Supper to the Crucifixion, though different countries and denominations perform it with minor adjustments. It is often a traditional part of Lent in many denominations of Christianity, primarily the Catholic denomination.

The performance of Faustus on stage

  The performance of a play has a great deal of influence on how the audience interpret its content. Since, during Marlowe's time, the stage would have been quite bare, the audience would have to rely on staging, costumes and props in order to read between the lines and understand the parts of the story that weren't actually voiced.
  For example, using different levels of the stage, like the 'above' (a raised platform or balcony), you could depict the relationship between two characters. The characters being present above could represent their separation from the rest of the characters. This separation could be in terms of place or time or even status - so the character above could be higher in status or part of a different timeline.
  As for the costumes, these would have been donated by aristocracy when fashions changed and could be worn to show the status of a character -tattered for poor characters, fairly recent fashions for rich characters. Costumes could also relay the mood of the characters or the atmosphere - bright colours for happy characters or a joyous occasion in the play.
  The props used could also symbolise different elements or themes in the play. For instance, the appaerance of a red handkerchief could imply that the character in possession of it is bleeding. The presence of a few books on stage could show the studiousness and intelligence of a character.
  When I imagine the staging of the first scene with the Good Angel and the Evil Angel, I visualise the Good Angel being above and the Evil Angel being near the above, closer to Faustus who is centre stage facing away from them both, because Faustus ends up following the Evil Angel's advice in the end.

What is the audience supposed to think of Faustus after the chorus?

  During the chorus, the audience is urged to reserve judgement on Faustus ('To patient judgements we appeal...') which gives the impression that he may have done some pretty unacceptable things but perhaps that he had justifiable reasons that we could sympathise with. The writer also mentions his infancy in the present tense, saying '...now is he born...' , to garner a sense of sympathy.

  With the accounts of Faustus's education that follow, it is easy for the audience to see Faustus as an intelligent and honourable man who has worked his way up in the world. The chorus declares him a man who 'profits in divinity', something that would have been respectable through the deeply religious ages in which our audience lived, and titles him a 'doctor' who happened to study a prestigious university attended many wealthy kings which commends his intelligence since he did not use his non-existent wealth to get in.

  However, the lines that come after this cast a less than favourable light on our protagonist. It is described that abundance of knowledge has caused him to become 'swoln with cunning, of a self-conceit...'. The writer then compares Faustus's tale to the fate of Icharus.
  (According to Greek mythology, Icharus was the son of Daedalus, the craftsman who built the labrinth in which the legendary minotaur resided. Daedalus and his son were imprisoned in the labrinth as punishment for giving Ariadne the clew that she used to help Theseus kill the minotaur and escape the labrinth. In order to escape, Daedalus built a pair of wings out of feathers for both of them and warned Icharus not to fly too close to the sun. But Icharus, giddy with his newfound sense of freedom, did not heed the warning and flew too high -of course! The wax holding the wings together melted, dropping Icharus to his watery death by drowning in the sea.)

(The Greeks like their mythical characters naked apparently. Though I have no idea why anyone would even consider that Icarus would decide to fly naked...)

  This would be construed as a metaphor for Faustus, in his pride, trying to rise too high, too close to God, and being punished for it. The audience would also note the phrase 'heaven conspir'd his overthrow' which implies that the punishment is one from God, and perhaps not entirely his fault.

 The chorus moves on to the subject of necromancy and magic, two ideas that would have been considered unholy or blasphemous, perhaps leading the some in audience to condemn him or at least begin to judge him unkindly. The last line of the chorus reinforces the idea of his intelligence with the mention of Faustus being in his 'study'.

Why was there tension between Catholics and Protestants in Elizabethan times?

  Catholics and Protestants had very different beliefs. A major difference in opinion was that Catholics thought that the Pope was connected to God and could grant them salvation whereas Protestants thought that the only way to find salvation was through a direct, personal connection to God. However, their difference in Beliefs was only part of the reason for tension between the two religious factions. Another big influence was politics.

  Before the famous Virgin Queen ascended the throne, her half-sister Mary (as known by the charming sobriquet 'Bloody Mary') ruled England. Mary is well known for restoring Roman Catholicism to England, imprisoning and executing -by burning at the stake- numerous Protestants under Acts of Heresy. In doing this, she instilled anti-Catholic feelings among many of her subjects.

  When Elizabeth, following Mary's death, ascended throne, she restored Protestism to England. Elizabeth tried to be pretty tolerant over religious matters in spite of this, to prevent Catholic revolt. Nonetheless, the Pope rejected her as illigitimate and a heretic, and released her subjects from obedience to her. He threatened Catholics who obeyed her rule with excommunication. He also sent missionaries to England to assist Catholics with plots to overthrow her and place her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots (yes, another Mary, not a mistake!), on the throne.

  Quite understandably, Elizabeth was not pleased by this and sought to put an end to any such plots. She went about this by persecuting the Catholic clergy, and in the community, excluding Catholics from their professions, fining and imprisoning them if they were suspected of being part of any nefarious plots.

  As a result, there was much tension bleeding into Elizabethan society. Catholics feared and resented the persecution they faced at the hands of non-Catholics whilst Protestants, secure for now, feared Catholic plots to overthrow a monarch who favoured them and resented Catholics for their own past persecution at the hands of the Catholic Queen Mary (the half-sister, that is). Protestants were always on the lookout for offending Catholics to turn in and discriminated against them which caused Catholics to hate them and react bitterly.

You can see this in action in the Lacey Chronicles by Eve Edwards (particularly the first installment, 'The Other Countess'), a series of historical romances for Young Adults.

Does Linda gain a sense of self-awareness by the end of the play?

  In my eyes, Linda doesn't really gain a sense of self-awareness by the end of the play. Nothing in the way she behaves towards Willy or the rest of her family changes. She continues to be passive in relation to Willy's madness -treating him the same way she treated him at the beginning of the play -and mollycoddling him devotedly. There is no evidence that she has learned anything about herself or her situation in life. Happy is still ignored and Biff is still put second when it comes to him and Willy.
  I believe that this in itself is a bit tragic. In the end, she loses Willy -who her whole life seems to revolve around- and gains absolutely nothing from her experiences or from the experiences of others around her. That she must continue her life now without Willy or the comfort of a new purpose or self-awareness is truly tragic in a sense.