Faustus and the Promises of the New Science, c. 1580-1730

From the Chapbooks to Harlequin Faustus

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book Faustus and the Promises of the New Science, c. 1580-1730 by Christa Knellwolf King, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Christa Knellwolf King ISBN: 9781351936910
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: December 5, 2016
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Christa Knellwolf King
ISBN: 9781351936910
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: December 5, 2016
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

Having identified the literary origins of the Faustus legend in the German Faust Book (1587) and its English translation (1592), this book argues that these works transformed a simple rogue's tale into an incisive study of morality and beliefs. The chapbooks' contrastive portrayal of an imaginary experience of hell and a pseudo-scientific journey through the cosmos is interpreted as an unconventional approach to the questions of an inquiring mind. This study offers the first analysis of the chapbooks as literary works in their own right, as opposed to simply being sources for Christopher Marlowe's play. It is also the first study to describe the Faustus typology as a vehicle by which uncompromising thinkers of early modernity and the Enlightenment questioned contemporary views about religion, morality and the possibility of experiencing transcendence. While arguing that Marlowe's Doctor Faustus primarily examines the imaginary foundations of religious rules and standards, the author suggests that the 1616 version of the play revived the chapbooks' accounts of spiritual ravishment and intellectual ecstasy. Imaginary explorations of cosmic space became popular in the seventeenth century and gave rise to strongly diverging works of literature, embracing the arcane spirituality of Milton's Paradise Lost as well as Fontenelle's sociable but essentially secular fantasy of cosmic travel. This book shows that contemporary responses to early modern science also tended to address the most urgent concerns of the Faustus legend, explaining the re-emergence of the typology in Mountfort's late seventeenth-century farcical Faustus play and early eighteenth-century harlequinades about Doctor Faustus

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Having identified the literary origins of the Faustus legend in the German Faust Book (1587) and its English translation (1592), this book argues that these works transformed a simple rogue's tale into an incisive study of morality and beliefs. The chapbooks' contrastive portrayal of an imaginary experience of hell and a pseudo-scientific journey through the cosmos is interpreted as an unconventional approach to the questions of an inquiring mind. This study offers the first analysis of the chapbooks as literary works in their own right, as opposed to simply being sources for Christopher Marlowe's play. It is also the first study to describe the Faustus typology as a vehicle by which uncompromising thinkers of early modernity and the Enlightenment questioned contemporary views about religion, morality and the possibility of experiencing transcendence. While arguing that Marlowe's Doctor Faustus primarily examines the imaginary foundations of religious rules and standards, the author suggests that the 1616 version of the play revived the chapbooks' accounts of spiritual ravishment and intellectual ecstasy. Imaginary explorations of cosmic space became popular in the seventeenth century and gave rise to strongly diverging works of literature, embracing the arcane spirituality of Milton's Paradise Lost as well as Fontenelle's sociable but essentially secular fantasy of cosmic travel. This book shows that contemporary responses to early modern science also tended to address the most urgent concerns of the Faustus legend, explaining the re-emergence of the typology in Mountfort's late seventeenth-century farcical Faustus play and early eighteenth-century harlequinades about Doctor Faustus

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Engaging Students in Academic Literacies by Christa Knellwolf King
Cover of the book Recruiting, Retaining and Releasing People by Christa Knellwolf King
Cover of the book Landmarks for Sustainability by Christa Knellwolf King
Cover of the book Multinationals and Asia by Christa Knellwolf King
Cover of the book Walking Methodologies in a More-than-human World by Christa Knellwolf King
Cover of the book The Boarding School Girls by Christa Knellwolf King
Cover of the book Climate Clever by Christa Knellwolf King
Cover of the book Human Rights Law in Europe by Christa Knellwolf King
Cover of the book The European Union After the Crisis by Christa Knellwolf King
Cover of the book Solid Waste Management in the World's Cities by Christa Knellwolf King
Cover of the book Chinese Nationalism in the Global Era by Christa Knellwolf King
Cover of the book Youth and Sexuality in the Twentieth-Century United States by Christa Knellwolf King
Cover of the book Inconceivable Conceptions by Christa Knellwolf King
Cover of the book Psychology for Nurses by Christa Knellwolf King
Cover of the book Routledge Handbook of Corrections in the United States by Christa Knellwolf King
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy