Doctor Faustus’s Last and First Soliloquy

Subject: Literature
Pages: 2
Words: 410
Reading time:
2 min

Through the inner speech of the main character, the reader can easily trace the development of his personality and the change in his views over time. Doctor Faust’s last soliloquy plays a significant role in the work, as it takes place in the last moments of his life. It is used to reflect the feelings and experiences of a person waiting for their end. To add depth to the monologue, the author masterfully uses the rhythm of the clock, which seems to count down the last minutes. Also, using longer ones, Marlowe focuses on the fear of the endless torment of Faust’s soul.

In the last soliloquy, the main character turns to God as never before. If he used to condemn religion for limiting a person, now he prays to God to save him from the infernal punishment. In his first speech, the protagonist spoke about the rise of man above God, about the desire that destroyed the whole fate of Faust. However, before his death, his views completely change. It begs to become something so insignificant that it can simply disappear without a trace.

All the self-confidence and determination of the main character disappears in his last words. In the epilogue, the author seems to say that any person who somehow repeats the fate of Faust will not be able to avoid the same violence and horror. However, on the other hand, the suffering of the protagonist is more aimed at evoking feelings of pity and fear before such an end than at calling for reflection on the honesty and justice of the punishment. To sum up, it must be said that this scene of the death of the main character has a tremendous emotional impact on the reader. In it, a person who adheres to humanistic views and tries to put a person on the level of God in despair realizes his near-death, clinging to life and begging higher forces to change the course of time.

Consequently, the analysis of this work reveals the use of literary tools. The writer introduces a final recital to culminate the development of the main character and to convey more subtly to the reader the depth of the protagonist’s personality as well as the metamorphosis that has occurred to him. This is reflected in the use of the rhythm of the clock, the dispatch of thoughts, and mental anguish.