Chorus - Summary

• In the Chorus, it is announced that the play will not be about war, love or heroic deeds
• The Chorus announces that the story is about the bad fortunes of Dr John Faustus, born in Germany and studies in the University of Wittenberg, where he studies divinity and philosophy
• The Chorus states Faustus excelled in Theology but pride (Hubris) and ambition (Hamartia) lead him down the path of necromancy
• Marlowe's use of the Chorus reflects on the Renaissance's deep interest in classical Greek Drama
• The Chorus directly tells the audience the history and pathway for Dr Faustus
• The chorus is also used to express the author's views and to remind the audience of the proper moral to be learned from the play itself
• The Chorus also compares Faustus' ambition to the young boy in Greek Mythology (interest in Renaissance) Icarus
• Daedalus (Icarus' father) made him a pair of wings made of wax, Icarus recklessly flies to close to the Sun which melts his wings which causes him to fall to his death (Faustus will do the same)
• The Chorus spotlights the Humanistic views in the Renaissance, the Humanist view stressed individual's potential and rational existence without divine oversight
• The chorus states that Faustus, in his self-conceit, will turn away from "heavenly matters of theology" to focus upon "cursèd necromancy. This conceptualises the Humanistic view in an extremist ideology for the boundless pursuit of forbidden knowledge
• The Chorus sets the stage for a confrontation between a Renaissance man who rejects God's authority and the Middle Ages belief that God's laws govern all and must be obeyed.
• In Doctor Faustus the chorus makes it clear that the audience will be watching a play not about great or legendary figures, but about an ordinary man
• The Chorus explains how Dr Faustus is a commoner who was glutinous for an overindulgence of knowledge
• The Chorus explains how Dr Faustus is a commoner, this idea resonated with the Renaissance audience that believed in the potential and value of the everyday human
• The Chorus announces the tale won't be about warfare, love or heroic deeds, but will be about the of Dr John Faustus who attends the University of Wittenberg
• In the Chorus, it establishes how Dr Faustus excelled in his studies of theology but becomes swollen with Pride and Ambition (Hubris) leading to his downfall (Hamartia)
• Ultimately, Faustus starts to study necromancy and dark magic