Hell and Brimstone at its Best

As a member of a fundamentalist church, I've heard my share of fire and brimstone sermons. Rarely though, have they moved me the way this 400-year-old story of Christopher Marlowe's did.

Marlowe, a popular contemporary of Shakespeare, chose for his play a classic tale of a man of overweening pride who purchases supreme power, wealth, and knowledge on a credit card that he claims will never come due.

The language in the play makes one proud to be an English speaker. It is poetical, it is powerful, and it is layered with meaning. If you're trying to memorize it, the syntax will drive you mad, for the sentence order is often dependent on the language's sound rather than what we would consider "normal" structure.

The play "Faustus", for all of its serious overtones and heavy morals also has wonderful moments of bawdy fun. While Faustus is busy conjuring (quite literally)his grand schemes for wealth and power, his half-witted servants follow his example by attempting to conjure demons to bring them drink and play mad tricks. It is here that each word works overtime as the characters spout forth double meanings and puns with a speed that fills an otherwise heavy script with many laughs.

It's easy to see why this play (with its most famous line, "Is this the face that launched a thousand ships...?") is eternal. Marlowe may not enjoy Shakespeare's popularity or prolifigy (dying young did reduce his production), but his "Doctor Faustus" is worth a read.