Doctor Faustus (Marlowe) Questions

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Scene 2.2 is another bit of comic relief. It includes bawdy jokes, good-natured humor, and content wholly free from the serious subject matter surrounding it. Some argue that the comic relief scenes, taken together, constitute a counterpoint to the main story of the play. According to this view, the main play is an exercise, Marlowe enjoying his craft, and he undercuts the sincerity of the themes with a running series of scenes mocking the whole idea of demon summoning. The comic scenes and their import would have served as an inside joke, maybe even a private one only enjoyed by Marlowe himself. However, this interpretation might be making too much of a few short moments of comic relief. This interpretive reading of the comic scenes is strongly colored by Marlowe's biography; but trying to read a play by what is believed about the author is always a difficult and uncertain method. The opinion of this study guide scribbler is that there is no conflict between Marlowe the rebellious atheist (if the hearsay about him was true) and the story of Doctor Faustus. For that reading, see the analysis for Act Four, scenes 5-7.

Source(s): Gradesaver

Follow the link below to reach a number of comic scenes for Doctor Faustus;

Source(s): http://www.scribd.com/doc/19635735/The-Comic-Scenes-in-Doctor-Faustus

Clown / Robin
Robin learns demon summoning by stealing one of Faustus' books. He is the chief character in a number of scenes that provide comic relief from the main story.

Dick
A friend of Robin's. He is one of the characters peopling the few comic relief scenes.

Source(s): http://www.gradesaver.com/dr-faustus/study-guide/character-list/