Doctor Faustus (Marlowe) Lesson Plan

What is the significance of Faustus's famous monologue in Act V, Scene 1 ("Was this the face that launched a thousand ships...And none but thou shalt be my paramour" V.1.93-112)? What might Helen of Troy symbolize?

Helen of Troy's famous beauty is what causes Faustus to ask for her as his lover towards the end of the play. Faustus sees in Helen a physical representation of the desires of the flesh he had hoped to find fulfillment in through his pact with the devil--in a sense, Faustus believes she represents the highest realization of his own self-created version of salvation and immortality.

What we learn from Faustus's monologue though is that Helen's powers are...