The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus Made into a Farce

Mountfort, William, 1664？-1692Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.0

Word count: 79K words
Chapters: 8

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus Made into a Farce by Marlowe and MountfortAuthor: Mountfort, William, 1664?-1692,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Sep 14, 2011

Editor's review

This work adapts Marlowe's The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus into a comic farce. Its author, William Mountfort, was an active figure in the late-seventeenth-century English theatre. The adaptation retains the core plot of Faustus's pact with the devil, yet replaces the original's tragic weight with burlesque and exaggerated performance, generating comic contrast as a serious subject dissolves into slapstick. Its value lies in offering a sample of how a classic may be "downgraded" through adaptation: the same story takes on an entirely different complexion under a different genre and different audience expectations. For readers studying the history of English drama, adaptation, or the comic tradition, this is brief but information-dense material. When reading, attend to the humor produced by the gap in register, and understand the entertainment function of farce in the theatre of its time. It is short, suitable as a course companion text or as further reading for theatre enthusiasts.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students of English literature and drama, for research on adaptation and the comic tradition
Readers interested in different versions of the Faustus material
Enthusiasts studying seventeenth-century English theatre and the farce genre
Readers who enjoy short dramatic texts and are willing to read the English original

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting the full form of Marlowe's original tragedy
Beginners needing a Chinese translation or detailed annotations
General readers who find early modern English expression difficult

Reading tips

Familiarize yourself with the main plot of Marlowe's original first; the adaptation's comedy is easier to appreciate afterward.
Note the farce's stage directions and exaggerated dialogue, and imagine their effect in performance.
Excerpt passages that correspond to the original for comparison, observing how characters and tone have been rewritten.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a translation of Marlowe's original?

It is neither a translation nor the original itself. It is Mountfort's text adapting Marlowe's Faustus story into a farce; the plot framework is similar, but the genre, tone and stage effects all turn toward comedy. Before reading, it is worth distinguishing clearly between the original and the adaptation.

Do I need to read Marlowe's original first to read this farce?

It is not required, but knowing the outline of the original will clearly improve the reading experience. Much of the farce's humor comes from its transformation of and contrast with the original; without that background, readers may see only the bustle and miss the point of the adaptation.

Is the English of the text difficult to read?

The work dates from the late seventeenth century, and its spelling and syntax bear features of early modern English; it also contains stage directions and colloquial dialogue. Readers with a foundation in English literature will find it easier to enter; general readers may read alongside an annotated edition or background materials.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Mountfort, William, 1664？-1692 Author · British

William Mountfort (c. 1664–1692) was an English actor and playwright. Publicly available sources are limited, and many details of his life cannot be verified, but it is established that he was known in the London theatre of his day for playing comic roles, with a light and quick-witted performing style and a sure sense of comic timing and repartee. Besides acting, he also wrote for the stage; among his surviving works is The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus Made into a Farce. Drawing on the Faust legend, the play reworks serious material in farcical terms, turning magic, pacts and devils into ludicrous stage business and showing his preference for popular comedy and improvised-style banter. Such adaptations reflect the late seventeenth-century English stage's secularized, entertainment-oriented handling of exotic legends and folk tales, and indicate the practical role of actor-playwrights in producing plays for the theatre.