Power

Necromancy a source of power

Faustus' sense of what magic and his pact with Lucifer may bring him is intimately linked to the notion of power. This appears in the play's very first scene:

Power in the world

Faustus conceives of this power as extending over the known world, as in the passage at Scene 1, lines 121-132, beginning ‘As Indian Moors obey their Spanish lords' and ending at ‘That yearly stuffs old Philip's treasury'.

These lines are packed with allusions to travel, discovery, conquest, trade and acquisition. Faustus sees the inhabitants of all countries as being at the command of himself, Mephastophilis and Lucifer. There are references to numerous countries and continents: the Arab world (‘Indian Moors'), Spain, Germany (‘Almaine'), Lapland, Italy (‘Venice') and America.

The use of terms like ‘obey', ‘subjects', ‘serviceable', ‘guard us when we please' and the references to soldiers (‘Almaine rutters', ‘Lapland giants') refer to earthly power.

The passage also draws on Greek mythology: the Queen of Love is Venus, while the argosies and golden fleece allude to the story of Jason. Also, in the reference to beautiful ‘women or unwedded maids' and Venus' ‘white breasts', we see Faustus slipping into his characteristic sensuality.

A later expression of Faustus' desire for worldly power can be found in this speech, with its sense of extending his empire over the whole world and thus bringing it together under his control. He imagines transcending physical boundaries by making a bridge over the sea and joining Africa to Spain.

The passage opens with a typically extravagant image from Faustus, suggesting his eagerness to surrender to Mephastophilis and to attain the power he desires:

Pleasure in power

Finally, here is an example of Faustus revelling in his ability to call up great musicians and poets from the past for his own pleasure: again, the word ‘ravishing' is significant:

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