Faustus | The Motif Of Food + Gluttony

Question 1

MTF “Yet methinks if that death were near, he would not banquet and carouse and swill”

Answer 1

Faustus has a final feast (act 5), blasphemous parody of Christ’s last supper, highlighting, not only has Faustus failed to redeem himself from ‘God’s heavy wrath’ , he continues to unthinkingly consume to meet base desires ignoring impending doom.
structural parallel to the beginning ‘how am I glutted with conceit of this’

Question 2

MTF “He surfeits upon cursed necromancy”

Answer 2

Excess; immediately connected to ideas of sin + gluttony

Question 3

MTF “Fruitful plot of scholarism” / “riper years to Wittenberg” / “sweet delight disputes”

Answer 3

Traditional knowledge is nourishing and enriching, quickly gets corrupted

Question 4

MTF “A troupe of bald plate friars / whose summum bonnum is in belly cheer”

Answer 4

“Greatest good” , friars Chris delight is in gluttony , motif of food used, mock greed and corrupt of Catholic Church, reflect England Protestant nation

Question 5

MTF “He would give his soul to the devil for a shoulder of mutton” / “I can make thee drunk with hippocras”

Answer 5

Robin presented as driven by base and foolish desires mirroring Faustus who comments in 1.1 ‘how am I glutted with concert of this’