Life and Death of Doctor Faustus Made into a Farce

Although farce was popular with London audiences during the Restoration, there was considerable controversy as to what it was and what it was worth. In a period in which the canon of English literary criticism was being formed, farce illustrates the disparity between received classical principles and the playwright's actual craft. Dryden, who himself "stooped" to writing farce, nonetheless sneers in his preface to _An Evening's Love, or The Mock-Astrologer_ [1671]:

Farce ... consists principally of grimaces ... Comedy consists, though of low persons, yet of natural actions and characters; I mean such humours, adventures, and designs, as are to be found and met with in the world. Farce, on the other side, consists of forced humours, and unnatural events. Comedy presents us with the imperfections of human nature: Farce entertains us with what is monstrous and chimerical.[6]

Farce was theoretically unpopular because it relied on the extravagant and unnatural, as opposed to the play of real character found in comedy. And whereas in seventeenth-century comedy the avowed intention is usually to expose and thus to reform the vices and follies of the age, farce uses the grossly physical to draw a laugh; there is nothing to be learned from the slapstick and pigsbladder.

Though sneered at by theorists and subject to endless abuse in the prologues and epilogues of the day, farce continued as pleasing to Restoration audiences as it is today. James Sutherland notes that shrewd actor-playwrights such as Mountfort, Betterton, Underhill, Jevon, Dogget, Powell--men who knew intimately the tastes of the town, chose to write farce.[7] Tate's _A Duke and No Duke_, Aphra Behn's _The Emperor of the Moon_, and Jevon's _The Devil of a Wife_, were among the most popular offerings, and although the Restoration wit may have gone to "Dr. Faustus" with a certain sense of intellectual slumming, he did continue to support quite generously the _farceurs_ of that time. Moreover, farcical elements appear regularly in the supposedly elegant and artificial Restoration comedy of manners.

"Dr. Faustus" is a highly competent putting-together of those components which the experienced actor-playwright knew to be surefire. The date of its premier production is not known and has been assigned to a date as early as 1684 and as late as 1688. The farce was not published until the quarto of 1697, which appeared without cast-list, prologue, or epilogue.[8] The title page, however, states that the farce was acted at Dorset Garden "several times," by "Lee" (Anthony Leigh) and Jevon, and, as the editor of _The London Stage_ points out, since Jevon died in December of 1688, the premiere was probably no later than the season of 1687-1688.[9] Borgman maintains that "Dr. Faustus" is Mountfort's second work, after _The Injured Lovers_ of February, 1688, noting that the epilogue to that play, spoken by Jevon, suggests that Mountfort was planning, or had written, a farce:

_Pardon but this, and I will pawn my life, His next shall match my Devil of a Wife, We'll grace it with the Imbellishment of Song and Dance; We'll have the Monsieur once again from _France_, With's Hoop and Glasses, and when that is done, He shall divert you with his Riggadoon._

We might guess, then, that if the epilogue does refer to "Dr. Faustus," the date of that play is as late as the Spring of 1688.

Mountfort took as his raw material Marlowe's great tragedy and for that reason "Dr. Faustus" may be to some extent thought of as a burlesque. The Restoration audience delighted in Marlowe's Faustus; the Elizabethan tragedy had been played in 1662, and there was a performance at the Duke's Theater in September, 1675. Edward Phillips wrote in his _Theatrum Poetarum_, that "of all that [Marlowe] hath written to the Stage his Dr. _Faustus_ hath made the greatest noise with its Devils and such like Tragical sport."[10] Here lies the suggestion that Mountfort was to take up, for as Borgman notes, Marlowe's tragedy has two distinct lines: the mighty verse which makes up the tragedy of an heroic overreacher, and a comic line of farcical _lazzi_. Mountfort has trimmed away the poetry of Marlowe and, for the most part, retained the farcical elements of the earlier play.[11]

Mountfort keeps the compact with Mephostopholis, the appearance of good and bad angels, the visit of Lucifer and Beelzebub, the pageant of the seven deadly sins, the cheating of the horse-courser, the admonitions of the Old Man, the summoning of the spirits of Alexander and Darius, the tricking of Benvolio, the final moments of remorse before Faustus is dragged down to hell, and finally, the discovery of Faustus's limbs in his study. Mountfort's purpose, as Borgman notes, was not to convert an Elizabethan tragedy into a Restoration one, but to affix additional farcical materials to a work that already contained scenes of slapstick.

Mountfort's unique contribution to his source was the introduction of the _commedia dell'arte_ figures which had become well-known to London theatergoers because of several visits to London by Italian actors since the Restoration. Probably, as Borgman notes (p. 36), the first Englishmen to play Scaramouche and Harlequin were Griffin and Haynes who had in 1677 appeared with the King's Company in Ravenscroft's _Scaramouch a Philosopher, Harlequin a School-Boy, Bravo, Merchant, and Magician_. When Aphra Behn's _The Emperor of the Moon_ appeared in March, 1687, Leigh played Scaramouche and Harlequin was taken by Jevon. It seems probable that in order that these two actors might have a further opportunity to appear as these popular characters, a place was found for Scaramouche and Harlequin in Mountfort's farce.

The text of Mountfort's "Dr. Faustus" reveals that his farce, like any, must depend to a great extent on its _farceurs_. In Jevon and Leigh he had talented players and much of the script can be regarded merely as an improvisational chart allowing the two famed comics to maneuver. Jevon, as Leo Hughes points out, built up a considerable reputation, chiefly in low comedy roles since his first notice as Osric in a revival of Hamlet in 1673.[12] Having a slight, thin figure, he was noted for his grace of movement and agility on the stage; he played Harlequin. Although Jevon could play such straight roles as Young Bellair in _The Man of Mode_, he, along with Nokes, Underhill, and Leigh, made his reputation in the boisterous farce of which "Dr. Faustus" is an excellent example.

Anthony Leigh played Scaramouche. Of his acting Cibber says:

In Humour, he lov'd to take a full Career, but was careful enough to stop short, when just upon the Precipice: He had great Variety, in his manner, and was famous in very different Characters.... But no wonder _Leigh_ arriv'd to such Fame, in what was so completely written for him; when Characters that would make the Reader yawn, in the Closet, have by the Strength of his Action, been lifted into the lowdest Laughter, on the Stage (_Apology_, p. 85-86).

That Jevon and Leigh played well together is evident, and one can see great possibilities in their improvisation of such _lazzi_ as the episode of the "dead body," Act I, Scene i, or in the elaborate show of compliment which ends the first act.

The presence of Scaramouche and Harlequin in Mountfort's adaptation suggests the influence of the Italian and French _commedia_ on the Restoration stage, although, as Leo Hughes points out, the native tradition of farce is paramount (pp. 134-141). Hughes notes that although the _commedia_ influence is obvious, Italian farce is different in style from the English, and that although there were four or five tours by _commedia_ troops between 1660 and 1700, these visits were not enough to influence significantly English farce writing. Furthermore, the Italian's art was improvisational--they used no printed texts, and the English would therefore have even less chance to copy from the _commedia_. Readers of "Dr. Faustus" will find little trace of _commedia_ influence apart from the conventional names. Hughes acknowledges (p. 141) the greater influence of the French stage in the Restoration, owing chiefly to the great popularity of Moliere, whose influence on farce, especially on the afterpiece which became a staple on the English stage after 1695, was long-lived. His prestige was great; he appealed to English taste, and such characters as M. Jourdain, M. Pourceaugnac, and Sganarelle appear repeatedly in English adaptations.

The action of farce is typically a string of blow-ups, stage business highly dependent on fast pacing. Characteristically on the English stage there is a great deal of stage-effect; "Dr. Faustus," produced at the Dorset Garden Theater where farce was often produced in order to take advantage of the elaborate stage machinery available there, makes use of rising tables, a giant which divides in two, good and bad angels which rise and descend, fireworks, a vanishing feast, a view of hell, and even more. Indeed, the often hilarious stage directions give us good insight into the capabilities of the Restoration stage. The finale is typical: "_Scene discovers Faustus's Limbs_." After the Old Man piously hopes that this "May ... a fair Example be to all, To avoid such Ways which brought poor Faustus's Fall," the "_Scene changes to Hell. Faustus Limbs come together. A Dance, and Song._"

Farce often verges on satire, and, as he was to demonstrate in _Greenwich Park_, Mountfort had an eye for contemporary foibles. At the end of Act I, Harlequin and Scaramouche engage in dialogue which suggests similar passages of rough satire in Wycherley. Asked what practice his master, a doctor, has, Harlequin replies:

Why his Business is to patch up rotten Whores against the Term for Country Lawyers, and Attorneys Clerks; and against _Christmas_, _Easter_ and _Whitsun_ Holidays, for City Apprentices; and if his Pills [to cure clap] be destroy'd, 'twill ruin him in one Term.

Mountford altered the pageant of the seven sins that he found in Marlowe, changing it in at least one case to bring it up to date. He begins by paraphrasing Marlowe:

_Faustus_: What art thou the Third?

_Envy_: I am _Envy_; begot by a Chimny-sweeper upon an Oyster-wench. I cannot read, and wish all Books burnt.

But then Mountford departs from his source, adding the following lines:

I always curst the Governement, that I was not prefer'd; and was a Male-content in Three Kings Reigns (II, i).

The three kings are, I suppose, Charles I, Charles II, and James II, and the satiric jab is against those who perennially oppose the Establishment. Furthermore, it is easy to imagine that the role of Faustus, whoever played it, could well have been acted as a parody of the "tragical" acting style of the day, with its curious sing-song tone and stylized gestures.

Mountfort's "Dr. Faustus" gives us an often amusing insight into that much despised, ever-popular bastard-child of the Restoration stage: farce. If the direct influence of the _commedia_ is slight, the spirit of improvisational comedy is embodied in the inspired buffoonery of Leigh and Jevon, reinforced by stage-effect and spots of contemporary satire. The play proved a hit and that undoubtedly was the playwright's sole intention. The farce is workmanlike, and as the "Account" prefixed to the 1720 collected plays observes, "THE Life and Death of Doctor _FAUSTUS_ has a great deal of low, but Entertaining Humour; it sufficiently shews his Talents that way."

University of Illinois
Urbana

NOTES TO THE INTRODUCTION

1. _Six Plays, written by Mr. Mountfort_ (London, 1720), 2 volumes. All references to plays other than "Dr. Faustus" are taken from this collection.

2. The substance of my account of Mountfort's life and work is based on Albert S. Borgman, _The Life and Death of William Mountfort_ (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1935).

3. _An Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber_, ed. B. R. S. Fone (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1968), p. 117.

4. Charles Gildon, _The Lives and Characters of the English Dramatick Poets_ (London, [1698?]), p. 102.

5. (London, 1702), p. 17.

6. _Essays of John Dryden_, ed. W. P. Ker (New York: Russell & Russell, 1900; rpt. 1961), I, 135-136.

7. _English Literature of the Late Seventeenth Century_ (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969), p. 132.

8. The first edition, page 5, omits the period at the end of 1. 23 and the speech prefix "Meph." for 1. 24. These are correctly added in the second edition (1720).

9. _The London Stage 1660-1800, Part I: 1660-1700_, ed. W. Van Lennep (Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1965), 342.

10. (London, 1675), p. 25.

11. Borgman outlines the changes Mountfort made in his source; see pp. 35ff and Appendix A.

12. _A Century of English Farce_ (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1956), pp. 165-166.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

The facsimile of Mountfort's _The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus_ (1697) is reproduced by permission from a copy of the first edition (Shelf Mark: 131909) in _The Huntington Library, San Marino, California_. The total type-page (p. 17) measures 195 X 112 mm.

THE

LIFE and DEATH

OF

Doctor Faustus,

Made into a

FARCE.

By Mr. _MOUNTFORD_.

_First Edition_

WITH THE

Humours of _Harlequin_ and _Scaramouche_:

As they were several times Acted

By Mr. _LEE_ and Mr. _JEVON_,

AT THE

Queens Theatre in _Dorset_ Garden.

Newly Revived,

At the Theatre in _Lincolns Inn Fields_,

With _Songs_ and _Dances_ between the ACTS.

_LONDON_,

Printed and sold by _E. Whitlock_ near _Stationers_ Hall, (1697)

The Life and Death of

Dr. FAUSTUS.

ACT I. SCENE I.

_Dr._ Faustus _seated in his Chair, and reading in his Study_.

_Good and bad Angel ready._

_Faust._ Settle thy Study, _Faustus_, and begin
To sound the Depth of that thou wilt profess;
These Metaphysicks of Magicians,
And Negromantick Books, are heav'nly
Lines, Circles, Letters, Characters,
Ay, these are those that _Faustus_ most desires;
A sound Magician is a Demi-God:
Here tire my Brains to get a Deity.

Mephostopholis _under the Stage_. _A good and bad Angel fly down._

_Good Ang._ O _Faustus_! lay that damn'd Book aside; And gaze not on it, lest it tempt thy heart to blasphemy.

_Bad Ang._ Go forward, _Faustus_, in that famous Art
Wherein all Natures Treasure is contain'd:
Be thou on Earth as _Jove_ is in the Sky,
Lord and Commander of these Elements.

_Spirits ascend._

_Faust._ How am I glutted with conceit of this?
Shall I make Spirits fetch me what I please?
I'll have 'em fly to _India_ for Gold,
Ransack the Ocean for Orient Pearl.
I'll have 'em Wall all _Germany_ with Brass:
I'll levy Soldiers with the Coin they bring,
And chase the Prince of _Parma_ from our Land. [_Rises._
'Tis now the Dead nigh Noon of Night,
And _Lucifer_ his Spirits freedom gives;
I'll try if in this Circle I can Raise
A _Daemon_ to inform me what I long for.

_Sint mihi Dii Acherontis propitii, Orientis Princeps, Beelzebub, German. Demogorgon._ [Thunders. _Mephostopholis, Mephostopholis, surgat Spiritus._

Mephostopholis _speaks under Ground_. [Thunders.

_Meph._ _Faustus_, I attend thy Will.

_Faust._ Where art thou?

_Meph._ Here. [_a Flash of Light._

_Scar. within._ Oh, oh, oh.

_Faust._ What Noise is that? Hast thou any Companions with thee?

_Meph._ No.

_Faust._ It comes this way?

_Scar._ Oh, oh, O----. [_Enter_ Scaramouche.

_Faust._ What ail'st thou?

_Scar._ O' o' o'

_Faust._ Speak, Fellow, what's the Matter?

_Scar._ O poor _Scaramouche_!

_Faust._ Speak, I conjure thee; or _Acherontis Dii Demogorgon_.----

_Scar._ O I beseech you Conjure no more, for I am frighted into a
_Diabetes_ already.