비극적 긴장과 희극적 완화 : Dr. Faustus를 중심으로 = Tragic Tension and Comic Relief in Dr. Faustus

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In his plays Marlowe enchances the main action of his tragedy by reducing it to absurd scenes. In order to express the ludicrous gap between aspiration and any possible fulfillment and to describe the tragic sense resulted from the misdirected desire, he uses the elements of farce, the lower form of comedy. This farcical elements with a savage humor ironically foreshadows the play's tragic ending. It alleviates tragic tension as a comic relief, and also increases the tragic sense as an incentive to it.
In Dr. Faustus, Marlowe describes both tragic and ludicrous corruption of Faustus's mind that destroys the soul. Faustus is a limited creature who is possessed by a desire to overcome completely his frustrating, mortal finiteness. The desire to be more than human is finally no different from wanting to be godlike. But this means Faustus's tragic fall. All attempts to achieve perfect self-realization inevitably fail. In this play the ludicrousness of the aspiring mind transformed into his doom is at the same time tragic and farcical. Faustus's action is repeated by Wagner and other Clowns. Through this action, the tragic and farcical elements are nearly merged. Dr. Faustus begins as a dark satire and ends as a satiric tragedy of knowledge. This play can be said as profound irony of man as a sinful, limited creature, obliged to accept humbly the limitations of his life. In a sense, Faustus is a learned fool. These fool-like characters evoke our laughter. But their destruction is tragic.
In conclusion, the comic and tragic views of life no longer exclude each other. Comedy and tragedy are identical in the extreme. Human life at its depths is inherently absurd, and farce can tell us more things about our situation than tragedy can. In these respects, Marlowe is one of the greatest playwrights who are capable of mixing the tragic and farcical elements in their plays by simultaneously showing sympathy and contempt as well as pity and fear.