Question

Read the text. Then answer the questions.

“The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus”
In the text, Doctor Faustus has chosen a particular fate. What does his address to Helen of Troy reveal about what he values? Support your answer using details from the text.

Introduction
In Greek mythology, Helen of Troy was the most beautiful woman in Greece and had many suitors. When Menelaus was chosen as her husband, her other suitors vowed to protect their marriage. Years later, Paris, having been promised the most beautiful woman in the world by Aphrodite, went to Sparta, and while Menelaus was away, fled with Helen to Troy. Menelaus and Helen's former suitors joined forces to retrieve her from Paris, which began the ten-year Trojan War. Paris was killed during the conflict, and Helen was married to his brother Deiphobus. When Deiphobus was killed, Menelaus took Helen back to Sparta.

The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus tells the story of a scholar who sells his soul to the devil to be able to perform "black magic" for twenty-four years. At the end of the play, just before he must die to fulfill this commitment, his last desire is to see Helen of Troy once more. He had previously conjured her spirit for three scholars who wished to see the woman they had decided had been most admired for her beauty.

Answer 1

Doctor Faustus values beauty and sensual gratification, as shown by his final request to see Helen of Troy despite knowing the cost of his earlier choices. His address to Helen symbolizes his continued preference for transient pleasures over lasting wisdom.

Step-by-step explanation:

In The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, Doctor Faustus's address to Helen of Troy illuminates what he values most: beauty and sensual fulfillment at any cost, even over wisdom or salvation. Faustus, a man of intellect and learning, ultimately forsakes his scholarly pursuits for the ephemeral pleasures of the senses. This is exemplified in his famous exclamation to Helen, "Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships / And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?" Here, Faustus acknowledges the power of Helen's beauty, which caused the great Trojan War. It symbolizes that even towards the end of his life, after having vast knowledge and power at his disposal, Faustus continues to value the transient beauty of Helen above all else. This points to a tragic flaw in his character: the inability to transcend immediate gratification for enduring values or reflective wisdom.

Answer 2

Fausto's speech shows that he values immortality, self-preservation and the ability to depend on those who can promote his desires.

Step-by-step explanation:

Faustus begs Helen to be his spiritual guide and to give him immortality, allowing him to have free will over where his soul should go. This shows that Faustus, despite his actions and the problems that he got into, killed his conscience of self-preservation and is afraid of what the da*nation of the soul can cause.

We can see this through the lines:

"Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss. [ Kisses her .] Her lips suck forth my soul; see, where it flies!—Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again. Here will I dwell, for Heaven is in these lips, And all is dross that is not Helena. "