Comment on the relationship between the comic and serious material in Dr Faustus.

... Comment on the relationship between the comic and serious material in Dr Faustus During the Elizabethan period in England comedy was a crucial component in any drama production. Although Elizabethan audiences loved diversity in their entertainment, it was rare to see a play containing both comedy and tragedy. Because of this Dr Faustus would have presented the Elizabethan audience with a new genre of entertainment. Elizabethan dramatists tended not to mix comedy and tragedy together and because of this Marlowe was a pioneer for his time, although he was probably simply recognising the Elizabethans love of diversity. Other playwrights of the time, for example Shakespeare did include some comedic characters such as the fool in King Lear and Puck in A Midsummer night's dream but Marlowe was the first playwright to include whole comic scenes into his works. During the Middle ages audiences loved intervals when watching heavy miracle and morality

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