Act IV, Scene 4

Summary

The heads and faces of Benvolio, Frederick and Martino are bloody and smeared with mud and dirt. Horns appear on all their heads. They decide to repair to Benvolio’s Castle, located near the woods, and live there in obscurity. They will rather “die with grief, than live with shame.”

The skeptical Benvolio and his friends are punished once again by Faustus. The practical joke that Faustus plays on his enemies provides entertainment for the audience. For the time being, the audience is freed from its preoccupation with FaustusÂ’ soul and its moral destiny. In this way, Faustus provides an amusing comic spectacle for the benefit of the audience and the readers.

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