Christopher Marlowe
lines from The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus
Ay, all the wealth that our forefathers hid
Within the massy entrails of the earth
Be silent, then, for danger is in words.
[Music sounds]
A year, a month, a week, a natural day,
The stars move still, time runs, the clock will strike,
Ah, half the hour is past! 'twill all be past anon
O, it strikes, it strikes! Now, body, turn to air
The last four lines, chosen from Marlowe’s Dr Faustus deliberately play on the element of time.
This central idea is reflected in the words and the iambic pentameter rhythmical form. Using a rigid, simple, 10 syllable, 5 stressed beat rhythm throughout, contrasts the voice against the structure.
The text is built up using the ScaFra technique of the slow addition and subsequent subtraction of material.