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Symbols in Doctor Faustus

Symbols Examples in Doctor Faustus:

Scene 9

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"I had thought thou had'st been a bachelor, but now I see thou hast a wife, that not only gives thee horns..."   (Scene 9)

The horns on his head are symbolic of an adulterous wife. Faustus gives the Knight horns to humiliate him.

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"[Pulls Faustus by the leg, and pulls it away.]..."   (Scene 10)

Trying to wake Faustus, the Horse-courser shakes Faustus's leg and is then horrified when the entire leg comes off. This can be read as a cruel joke on the Horse-courser or as a symbol of Faustus's decay. He is not sleeping, and now his body is falling apart. Faustus's damnation now manifests itself in his physical being.

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"glass windows..."   (Scene 10)

"Glass windows" in this context refers to spectacles or glasses. Glasses symbolically represent learning and wealth as they were expensive to buy and generally only necessary for reading.

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