DESCRIPTION OF HELEN from Doctor Faustus
Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.
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.
CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE (1564—1593)
This poem is about the description of Helen of Troy. Without the myth, the poem is about a beautiful woman who steals the heart and soul of the speaker. When the myth is added to the poem, it adds a whole new level of depth, and a much greater background to the text. The reference to the myth adds a much greater volume of feeling and events than could be mentioned in a small poem. If one is familiar with the myth, then one knows the beauty of Helen, and the lengths that Paris went to in order to acquire her. This adds support to the authors text with another aspect besides words.