Cut is the Branch: Faustus's C-Text

Abstract

This article, which will include some summary and explanation of textual differences between the 1631 and 1663 editions of Doctor Faustus, is primarily concerned with the paratextual differences between the editions, which help inform the play’s resurgence into print, as well as with the financial incentives behind its publication. The 1663 Restoration-era 'C-text,' which was conceived by a theatrical producer for stage production and procured by a stationer for publication, was a politico-religiously neutered version of the text which attempted to better connect with its audience by use of similarly revised paratextual materials; however, these para/textual revisions were not enough to return the play to success, either financially or socially, as the C-text was the last of the seventeenth century Faustus editions, and it has since been largely overlooked in being distinct from the B-text.