water

Robin and Ralph serve brief, yet significant roles in scenes VIII and IX of Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus. Robin is an ostler at an inn who steals one of Faustus’ magic books and convinces his friend, Ralph, to join him in conjuring. Robin and Ralph decide to use the magic to deceive the vintner out of a goblet. Then Robin recites the spell that conjures up Mephistophilis, who frightens them until they give the goblet back to the vintner. Then Mephistophilis punishes the two men by turning them into an ape and a dog. Robin and Ralph can be compared to a couple of minor characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Like the characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Hamlet, Robin and Ralph are two separate characters, but neither possess any distinguishing qualities. The names are practically interchangeable because there is no real distinction between the two characters.
Scenes VIII and IX demonstrate the negative consequences of using black magic. Mephistophilis punishes Robin...