Quote 4
ROBIN
I walk the horses? I scorn't, faith. I have other matters in hand. Let the horses walk themselves an they will. [Reads.] "A" per se "a"; "t," "h," "e" – "the"; "o" per se "o"; "Deny orgon gorgon." Keep further from me, O thou illiterate and unlearned ostler!
DICK
Snails, what hast thou got there? A book? Why, thou canst not tell ne'er a word on't.
ROBIN
That thou shalt see presently. [Draws a circle.] Keep out of the circle, I say, lest I send you into the hostry with a vengeance. (2.2.5-14)
Robin displays a surprising amount of literacy for a stable boy. Despite Dick's claim that Robin can't read, he manages to puzzle out the word "the" and, with "deny orgon gorgon," a version of the word "demogorgon" (no, we hadn't heard of that word before either). Robin's attempts to practice magic are humorous, parodying Faustus's more serious attempts. But their funniness also reminds us that maybe Faustus isn't as special as he thinks, and we'll see that later when Robin successfully calls Mephistopheles.