The Transition Between Good And Evil In Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus

Christopher Marlowe, the author of the play Doctor Faustus, demonstrates the transition from the Medieval Period to the Renaissance Period through his protagonist Doctor Faustus. The movement between these two eras is shown by Doctor Faustus’s rejection of logic, medicine, law, and divinity, which are all features of the Medieval Period. In addition to this, his drive towards the new and the innovative, in the form of occult studies, illustrates the transition. However, Doctor Faustus, while on his quest to attain supernatural powers, loses sight of the distinction between good and evil. This lapse of judgement ultimately leads to his own destruction, thus transforming him from a hero to an intellectually and morally deprived individual.

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Marlowe plays out this dilemma between good and bad through the characters named Good Angel and Evil Angel, who tend to appear throughout the play in the form of guidance for Faustus. Although, Marlowe provides Faustus with many occasions in which he can choose between the Good Angel and the Evil Angel, he allows evil to triumph over the good. For example, the Good Angel warns Faustus against practicing black magic and explains that he will have to face the wrath of god if he allows such an forbidden art to seduce his sole (Scene 1, lines 70-73). Simultaneously, the Evil Angel entices Faustus by explaining to him that he will rule the earth as god rules the sky, but that will only occur when he adopts the art of Necromancy (Scene 1, lines 74-77). In this scene, Faustus sides with the Evil Angel, as the Angel promises him power. Further, in Scene 5, Faustus is in a moral dilemma over the point of whether he should repent to god or not. His inner voice compels him to turn back to God once again, but after reasoning with himself, he decides to remain firm in his opinions, and to have faith in Belzebub (Scene 5, lines 5-14). In this instance, the Good Angel appears once again to convince Faustus to bow down before God and ask for forgiveness. The Good Angel states that he will have access to the heavens if he prays to god, but Faustus argues that he does not need to think about heaven or heavenly things; he needs wealth (Scene 5, lines 15-22). Faustus’s greed for power and wealth overpowers his senses; he is unwilling to distinguish between what is right for him and what is harmful. It is ironic that Faustus wishes to distinguish himself from the physical world; yet, his actions convey the opposite. For example, he