Doctor Faustus, also referred to as The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus is a play by Christopher Marlowe. This play is based on a German story where a man sells his soul to the devil in quest for knowledge and power (Sales 340. The protagonist in this play is Doctor Faustus. Doctor Faustus was hungry of power and knowledge and in search for them; he sold his soul to the devil. At first, he was very happy with the praise he received from the people as they considered him a hero. Later on, Faustus learns that he committed a grave mistake of selling his soul to the devil for twenty-four years. Even though he felt remorseful for his mistakes, it was already late for him. He is later found by his fellow scholars dead and torn from limb to limb. Faustus was a heroic fool who only thought of power and never thought of eternal damnation.
The protagonist in Marlowe’s splay is Faustus. Faustus is represented as a contradictory and ambitious character. In addition, he was greed driven, blind and willing to do anything to get powers even if it meant selling his soul to the devil. Marlowe introduces us to the protagonist as he prepares to embark on a journey of gaining more powers and becoming a magician. He is blinded by greed, and never thinks of what might happen if things do not work out well (Austen2). All the protagonist thought of was how he was going to use the power he was to get from the devil, and how he was to become wealthy with his powers as a magician. Marlowe portrays the central character as blind, arrogant, self-aggrandizing, and ambitious. However, his ambitions were so big until instead of the reader pitying him, one feels impressed by what he plans to do with his powers after selling his soul to...
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...rvived as the greatest scholar he was other than being doomed.
Works Cited
Keefer, Michael. "Introduction". Doctor Faustus: a critical edition. Ontario: Broadview, 2008. Print.
Austen, Glyn. “The Strange Ambiguity of Christopher Marlowe and Dr Faustus: Glyn Austen examines the powerful paradoxes of Dr Faustus in the light of its literary and intellectual context.” The English Review 14.1 (2003): 2
Marlowe, Christopher. Doctor Faustus. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: Signet, 2001.
Sales, Roger. Christopher Marlowe. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991. Print.
Tydeman, William. Doctor Faustus: Text and Performance. Basingstoke, England: Macmillan, 1984. Print.
Snow, Edward A. "Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and the Ends of Desire." Two Renaissance Mythmakers: Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson. Ed. Alvin Kernan. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. Print.
Moohan, E. (2008) Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, Anita Pacheco, AA100 Book 1 Reputations, Milton Keynes. The Open University pp 30-54.
Love, an extremely and unsurprisingly popular topic among writers in every time period and corner of the world, is the central subject of two similar, yet contradicting literary works – “The Passionate Shepard to His Love” by Christopher Marlowe and “The Bait” by John Donne, respectively. Each author masterfully utilizes imagery, but in different ways to achieve two different purposes. Marlowe’s idealistic vision of what love should be is countered by Donne’s rather cynical realism.
When conflict arises in literature it is normally evident both externally and internally. Opposition is an important drive in both Marlowe’s play and McEwan’s short story. The male protagonists are both engaged in an inner life, disregarding everything else without concern for what this might mean. The presence of an external opposing voice in both texts serves to highlight and question this kind of existence. The sheer contrast of protagonist and antagonist is enough to remind the audience how extreme both men’s behaviour is. The path Faustus and the protagonist in Solid Geometry follow is that of intellectual commitment, a solitary path fraught with danger.
With every trip around the sun, the human race continues to push forward. Frontiers begin to fade, the horizon becomes less of a mystery and more of a pastime and the greatest challenge seems to be finding areas where advancements can still be made. Since we have become so good at extending boundaries, the question of whether or not an un-crossable boundary even exists becomes especially relevant. Indeed it is easy to think that there may be nothing that humans are incapable of achieving. For centuries, however, literature has been very imaginative while still holding on to the notion that at some point, crossing boundaries results in trouble. It might be said that in works of this type a distinction is made between pushing limitations and overstepping boundaries. In such literary works as Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Vaclav Havel’s Temptation, the main characters push boundaries farther than they have been pushed before inevitably causing negative consequences for the characters and the people that surround them.
Howatson, M.C., ed. The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1989. Print.
Although Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus has outclassed every one at Wittenberg with his academic studies, he is "still but Faustus, a man." Proud of his accomplishments, he desires to become a superman. His judgment clouded by the sin of his pride, he misunderstands his knowledge and dismisses the disciplines of medicine, philosophy, law, and divinity. He lusts for God's capability to "make men live eternally or being dead raise them to life again," believing the devil's arts of magic and necromancy can provide the power, honour, omnipotence and, most importantly, the wealth he craves. His deluded pursuit of the immediate pleasures such wealth can yield brings upon himself the risk of eternal damnation. By conjuring the devil, Faustus removes himself from the influence of the Holy Ghost and God's love, instigating attacks of despair, and internal conflicts as personified by the Good and Bad Angels.
Bevington, David M; Rasmussen, Eric. “Doctor Faustus A- and B- texts (1604, 1616): Christopher Marlowe and his collaborator and revisers.” Manchester, England: Manchester University Press. (1962). Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Dec. 2013 (Bevington)
III. Faustus is portrayed as a very individual character. He changes and is shaped by the events that happen all around him. Everything he does affects his future outcome. For example his decision to give up his studies of medicine were very un-stereotypical of a character that is studying to be a doctor to do. Even more so is his decision to take upon the necromantics of the devil. He says, “Then read no more; thou hast attain'd that end: A greater subject fitteth Faustus' wit.” (1.11) He believes that he has learned enough information about all the great things of the world and there is nothing left to study that will intrigue him as much as magic will. His curious personality affects the play because his decisions determine the plot. For example the Seven Deadly Sins entice him so he becomes convinced not to repent his sin. This characterizes him as gullible, curious and adventurous. He becomes obsessed with his magic and he absolutely loves having the powers to do anything he pleases. An example of this is when he conjures up Helen. He knows he can do whatever he wants without reservation so he chooses to conjure the woman who launched a thousand ships. This shows that not only is he gullible, curious and obsessed but also Faustus only wishes for the best in whatever he does; the best that will please him.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the brilliant mind behind the 17th century’s “Faust”, illustrates a combining structure of desire and self-indulgence. As a brilliant poet and artiste during the Enlightenment Age; Goethe’s poetry debates on the far-reaching rationalism that man is willing to go above and beyond to achieve his goals. All throughout the poem, Goethe projected a sense of unrelenting dissatisfaction of how a man’s sense of inaccessibility, and his emotional need to come to a realization of the world he lives in.
The Tragic History of Doctor Faustus is known as one of the many books to display a popular understanding of the evolution of modern Western Science. The story is about a medieval doctor who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. However, he starts to fear hell as his motive to repent for his wrongdoings haunts him. This story takes place in Europe during the 16th century, which was when major changes in philosophy and science occurred. Unfortunately, this was also when conflict between Medieval and Renaissance values occurred. People who held values from the Medieval era strongly believed in God and religion while those with Renaissance values focused on science and the natural world. This conflict is
(Munteanu, 2002). Therefore it can be said that Marlowe is attempting to alter the doctrines his fellow country men with whom are questioning their religions. Marlowe uses the renaissance ideals with the medieval myths to master his point. This work is a forewarning of damnation by those who attempt to alter the doctrines or moral standards, and a beacon of caution to those in search of the unknown. Dr Faustus, the work of good and evil. When man becomes idle his mind wanders and he wants more. With the wealth of knowledge Dr Faustus wanted more, he was no longer content with his academia since they could no longer provide him with wealth and fame as well as fulfill his souls want, he turned to the mastering of the dark arts.
Although many critics are unhappy with the apparent inconsistencies, I think it is the combination of the gleeful and tormented aspects of the character that make him the central masterpiece of ‘Doctor Faustus’. Bibliography ------------ - ‘Doctor Faustus’ by Christopher Marlowe (edited by John D. Jump) - www.sparknotes.com - ‘Marlowe: Doctor Faustus’ by Philip Brockbank - ‘Marlowe The Overreacher’ by Harry Levin
“Marlowe’s biographers often portray him as a dangerously over–ambitious individual. Explore ways this aspect of Marlowe’s personality is reflected in ‘Dr. Faustus.’ ”
Christopher Marlowe’s 14th century play “The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus” demonstrates not how the Devil can lead mankind to temptation, but how mankind through free-will can ultimately lead itself to suffering through sin. I believe that Marlowe heavily uses Christian doctrine through the actions of John Faustus in order to criticize those who do not partake in or see the seriousness of religion.
Christopher Marlowe had been considered the founder of English dramatic poetry. The playwright perceived the capacities for noble art inherent in the Romantic Drama and adapted it to a higher purpose by his practice. Marlowe considered that the earlier metre of the Romantic Drama had to be abandoned and the blank verse was seen to be the right vehicle. To employ blank verse in the romantic drama was the first step in Marlowe’s revolution. Both form and matter had to be transfigured. This transfiguration of the right dramatic metre showed Marlowe as a creative