Applying the Psychoanalytical Approach to Dr. Faustus
Within the text of Christopher Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus," a reader notices the struggle between the superego and the id. Throughout the play, Faustus struggles with himself while Lucifer and Mephistopheles struggle with him. Though these huge conflicts take place in the text they aren't the greatest of situations when one tries to apply the psychoanalytical approach. The most obvious situation arrives with the introduction of the Seven Deadly Sins. They represent the constant struggle between the id and the superego. They add to the seduction of Dr. Faustus and the constant struggle in a chaotic Hell.
The id possesses most of the sins: Pride, Covetousness, Envy, Wrath, Gluttony and Lechery. All six of these sins show characteristics that are strong and powerful. Though these sound as if they were good characteristics, they are actually extremely over-bearing. When the sins explain who they are, they don't leave any room for argument. They just say who they are, and they take what they want. For example, Pride explains what he can do with a woman: "I can creep into every corner of a wench: sometimes, like periwig I sit upon her brow; next, like a necklace I hang about her neck; then, like a fan of feathers I kiss her..." (Marlowe, II.ii.120) Obviously, Pride feels powerful enough to take any woman he wants and perform with her any way he wants. With a sly and mischievous voice Pride states what he can do and no one can change it.
Another great representation of the id is Lechery or lust. Lechery just walks out and struts her stuff in front of Faustus. The reader realizes that her power is not in her words but in her presence. Even Lucifer notices her strength because he sends her away almost as fast as she comes in. "Away, to hell, away! On, piper!" (Marlowe, II.ii.177) Lechery closes the deal on Faustus. Her presence is so powerful that Faustus returns to the hands of Lucifer.
All six of these Seven Deadly Sins show their strength and power, for they don't back down, except to Lucifer. They do what they want and say what they please, because they are the angels of Lucifer, the most evil angel of them all. In achieving their goals they are very aggressive and Lucifer provides them all the freedom they need in order capture new souls like Faustus.
The teachings according to Confucius refer to Confucianism. Confucianism is the multifarious classification of ethical, collective, political and pious philosophy developed by Confucius and the old Chinese practices (Bertrand, 1999). Confucianism aim is actually making an individual honorable but also making such an individual the character of learning and of proper manners. The ideal and faultless man has to combine the characters of a saint, an intellectual and gentleman. Confucianism is a religious conviction whose adulation is focused on offerings to the dead. The idea of responsibility is extensive beyond the precincts of morals and holds close to the minutiae of daily living.
To begin our investigation, we must consider the definition of ‘sin’ in a sixteenth century context, which would be in the form of the seven deadly sins. These seven sins were called the ‘deadly’ or ‘capital’ sins because they ‘merited damnation and had a fatal effect on an individual’s spiritual health.’[1] Listed, the seven deadly sins are pride, covetousness, wrath, envy, gluttony, sloth (idleness), and lechery (lust), and they were described and personified in masque scenes in both The Faerie Queene and Doctor Faustus, as well as being embraced by various characters in The Unfortunate Traveller, Othello, and Doctor Faustus.
The Seven Deadly Sins are a concept from Medieval Europe that lay out a guideline for how a person should behave. These sins are lust, greed, envy, wrath, gluttony, sloth, and pride
The relationships are said to function smoothly if you stress li, which is a combination of etiquette and rituals. In some of these relationships a person may be superior to some and inferior to others. If a person in a lower status wishes to be properly treated that person must treat his or her own inferiors with respect. Correct conduct is thought to be gained through a sense of virtue gained by observing a role model of the higher status. The ruler, as the moral role model of the whole state, must be strict, but virtuous to all his subjects.
Confucius played a major role during the time of the Zhou dynasty. “Confucius was a thinker, a political figure, an educator” (“Confucius”). The Analects of Confucius contain information on how one should interact with others and conduct their daily lives, and how deeply people should participate in society and government. These ideas then spread to his students, and eventually to many regions of Asia. This
In the author’s book dealing with virtue he makes an astute observation regarding the need for restraint in speech equally joined with a lack of restraint in action. Confucius relates his good judgment in the following statement: “The men of old were reserved in speech out of shame lest they should come short in deed.” (Confucius p. 20) Confucius’s declaration seems to stem from possible past experiences with too much talk and too little action. His declarations lead one to believe that the more traditional and conservative ways tend to pilot one to the ideal standard of life. He reemphasized his point when he said, “The wise man desires to be slow to speak but quick to act.” (Confucius, p. 20)
Ambition, intelligence, and will are all attributes that can help one to succeed in life. What of these when they are used to strive for power? These attributes of the human mind turn into arrogance, ignorance and, at the extreme, (lead to) eternal damnation - (as) seen in Christopher Marlowe's Dr. Faustus, and similarly in society today. Faustus is enticed to reach for more power than is attainable through mortal means: "Whose deepness doth entice such forward wits/ To practice more than heavenly power permits"(Epil. ll.7-8). In his ignorance, he gives up his soul.
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.
We live in a society that is full of heinous things everywhere we turn. In order to not come in contact with these things we would have to live apart from the media and almost separate ourselves from society altogether. These horrible things are often called sins. Sins are actions that are highly reprehensible and are also viewed as going against God’s will. Many actions are viewed as sins, but there are seven sins that are particularly important. These seven sins are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. They are infamous for being called the Seven Deadly Sins, one of which is distinct from the rest. Each sin carries a different part that distinguishes them from each other. Each one is a ferocious foe, but by far the most deadly
When a man 's downfall is caused by a lack of knowledge of the truth, his actions are often justified by phrases such as, "He didn 't know" or "If he had known the truth, then maybe…" But what happens when a man has complete knowledge of the truth and continues to make the same mistakes as someone whose ignorance is what causes them to fall into temptation. The actions of such a man cannot be justified by lack of knowledge, so what exactly is the cause of their mistakes? While reading and analyzing Christopher Marlowe 's Dr. Faustus and John Milton’s Paradise Lost, the answer to that question becomes clear. In both these works, Marlowe and Milton put a special emphasis on the pride of Faustus and Lucifer, proving how arrogance
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.
Dr Faustus is a short play written by Christopher Marlowe. The play is a masterful insight into the paradoxical soul of mankind and its ironically self inflicted corruption. The play could be classified as a theological allegory. It can be assumed that the play specifically speaks to the religious motivations of the time, but can be adapted to the present as well. Marlowe portrays Faustus’ ambition as dangerous; it was the cause of his demise. Perhaps Marlowe used the theme of over-ambition as a warning to the audience, who would be likely to be wary of ambition - it was looked down on as a negative personality trait in Christian England (Calvinism) (Munteanu, Class notes). An on going theme within the story is the corruption of a soul which is played out through the use of religious beliefs. Specifically, the use of the seven deadly sins is a precursor to man kinds self inflicted death. Marlowe uses sin, redemption and damnation to get his point across to the audience. The sins that Marlowe specifically uses are those of: pride, covetousness, wrath, envy, gluttony, sloth and lechery. Theses sins are colourfully displayed through the character traits of Dr Faustus. In the process we view them and can adapt them to our own lives and how they are all parts to the corruption of our souls.
Doctor Faustus can only be described as a man that had a fervent hunger for power. The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, or, which is commonly known as, just ‘Doctor Faustus’, is an Elizabethan story written by Christian Marlowe. The work represents the tragic life of a scholar, John Faustus, who later finds himself into damnation because of his decision to practice sorcery. Since he had deliberately sold his soul to the devil, he gains incredible knowledge and power through his involvement of necromancy. Though he feels he has endless power, he is later forced to face his downfall. When his 24 year period, the time he had agreed to, is over, he is taken and dragged to Hell realizing his lack of good sense.
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