In Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, the ill-fated protagonist serves as stark example of what is to come of man when he strays from God’s grace. In the play, Dr. Faustus deliberately shuns religion and rationalizes his ever-unsatisfied pursuit of knowledge, ultimately leading to a pact with the demon Mephistopheles. The Doctor’s sinful actions and inability to repent are a display of his own free choices and how he willingly chooses his downfall. A key scene in which Faustus ignores a warning of his fate-to-come is when Mephistopheles presents an outdated and unfulfilling explanation of the cosmos. While some critics have argued his lacking description of the universe is simply to torment Faustus, upon further scrutiny it becomes evident this is only one of many red flags Faustus disregards out of pride in intelligence, a reflection of his deliberate choosing to discount God. Faustus’ initial display of conceit and neglect for God’s saving grace is in Act I Scene I, where he trivializes and casts aside several academic pursuits, leading him to examine the bible. Faustus selectively reads from John 1:8, “The reward for sin is death…if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us.” It is from this line the Doctor makes the decision to abandon religious pursuits and investigate unrighteous magic, as man is to die in sin regardless. To a reader unfamiliar with the bible, this appears to be a sound and logical conclusion; however, Faustus ignores the following verse, “If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (Engberg). Being a well-studied scholar from the heavily religious ... ... middle of paper ... ...mself honestly: ‘curse thyself.’ In such courage originates the tragic insight with which Faustus ends his life on earth.” (Okerlund). It is here his years of pride and vanity melt away and he discovers the hollowness of his pact. Faustus was neither tricked nor deceived, rather his conceit and over-reaching desire for knowledge assured him a place in Hell. If but for an instant he was to look past his pride, he would have seen Mephistopheles’ hidden approbation for heaven in his discourse on the cosmos, amongst the numerous other omens the Doctor was presented with. It was only in his final hour, after laying his soul to waste, Faustus was able to see his responsibility in condemning himself to Lucifer. As the final line Faustus screams while being dragged to hell implies, “I will burn my books,” he has finally acknowledged his egotism, which rested in intellect.
In Marlowe’s The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, Faustus tries to reach divinity through knowledge; this desire drives his pact with Lucifer. Adrian Eckersley proclaims in his literary journal, “Why doesn't Dr Faustus just repent? Adrian Eckersley compares Marlowe's unrepentant sinner with Claudius in Hamlet,” that once Faustus obtains supreme knowledge he is nothing special. This is not the case; the character, Faustus, obtains awesome familiarity in subjects only shared by God and the Devils. In the literary journal, “'Falling to a diuelish exercise': The Copernican Universe in Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus,” Gabrielle Sugar argues that Faustus does not have total access to infinite knowledge. Since Mephistopheles will not disclose to Faustus whether Copernicus is correct or not, Sugar believes that he does not have knowledge that “exceeds human boundaries” (Sugar, LRC).
On the philosophical context of Faust, Goethe tells that in order for man to live a happy life, he must be able to conquer all the temptations he faces, to overcome man’s lower elements of nature, and to be productive with the situation he is in. It was told in the story that the devil Mephistopheles criticizes the ways of God such as giving humans the possession of reason and intelligence as he believed that those cause mankind to be unhappy and even though they are endowed with those gifts, they still act more animalistic than animals. Upon hearing those criticisms, God immediately opposes and cites Faust as a man who is ultimately guided by reason to reach the knowledge of truth apart from any other men. God and Mephistopheles agreed to make a wager or bet in order to settle their dispute. Mephistopheles believes that earthly pleasures are not enough for Faust. Whereas in the film, it was seen that Mephistopheles agreed to have a bet with an Archangel that he can persuade Faust to erase the divinity within himself.
John Faustus - the main character - is educated in many fields: medicine, law, divinity, and philosophy, yet his appetite for knowledge is still insatiable. Despite his vast knowledge he is unfulfilled because he still lacks power. As the play unfolds, Faustus is overcome by a craving for power. He eliminates God from his life: "And Faustus vows never to look to heaven,/ Never to name God, or pray to him,/ To burn his Scriptures, slay his ministers,/ And make my spirits pull his churches down" (5.270-3). In western society today, people still lust for power - it is human nature to want. In Faustus' claim that he has nothing more to learn from this world his ambition turns to arrogance, and his intelligence turns into ignorance. Faustus believes that he can attain power beyond mortal ability. Why would God help Faustus, when he refuses to listen to God, and ignores the signs God gave him? Faustus makes several choices in ignorance of the final consequence. When he is having an argument (with the Good Angel and Evil Angel), and chooses to ignore the Good Angel (1.70-73).
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.
It can be argued that Doctor Faustus is damned from the moment of conception. His innate desire for knowledge inevitably leads to his downfall. He represents the common human dissatisfaction with being human and the struggle of accepting our lack of omnipotence and omniscience. Marlowe manipulates this struggle between the aspirations of one character of his time and the implications to Christianity in relation to its doctrine of heaven and hell. Indeed, Doctor Faustus asks for more than what was intentionally made available to him through God's plan, yet it was God's gift to him of his intellect, that tempted him to search beyond his appointed realm of knowledge. Faustus, through his own free will, decides to trade his soul with Lucifer in order to gain the answers to the questions of the universe. According to the divine plan ideology of Catholic doctrine, his decision worked into the cosmic outline. The divine application of his decision implies that there are benefits or rather some other importance, outside of the connection to Faustus, of his selling his soul. This lessens the impetus behind his decision because of the emphasis on universal application as opposed to the immediate ramifications to Faustus, the human being. Therefore, one can argue as to where the responsibility or fault lies concerning Faustus' fate because of the presence of other forces who may have influenced his decision. However the responsibility for his choice remains his and his alone.
Dr. Faustus is a morality play designed to teach its audience about the spiritual dangers of excessive learning and ambition (Pacheco 9). The audience is learning that there are many consequences when you try to achieve a higher level than what is naturally offered to you. In the midst of committing sins the only way to return to God is by wanting to be fully forgiven.
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.
After all his adventures and jestering throughout the world, Faustus’s desire to repent and cries out for Christ to redeem him in his last hour. It was too late and redemption was no longer possible because he denounced his faith so many times that it leads one to believe if it was a true repentance at all. Some sins cannot be forgiven when committed over and over again throughout one’s lifetime and our dear Dr. Faustus has had many a chance to save his own
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.
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.
Based on the film, Mephisto, on the other hand, is the devil who wagered with God that Faust is indeed same as all mortal man’s soul, easy to be fooled and misled. To settle the ownership of the Earth, they bet on the soul of Faust. The story of Faust is comparable to the Bible story of Job. If the devil wins, the earth is his, even Faust’s soul, but after the last sand in the hourglass falls signaling the end of their contract, Faust’s soul will return to his body peacefully. Faust is considered a scholar and a doctor. Dr. Faust is recognized as a fine man and a prayerful alchemist. His main concern is to save men’s lives and prevent death during the age of plague. Due to disappointments of failing, his constant depression led him to become angry and embittered, ends up burning his books. One of the pages of the books were interpreted that Mephisto is trying to communicate with Faust. As the perfect timing to tempt a man into sinning, Mephisto enticed Faust by giving him an unbelievable restoring power to heal the people who sought his help from the plague. In exchange, his soul will be owned by the devil. And he revoked the name of the Lord in healing the people, instead the using the name of the devil. Such temptations start with vision into treating the plague, Faust was so taken to his priority that he was willing to give up his soul for the common good. It is seen that the morality of Faust is swayed; his aim to do good, despite knowing that in exchange for this is his soul. Regardless of this, Faust chose to agree to Mephisto’s offered contract.
Faustus may be seen as blasphemous in the opening speech, implying that he would only be a doctor if he could be equal to God, (lines24-6)
I can go as far as saying that Faustus lusts to be God, similarly to Lucifer, considering everything he has asked for. Lucifer was envious of God before he fell from grace, and with Faustus emulating Lucifer so closely, he also matches this unnecessary envy through his actions. He is too charmed with being a God in which he says “A sound magician is a mighty God.” The fact that Faustus wants to be an equal with God has him in complete denial of God 's power. But just as how Lucifer was damned for the same desires, Faustus was destined to follow the same fate. Despite Lucifer’s damnation, it is also as if he has succeeded in someone serving him as a God, seeing that Faustus has gave himself up to
Dr. Faustus is a very conflicted man (citation?). He believes in doing right and repenting his sins to God, but he also longs to have the power that has eluded him in his ordinary life. He is so intrigued by the idea of possessing higher powers on earth, that he ignores the warnings initially given by Mephastophilis and makes an offer to Lucifer. In the opening of the play, two angels appear to Dr. Faustus, a good angel and an evil angel. The good angel represents Dr. Faustus’s commitment to God and the desire to do well for his community. The good angel tells Dr. Faustus not to be tempted any more by the book, and to follow God’s teachings (page 81 line 71-74). The evil angel represents the power that Mephastophilis, Lucifer and the desire to be superior, have over Dr. Faustus. In the same scene, the evil angel tells Dr. Faustus to go fo...
Faustus, a man who is brilliant, tends to have reached the natural knowledge limits. He is an early sixteenth century scholar in the German city of Wittenburg (Gregg, 5). He is fiery, arrogant and has a thirst for knowledge. Faustus is an intellectual, who is familiar with issues such as demon astrology and summoning that is usually not taken to be an academic subject by the current universities. Faustus makes the decision of selling his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and earthly power, as well as twenty-four years of an additional life. He goes on to waste his time on low tricks and self-indulgence. Faustus is seen to be the key character in the play, which consists of few characters that are seen to be truly developed. Mephastophilis is the devil who appears at the summoning of Faustus', as well as the devil that has the role...