Faust as a Tragic Hero

(scene , 10-11) By making a deal with the devil, Faustus trades his soul for satisfaction, and a greater field of study. He is selfish--wanting knowledge, power, and fun without having to work or take responsibility for it. As r... ... middle of paper ... ... of the play as Dr. Faustus is sent to hell, there are many ironic details evident. The main one is that despite his great knowledge and power, Faustus makes the most unwise decision. Repenting to Mephastophilis instead of God, he gives up everything for nothing in return.

Everyone involved with him separately thinks that he is doing them favors, when actually he is a backstabbing, conniving person who is the essence of evil and is often referred to as half-man, half-devil. Contrary to Iago, Othello is often referred to as a God-like figure, innocent in every way: trusting and naïve. Unfortunately for Othello, this serves as his eventual downfall helping Iago play Othello like a harp, which results in Desdemona?s death. Iago?s two-sided face and the other characters? readiness to believe him before thinking twice is the driving force of the play and its plot.

Likewise in Dr. Faustus written by Christopher Marlowe, Faustus permits the devil to persuade him into seeking an amoral task. Dr. Faustus and Dr. Frankenstein display their corruption and arrogance throughout their respective works that eventually results in tragedy, dooming both characters and proving that obsession with anything results in evil. Both possessing the desire to learn, Faustus and Frankenstein begin researching black magic and anatomy and attempt to become geniuses which eventually becomes their downfall. In his haughty manner, Faustus contemplates the study of a variety of subjects and comes upon the choice between black magic and theology. Reluctantly, he chooses “a world of profit and delight” which promises “power, honor, and omnipotence” (Marlowe 5).

The story Dr. Faustus is a great example of how one wrong decision can cause an everlasting burn. In the story Dr. Faustus, there is a battle of good versus evil going on. Faust is a man who is desperate for power and control. He wants to do anything he wants to do, and control anything he wants to control. That is where Mephistophales, a blood-sucking devil appears, preying on Foust and his confusing soul.

This flower of greatness and light slowly starts to feed off his ambitions which leads to Macbeth's greed for power. Much like Satan, Macbeth's ambition seizes control of him until he can think only to further his powers. Macbeth and Satan both take matters into their own hands as they strive for complete power. Robert Pack surmises "...Macbeth sins like Satan -- without any provocation except his own inexplicable pride and ambition" (Pack 276). Like Satan, Macbeth contemplates the chance to become king and feeds his need for greed knowing that: "The Prince of Cumberland!

C.S. Lewis once said “a proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you.” In Christopher Marlowe's most famous play, Doctor Faustus, he explores how power and greed corrupts a person through Faustus. Faustus is an intelligent and proud scholar who has studied all the Noble Sciences which begin with logic, then medicine, then law, and conclude with the highest of them all, divinity. However, even after reaching the peak of his studies, Faustus thirsts for further knowledge and power and turns to magic, believing it will turn him into "a mighty god" (I.i.59). After signing a deal with Lucifer and receiving limitless power, he is sapped of his ambition and thirst for knowledge.

The evil in him was portrayed in the negative aspects of Faust's personality, which showed that no matter how powerful the Lord was, the devil would always have an impact on a persons life and decisions. Mephistopheles was very much of a skeptic and a gambler. In the "Prologue in Heaven", Mephistopheles bet the Lord that he could turn Faust against him and make him do evil. This was ironic because most people would never dream of speaking to the Lord in this way. This showed that Mephistopheles was self- confident and witty.

Similar to Doctor Faustus, with the service of Mephastophilis, he obtains everything he ever wanted and it corrupts him, making him self-centered and arrogant. In the end of the play, the price of his service with the devil takes a toll on his

Surrounded by corruption and faithlessness Hamlet peruses an investigation to prove if his father was murdered, and if it was by the hands of his own uncle. Faustus is a depiction of a typical “renaissance man”, a man who could know everything about anything because knowledge was limited.. He is a discontented scholar who turns to magic in order to gain unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures, however blinded by his hubris his procrastination to repent leads to his eternal damnation. Marlowe’s Faustus (Latin for ‘lucky’) is a reworking of the Faust story, a German legend that shares the same story. Hamlet has also been identified to share certain themes and plots (revenge, regicide and madness) with previously written scriptures, one is the Saga of Hrolf Kraki, believed to be Scandinavian, the other ... ... middle of paper ... ... both characters tragic deaths.

He is best described as disturbing, ruthless, and amoral. No other character can even come close to his evil (Iago: The 1). Iago, in the play Othello, is a very intriguing villain. Even though he is often referred to as "Honest" Iago, he lies, cheats, steals, bullies, and even kills just to get what he wants (Iago as 1). Iago starts off being evil when he finds out that Othello gave Cassio the position of lieutenant that he felt he deserved.