Doctor Faustus : A Criticism Of Christopher Marlowe And Christian Humanism

Read the following passage from Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. Discuss how the passage contributes to the portrayal of Faustus as a

Therefore, it is this paper’s aim to examine some of the similarities and differences in Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragic History of the Life and Death of Dr. Faustus and David Mamet’s Faustus, specifically the presence of religious practices in these two texts.

Often thought of as the epitome of Romanticism, Goethe’s Faust details the adventures of It’s hero that can be thought of to represent the turmoil that was grasping European society in the years of late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Faust can be viewed as a romantic hero because of his attitude and the progression of his character throughout the story and runs nearly parallel with what was happening around Europe at the time Goethe transpired this play. Faust offers a transition from the cold realization of the Enlightenment to a warm comfort that came to be described as Romanticism. Faust shows a way to express how he deals with morals and all the learning along the way in order to feel fulfillment or belonging, while also shadowing a mindset that European society was struggling to deal with after their world found reason to no longer be a spark for their overall culture of life.

Shakespeare’s King Lear and Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus are two examples of early modern texts, one a tragedy and the other a morality play respectively, which deal with the theme of power at the crux of its narrative. Between both texts it is evident that different characters utilize their power or authority differently – some ‘unwisely’ whilst some ‘maliciously’. In either case, the use of power progresses the plays and drives the majority of main characters.

Christopher Marlowe's play, Dr. Faustus, is the story of the struggle of one man who is battling with himself over what he values most in life, and to what extent he will go to obtain what he desires. The battles over the control of one's ego and what a person values in their life are the two underlying struggles in this work. Faustus is a very educated and high member of society, but he was born in a lower class and has struggled all his life to be a wealthy person. He attains this opportunity to become wealthy when he learns how to call upon Satan, and he makes a deal with the devil to attain all the riches in life for his soul. Through out the play Faustus

Water supports a seed to grow into a beautiful flower, just as Christopher Marlowe’s works watered the seed of the Renaissance and Elizabethan literature. The Renaissance was characterized by new ideas and thinking, which created many influential writers from this time. Christopher Marlowe is known as a talented writer from the late sixteenth through early eighteenth centuries. He and many other writers of this time created new ways of writing and impacted it in other ways. Marlowe was considered the most important playwright before Shakespeare, but his entire career lasted six years because of his untimely death when he was twenty-nine. His most famous work, Doctor Faustus, is based on the Faust Legend, a German classic, in which a scholar sells his soul to the devil in exchange for more power and knowledge (Biography.com). Christopher Marlowe’s tragic play, The Tragic History of Doctor Faustus, had major influences in the development of Elizabethan literature during the mid-sixteenth century in England.

There are two stories which one can analyze and put into comparison, that being the stories of the mighty Beowulf and that of the arrogant Doctor Faustus. In Beowulf a story is told from the view of a warrior becoming a hero and displaying amazing feats. While in Christopher Marlowe “Doctor Faustus”, he is recognized as an ambitious self- centered individual with an eager sensation to learn more knowledge of the Arts. He decided to takes his learning a step further and ultimately becomes his main wrongdoing for his entire life. By reviewing the text of both tales, there are a set of both similarities and differences able to be made between Beowulf and Faustus.

There is constant references to the beliefs and ideas of the Catholic Church such as confession, penitence and the Virgin Mary this suggests the catholic centered society in which the play existed. It concentrates on the qualities of the catholic religion that are important in the journey to heaven. Everyman is a symbol of the human condition and how it is understood by medieval Catholicism. Whereas in the sixteenth century in which Doctor Faustus was written, saw a shift of Christian ideals. No longer was there only the

Although Faustus may not think it, he guilty of each of those sins, namely jealousy and avarice. This shows an interesting contrast between his self perceptions and reality. He takes full advantage of the power the devil brings him. Faustus has fleeting regrets about his vow to the devil, yet never serious. In his thoughts of repenting, it seems to be only for his own good rather than reaffirming his belief in God. In the end once Faustus becomes conscious that his life of power will be over and he will remain a servant to the devil for eternity, he realizes his huge mistake. When his death is inevitable he curses his choice: “Accursed Faustus, wretch, what hast thou done? I do repent, and yet I do despair. Hell strives with grace for conquest in my breast. What shall I do to shun the snares of death?”

Pride, Covetousness, Wrath, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, and Lechery together make up the Seven Deadly Sins, but these are all also real flaws in human nature. Pride is a sin common to all of humanity and is portrayed vividly as a character, but is also seen in Faustus’ inner being as well. Covetousness and Envy are also found in Faustus because he desires a lot that he doesn’t have. Though every sin could be found in Faustus just like they could be in any man, Lechery is made very apparent to be human nature as well. The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, written by Christopher Marlowe, is a tragedy in which Marlowe personifies the seven deadly sins to highlight Faustus’ flawed human nature and error of wanting to be above the level of God, and readers should take caution not to make the same mistakes as Faustus.

who seeks pleasure so much that he sells his soul to the devil for a

    Faustus witnesses a supernatural event that seems to oppose his binding deal with Satan, and although it does make him question his actions and think about repenting, he ignores the event and continues to abandon his salvation. After deciding to pledge his soul to

In the play Doctor Faustus, the theme of good versus evil is one of the most apparent as well as one of the most important themes throughout the play. Good and evil are represented as a battle or struggle in many ways such as constantly battling over winning various individuals souls, the concept of God versus the Devil, and the idea of religion versus science. This war between good and evil creates both internal conflicts for Faustus along with the external conflict between Faustus and various characters. The struggle between good and evil is also represented in the topic of damnation with the struggle to save Faustus’s soul from hell versus fighting to ensure Faustus’s soul is condemned to hell even with the idea of predestination.

Almost every human faces temptation in everyday life. However, for Christians, acting on these temptations turns it into a sin. Doctor Faustus struggled with temptations and sin in his search for endless knowledge but safely could not implement his Christian faith to save him. Christopher Marlowe displayed Faustus’s struggles through themes such as free will and predestination. Reflecting upon the story along with these themes creates the question of whether Faustus was predestined for damnation and if there is a point of no return for him on his trip with the devil. Due to the Christian background throughout the play, Faustus is not predestined for damnation and there is not a “point of no return” because of the devils constant temptation, various signals to escape his deal, the countless chances he is given to seek redemption and the opportunity as a Christian to seek redemption.

The play is a human tragedy for not only is Faustus tragically constituted in his boundless ambitions but, at the same time, the play questions the effectiveness of the cultural aspirations that shape his ambitions. Consequently, the play provides a complex interaction between the human dimensions of the dramatic character and the ambiguities and ambivalences of the cultural situation the character is placed in.