Doctor Faustus: Close Reading

Dante's depiction of Hell is not meant to entertain but to change the behavior of his readers so that they will choose behavior which will lead them to the "city" of Heaven, rather than behavior which will lead to the dark wood and, eventually, damnation: A place is there below, stretching as far from Beelzebub as his tomb extends. . . . My Leader and I entered by that hidden road, to return into the bright world; and . . . we mounted up . . . so far that a round opening I saw some of the beautiful things which Heaven bears, and thence we issued for again to see the stars (Dante 52).

Faustus is an allegory of the experiences of Christopher Marlowe from one perspective.as Christopher does not belongs to rich family and his father was mere a shoe maker, but despite of this , he never quit and got educated from the prestigious university i.e. Cambridge, about whom every one desires, so this led him to proud over himself. He feels that he defeated every one, whether poor or rich & even defeats the god, who creates him as as a poor fellow. His education and his hard work led him to think, that he was in combat with god and Marlowe emerges as winner, as he don’t let god to remain Marlowe illiterate, uneducated because of the conditions that Marlowe

Faustus believes that he will come out on top in the deal even if it means eternal punishment in the end. He puts his temporary pleasures before his fate which shows how impatient and unhappy he really is. Even when God reaches out to Faustus through the ‘Good Angel’, Faustus puts all his trust into Lucifer. He says, “When Mephostophilis shall stand by me, What God can hurt thee, Faustus? Thou art safe” (Act 1 Scene 5. Lines 24-25). Faustus clearly does not value his own soul and does not reflect on why the devil would want it. Dr. Faustus is deceived about what making a deal with the devil will encompass. He tells Mephostophilis, “Had I as many souls as there be stars, I’d give them all for Mephostophilis. By him I’ll be great emperor of the world” (Act 1 Scene 3. Lines 101-103).

Dante Alighieri's "Inferno" is the first part of the "Divine Comedy" poem he wrote during the fourteenth century. The text describes Dante's travels through hell as Virgil, the Roman poet, guides him and provides him with information concerning each segment of hell. Virgil proceeds with emphasizing the importance of being familiar with the circles of hell in order to be able to successfully advance through it. He informs Dante concerning the souls in the first circle of hell:

The play Doctor Faustus is the story of a German scholar, Faustus, who desires power beyond knowledge. He calls upon the devil and makes a deal with him. He offers his soul to the devil for eternity in exchange for unlimited power and Mephostophilis as a servant for 24 years. After spending those years wasting and abusing his power to only pleasure himself, his time inevitably comes to an end. He realizes his mistake and tries to repent for what he has done, but it is too late. He, along with his soul, is taken away to Hell to spend eternity there. Only after Faustus’ time is up, does he realize that the power he received was not worth its consequences.

There is evidence to support both. For example in the essay by Elizabeth Poole she discusses his original goal that starts all this. His ambition to know and see things that no other human has seen before is considered highly romantic. The way he handles himself after making the deal is the tragedy. Sadly he is presented with several chances to repent but he refuses. Ms. Poole discusses his denial of God and his wish for knowledge and control over nature. In Act 2 Scene 1, pg 16-19 he is confronted by opposing angels-good and bad. Faustus says : "Contrition, Prayer, repentance "what of these?" the good angel replies: "O, they are means to bring thee unto heaven." the bad angel says: "Rather illusions, fruits of lunacy. That make them foolish that do use the most." Faustus chooses not to believe he can save his

Marlowe used many conventions of the medieval morality play, a popular form which uses a variety of allegory and narrates the gradual education of its hero into an understanding of the difference between essentially right and wrong. He modified this traditional form for Doctor Faustus and fitted it to the legend where conventionally the hero invariably comes to the conclusion of the play a wiser and better man, but due to the satanic nature of Faustus's rebellion he inevitably falls to his doom and is dragged screaming to Hell. But what were his motivations for such a seditious rebellion with inevitably disastrous consequences? Was he just bored and wanted more of a challenge so cast aside any previous knowledge of religious consequences when intellectual and supernatural supremacy is used for bad and not for good? The Chorus provide us with a clear synopsis of a few but compact lines which allow the reader/ audience to form a detailed picture of this growing character;

 Throughout the poem and play, mental and physical differences play a role. Faustus wen to a famous German University and earned the title of doctor of divinity. After he earned the title, he became famous for his ability to discuss theological matters. In the first scene, Doctor Faustus reflects on the most rewarding type of scholarship, which he first considered logic but it was not scholarly enough for him. The next thing he decides to consider is medicine and realizes its possibility of achieving miraculous cures. Even though he enjoyed medicine, it did not bring him satisfaction because he was already achieved great renown as a doctor. Faustus wanted knowledge and he was a very confident individual. He knew what he wanted and was going to achieve to get it. Alfred Prufrock on the other hand was an overeducated, neurotic, eloquent, and emotionally stilted modern man. Alfred was a man that was searching to discover what the meaning of his existence, worth, and reasoning was. Alfred wanted love but never knew how to get it.

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

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.

Doctor Faustus was written in Elizabethan age that is also known as Shakespearean age or as a Renaissance period. It is a historical play based on the story of “Faust” who is a well-known doctor of theology. He has too much knowledge and wants to acquire more. Law and physic are the good wits and he thinks that philosophy is not petty good. He is of the view that divinity is the basest and all the necromantic books are glorious. He withdrew God and sells his soul in the hands of Lucifer, Prince of Hell. He has also committed a fling with Helen of Troy and become eternally loathsome.

Dr. Faustus’s damnation is truly an act of justice as he got what he deserved. He knew the consequences of his choice but still went on with it. His desire to know everything made him adamant about his choice to sell his soul to the devil and even on occasions when he could’ve pulled back, he hesitated but always pulled back at the last minute.

Faustus portrays the stumble over the Alps and the different urban communities while in transit to Rome. After Mephistophilis discloses to Faustus that he has organized to enter the pope's private chamber, he depicts the city of Rome. They get ready to go into the pope's chambers and Mephistophilis makes Faustus undetectable. At the point when the pope and a gathering of monks enter, Faustus plays traps on them by grabbing plates and containers from them. At long last, he boxes the pope on the ear. At the point when the ministers who are going with the pope start to sing a requiem to re-move the detestable soul that is by all accounts present, Mephistophilis and Faustus start to beat the monks and indulgence a few firecrackers among them. The theme enters and surveys Faustus' profession. At the point when Faustus has seen all the imperial courts, he returns home, where a hefty portion of his companions search him out and pose troublesome inquiries concerning crystal gazing and the universe. Faustus' learning makes him well known all through the land. At long last the ruler, Carolus the Fifth, requests that he go to his court.Faustus gives the scoop on his excursion to Rome, telling how he went over Trier, France, the Rhine River, Naples, the tomb of Vergil, Venice, and Padua. At that point, to Mephistopheles, he's all, man, where are we? To which Meph lets him know: duh, Rome. Mephistopheles clarifies the topography of Rome—how it remains on seven slopes with the Tiber River

Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus is an allegorical old German folk tale reimagined to be appropriate for a London stage. Faustus is a highly educated man, but it

From this quote, it conveys that Dr. Faustus is gratified from his twisted version and understanding of the scriptures, and this prevents him from studying religion any further. This characterization of Dr. Faustus serves as a bit of dramatic irony, because he is too prideful to repent of