Doctor Faustus

In the beginning of the play, Dr. Faustus dismisses his previous education as unfulfilling and makes a point to reject Divinity. This abhorrence of

When I think of the concept of “evil,” I think of The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius. In The Consolation of Philosophy, Lady Philosophy stated:

Good and evil; two simple words that hold an infinite amount of power. Though they are similar in this aspect, it is a compelling argument that ‘evil’ is stronger and more powerful than ‘good.’ William Shakespeare wrote in his play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar: “The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones.” As true as this quote is, the fictional and modern proof accentuates the veracity of the statement.

evil creates or brings good. Yet, if there was only good we would not have to

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

As to whether Faustus is misled about or willfully self-blinded to his situation, it is difficult to argue either of these points from the text. Marlowe's text makes it rather clear that Faustus is deliberate and precise in his calculations, considerations and estimations that lead to his choices. He knows precisely what he does not want and why. He knows precisely what he does want and why. He knows precisely what his end objectives are and why.First, he is a distinguished scholar of every academic field there was. He has come to a juncture where he is to choose one field to devote his professorship to, to choose what to profess. He evaluates the essential foundations of each field and rejects them based upon disagreement with or flaws in

Not only is Faustus a greedy man, but also weak. He craves power and knowledge to cover up what he lacks. Before his interaction with the devil, Faustus dabbles with necromancy in an attempt to bring happiness to his life. He is clearly unable to make himself content and the promise of the devil to do so is enticing. Faustus was not hard to sway from God and devout Christian values. This is what makes it especially hard for Faustus to repent. He is unable to make up his mind when considering the benefits of each. His weakness lies in his search for power, so he chooses whatever seems to offer the knowledge he

The devil promises all these nice and great things in exchange for a soul. When you die, you go to hell. There is nothing nice and great about hell. At least I don’t think there is. If the devil exists, then God exists. Because the devil used to be the highest of all Angels, he just wasn’t happy because he couldn’t be God. So, I don’t understand how Faust doesn’t believe in an afterlife but still makes a deal with the devil. He is a part of the afterlife. Mephisto shows up and tells Faust he has to tell him to come in three times before he can even enter. If Faust doesn’t believe in that, then why does he allow him to come in? Faust is depressed, and I think that’s why he’s let his faith slip away. The devil can swoop in and try to manipulate

Just as each Devil’s motivation for enlarging his kingdom varies, so do their relationships with God. This differing in goals also reflects the change in humanity’s religious pursuits between the time periods. When Faustus tries to seek God’s forgiveness, Lucifer expresses his displeasure when he says “We come to tell thee thou dost injure us […] Thou shouldst not think of God: think of the Devil” (Marlow 5). This Devil’s dislike for God is evident in his jealousy over Faustus’s pledge of allegiance. He can’t seem to stand it when Faustus talks about Paradise or creation. This ultimatum to only think of the Devil, as well as the previously identified thirst for power, alludes to some sort of conflict between the Devil and God in Dr. Faustus.

Similar to Dorian and Oedipus, Dr. Faustus was seeking knowledge. Faustus had a dangerously strong desire for knowledge. He stated “O, what a world of profit and delight, of power, of honour, and omnipotence, is promis’d to the studious artisan!” (Marlowe np). Faustus sells his own soul to the devil in order to gain all the knowledge he desires, not considering the consequences certain to follow. Unlike Oedipus, he desires knowledge for the benefit of himself, not the benefit of others.

Pride is a sin common to the human nature that Faustus falls, and it should be examined by the reader in their own life. “Did not my conjuring speeches raise thee? Speak!” (Marlowe 1.3.45). This quote shows Faustus’ pride through showing anger after figuring it out that it was not his power of conjuring that brought him there. We can see that Faustus wanted the power of his conjuring to have brought him and is angered, which is shown by the exclamation and his demand for the demon to speak after hearing Mephastophilis, “Came now hither of mine own accord”(Marlowe 1.3.44). This shows that pride is a part of human nature. Despite being human nature, Faustus has an extraordinary amount of pride because he wants to have the knowledge and power equal to that of God. This lust for power is made evident to the reader in Faustus’ example of commands he would give to Mephastophilis. Faustus craves the power to destroy God’s creation or recreate his miracles, which allows his pride to show the desire to become a god himself, “To do whatever Faustus shall command,/ Be it to make the moon drop from her sphere,/ Or the ocean to overwhelm the world” (Marlowe 1.3.37-39). God flooded the entire earth before with Moses, and Faustus’ desire to be able to do what God already has done shows his pride. Faustus is saying he can do anything God can. God, in Christian beliefs, created the

II. Doctor Faustus is contrived of the following: Faustus, a man well learned in medicine and other knowledge’s known to man is dissatisfied with where his life is heading so he calls upon the Lucifer and His accomplice, Mephistophilis, to teach him the ways of magic. They agree to be his tutors only if Faustus will sell his soul to Lucifer and be His after 20 years. Faustus agrees and goes through trying times where he is unsure of his decision and considers repenting but then is persuaded again and again that the magic powers of the Devil are far more

The truth that ambition and desire for material objects does not always satisfy the soul is a major theme depicted in Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. The poem on page 93, lines 96-113 is the essence of this theme. It describes Faustus meeting, what he believes, is the icon of perfection. This perfection is a mere human women, yet, to Faustus, she is worth his life. Marlowe’s use of syntax and diction, allusions and references, and other literary devices throughout this monologue give support to the theme while adding rich symbolic images.

Good and evil are represented as a battle in various ways throughout the play. One of the ways it is represented as such is with the way various characters are fighting for Faustus’s soul. The characters the good angel and the bad angel represent this struggle for Faustus’s soul because every time Faustus begins to question the state of his soul the good angel and bad angel appear on his shoulders. The bad angel wants Faustus to believe he is damned to hell no matter what. However, the good angel wants him feel bad for his sins, repent and therefore be saved. One particular example of when the Author, Christopher Marlow uses this theme is in act VI, lines 12 through 18. “GOOD ANGEL: Faustus, repent; yet God will pity thee. BAD ANGEL: Thou art

In a traditional tragic play, as pioneered by the Greeks and imitated by William Shakespeare, a hero is brought low by an error or series of errors and realizes his or her mistake only when it is too late. In Christianity, though, as long as a person is alive, there is always the possibility of repentance—so if a tragic hero realizes his or her mistake, he or she may still be saved even at the last moment. But though Faustus, in the final, wrenching scene, comes to his senses and begs for a chance to repent, it is too