Doctor Faustus : The Seven Deadly Sins

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

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

Ever looked at somebody and thought that they were a terrible person? This is probably because they embody at least one of the seven deadly sins. These sins have been around for centuries and have been used over and over again in many stories. Some of the best examples of the deadly sins are found in the characters of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. These characters, the pilgrims, vary in profession, personality, and background; most being guilty of at least one of the seven deadly sins. Continuing, Chaucer’s pilgrims will be exposed of their deadly sins that they are guilty of, each with an explanation.

Also in Dr.Faustus, Faustus obsession was the greed for more and more knowledge and power that even the human being could not withstand. Instead of obtaining knowledge like an average human being Faustus went to the devil “Mephistophilis” because he just wanted to know everything “oh what a world of power and delight . . . a sound magician is a demigod” in this he is saying that he basically wants more power than any human can handle he wants powers such as the Gods the power to create things and know all. But throughout this book Faustus will begin soon to realize that gaining all that power also comes with some consequences. “My God my god look not so fierce on me . . . I’ll burn my books ah Mephistophilis”. This quote means that time is up and that Faustus only had twenty-four years to

Throughout church history, the Seven Deadly Sins, or Seven Mortal Sins as they are also known, have been seen as those that threaten everlasting life. In early times, a list was help for the people who could not read (Douglas). One cannot help but to see these sins throughout the drama of Othello. Christians in the past used the seven deadly sins to instruct on how to live a holy life and to show how easily we are inclined to a sin nature. Shakespeare incorporates these sins throughout the drama of Othello. The reader follows the characters through the sins of wrath, pride, envy, lust, sloth, greed and gluttony to the bitter end of this tragic love story. Shakespeare shows how easily it is to open the door to the devil and how many lives it affects.

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.

In Christianity, there are seven deadly sins: Pride, Hate, Gluttony, Sloth, Lust, Greed, and Envy. If one holds one of these traits, they’ll be sentenced to hell or have to fight for themselves, to prove their purity… These sins show themselves in many novels, though they shine through more prevalently in four books in particular. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee presents the sin of anger through extremist bias and racism. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare holds the deadly sin of pride through declining to talk the conflict out, which ends in numerous deaths. Silas Marner by George Eliot only shines through with the sin of greed, as the characters care only about their money and/or fame and belongings. Finally, Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer symbolizes lust, as so many mistakes cost lives of others due to wanting to summit or wanting to conquer their own beast on the mountain.

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 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

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

I. The play Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlow was first published in Manchester by Manchester Publishing in 1588, no information about the play’s first production date was found.

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.

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

Things aren’t always as they appear to be. This is true in John Faustus’s case in terms of his relationship with Mephistopheles and in turn the devil himself. Poor Faustus believes it is he who has called upon the demon Mephistopheles and it is his tongue that orders the servant of hell, yet he could not be any more mistaken. In reality, Faustus is the one with strings attached to him and it is Lucifer, Mephistopheles, and the Evil Angel playing the role of the puppeteer. Nevertheless, Faustus remains a student to the ideology of Christianity throughout his adventures, even amongst the bleakest of hours. God never leaves the side of John Faustus, as He relentlessly tries to bring Faustus back onto the path of righteousness.