Doctor Faustus1593

Christopher Marlowe1564-1593
About the Playwright
Born in Canterbury in 1564, the same year as William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe was an
actor, poet, and playwright during the reign of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth I (ruled 1558–1603). Marlowe
attended Corpus Christi College at Cambridge University and received degrees in 1584 and 1587.
Traditionally, the education that he received would have prepared him to become a clergyman, but
Marlowe chose not to join the ministry. For a time, Cambridge even wanted to withhold his degree,
apparently suspecting him of having converted to Catholicism, a forbidden faith in late-sixteenth-century
England, where Protestantism was the state-supported religion. Queen Elizabeth’s Privy Council intervened
on his behalf, saying that Marlowe had “done her majesty good service” in “matters touching the benefit
of the country.” This odd sequence of events has led some to theorize that Marlowe worked as a spy for
the crown, possibly by infiltrating Catholic communities in France.
After leaving Cambridge, Marlowe moved to London, where he became a playwright and led a
turbulent, scandal-plagued life. He produced seven plays, all of which were immensely popular. Among the
most well-known of his plays are Tamburlaine, The Jew of Malta, and Doctor Faustus. In his writing, he
pioneered the use of blank verse—nonrhyming lines of iambic pentameter—which many of his
contemporaries, including William Shakespeare, later adopted. In 1593, however, Marlowe’s career was
cut short. After being accused of heresy (maintaining beliefs contrary to those of an approved religion), he
was arrested and put on a sort of probation. On May 30, 1593, shortly after being released, Marlowe
became involved in a tavern brawl and was killed when one of the combatants stabbed him in the head.
After his death, rumours were spread accusing him of treason, atheism, and homosexuality, and some
people speculated that the tavern brawl might have been the work of government agents. Little evidence
to support these allegations has come to light, however.
Context of Dr. Faustus
Doctor Faustus was probably written in 1592, although the exact date of its composition is
uncertain, since it was not published until a decade later. The idea of an individual selling his or her soul to
the devil for knowledge is an old motif in Christian folklore, one that had become attached to the historical
persona of Johannes Faustus, a disreputable astrologer who lived in Germany sometime in the early 1500s.
The immediate source of Marlowe’s play seems to be the anonymous German work Historia von D.
IohanFausten of 1587, which was translated into English in 1592, and from which Marlowe lifted the bulk
of the plot for his drama. Although there had been literary representations of Faust prior to Marlowe’s
play,Doctor Faustus is the first famous version of the story. Later versions include the long and famous
poem Faust by the nineteenth-century Romantic writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, as well as operas by
Charles Gounod and Arrigo Boito and a symphony by Hector Berlioz. Meanwhile, the phrase “Faustian
bargain” has entered the English lexicon, referring to any deal made for a short-term gain with great costs
in the long run.

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 Character-List
 Doctor John Faustus A learned scholar in Germany during the fifteenth century, who seems to have
reached the limits of natural knowledge. Faustus is a scholar of the early sixteenth century in the
German city of Wittenburg. He is arrogant, fiery, and possesses a thirst for knowledge. As an
intellectual, Faustus is familiar with things (like demon summoning and astrology) not normally
considered academic subjects by today's universities. Faustus decides to sell his soul to the devil in
exchange for earthly power and knowledge and an additional 24 years of life. He proceeds to waste
this time on self-indulgence and low tricks.
 Mephistophilis From the Hebrew, mephitz, destroyer, and tophel, liar. A devil of craft and cunning.
He is the devil who comes at Faustus' summoning, and the devil who serves Faustus for 24 years. In
lore, Mephostophilis (also spelled Mephistopheles, or Miphostophiles, and also called Mephisto)
seems to be a relative latecomer in the recognized hierarchy of demons. He possibly was created
for the Faustus legend.
In Marlowe's play, Mephostophilis has layers to his personality. He admits that separation
from God is anguish, and is capable of fear and pain. But he is gleefully evil, participating at every
level in Faustus' destruction. Not only does Mephostophilis get Faustus to sell his soul; he also
encourages Faustus to waste his twenty-four years of power.
 Good Angel and Evil Angel Two figures who appear to Faustus and attempt to influence him.
Personifications of Faustus' inner turmoil, who give differing advice to him at key points. Their
characters also reflect Christian belief that humans are assigned guardian angels, and that devils
can influence human thoughts.
 Lucifer King of the underworld and a fallen angel who had rebelled against God and thereafter tries
desperately to win souls away from the Lord. "Lucifer" original meant Venus, referring to the
planet's brilliance. In Christian lore, Lucifer is sometimes thought to be another name of Satan.
Some traditions say that Lucifer was Satan's name before the fall, while the Fathers of the Catholic
Church held that Lucifer was not Satan's proper name but a word showing the brilliance and beauty
of his station before the fall. He appears at a few choice moments in Doctor Faustus, and Marlowe
uses "Lucifer" as Satan's proper name.
 Old Man He appears to Faustus during the last scene and tries to tell Faustus that there is still time
to repent.
 Wagner Faustus' servant, who tries to imitate Faustus' methods of reasoning and fails in a
ridiculous and comic manner.
 Valdes and Cornelius Two German scholars who are versed in the practice of magic and who teach
Faustus about the art of conjuring.
 The Pope The head of the Roman Catholic church, whom Faustus and Mephistophilis use as a butt
of their practical jokes.
 Seven Deadly Sins, Alexander, Helen of Troy, and Alexander's Paramour Spirits or apparitions
which appear during the course of the play.
 Chorus A device used to comment upon the action of the play or to provide exposition.

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 Play Summary
Faustus becomes dissatisfied with his studies of medicine, law, logic and theology; therefore, he
decides to turn to the dangerous practice of necromancy, or magic. He has his servant Wagner summon
Valdes and Cornelius, two German experts in magic. Faustus tells them that he has decided to experiment
in necromancy and needs them to teach him some of the fundamentals.
When he is alone in his study, Faustus begins experimenting with magical incantations, and
suddenly Mephistophilis appears, in the form of an ugly devil. Faustus sends him away, telling him to
reappear in the form of a friar. Faustus discovers that it is not his conjuring which brings forth
Mephistophilis but, instead, that when anyone curses the trinity, devils automatically appear. Faustus
sends Mephistophilis back to hell with the bargain that if Faustus is given twenty-four years of absolute
power, he will then sell his soul to Lucifer.
Later, in his study, when Faustus begins to despair, aGood Angel and a Bad Angel appear to him;
each encourages Faustus to follow his advice. Mephistophilis appears and Faust agrees to sign a contract
in blood with the devil even though several omens appear which warn him not to make this bond.
Faustus begins to repent of his bargain as the voice of the Good Angel continues to urge him to
repent. To divert Faustus, Mephistophilis and Lucifer both appear and parade the seven deadly sins before
Faustus. After this, Mephistophilis takes Faustus to Rome and leads him into the pope's private chambers,
where the two become invisible and play pranks on the pope and some unsuspecting friars.
After this episode, Faustus and Mephistophilis go to the German emperor's court, where they
conjure up Alexander the Great. At this time, Faustus also makes a pair of horns suddenly appear on one of
the knights who had been skeptical about Faustus' powers. After this episode, Faustus is next seen selling
his horse to a horse-courser with the advice that the man must not ride the horse into the water. Later, the
horse-courser enters Faustus' study and accuses Faustus of false dealings because the horse had turned
into a bundle of hay in the middle of a pond.
After performing other magical tricks such as bringing forth fresh grapes in the dead of winter,
Faustus returns to his study, where at the request of his fellow scholars, heconjures up the apparition of
Helen of Troy. An old man appears and tries to get Faustus to hope for salvation and yet Faustus cannot.
He knows it is now too late to turn away from the evil and ask for forgiveness. When the scholars leave,
the clock strikes eleven and Faustus realizes that he must give up his soul within an hour.
As the clock marks each passing segment of time, Faustus sinks deeper and deeper into despair.
When the clock strikes twelve, devils appear amid thunder and lightning and carry Faustus off to his
eternal damnation.

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 Major Themes
 Man's Limitations and Potential
The possible range of human accomplishment is at the heart of Doctor Faustus, and many of the
other themes are auxiliary to this one. The axis of this theme is the conflict between Greek or Renaissance
worldviews, and the Christian worldview that has held sway throughout the medieval period. As Europe
emerged from the Middle Ages, contact with previously lost Greek learning had a revelatory effect on
man's conception of himself. While the Christian worldview places man below God, and requires
obedience to him, the Greek worldview places man at the center of the universe. For the Greeks, man
defies the gods at his own peril, but man has nobility that no deity can match.
Doctor Faustus, scholar and lover of beauty, chafes at the bit of human limitation. He seeks to
achieve godhood himself, and so he leaves behind the Christian conceptions of human limitation. Though
he fancies himself to be a seeker of Greek greatness, we see quickly that he is not up to the task.
 Salvation, Mercy, and Redemption
Hell is eternal, but so is heaven. For a Christian, all that is necessary to be saved from eternal
damnation is acceptance of Jesus Christ's grace. Even after signing away his soul to the devil, Faustus has
the option of repentance that will save him from hell. But once he has committed himself to his own
damnation, Faustus seems unable to change his course. While Christianity seems to accept even a death
bed repentance as acceptable for the attainment of salvation, Marlowe plays with that idea, possibly
rejecting it for his own thematic purposes.
 Valuing Knowledge over Wisdom
Faustus has a thirst for knowledge, but he seems unable to acquire wisdom. Faustus' thirst for
knowledge is impressive, but it is overshadowed by his complete inability to understand certain truths.
Because of this weakness, Faustus cannot use his knowledge to better himself or his world. He ends life
with a head full of facts, and vital understanding gained too late to save him.

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