The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus

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The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus

• by Christopher Marlowe
• (1564-1593)

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Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)

• English dramatist and poet (Elizabethan)
• Major plays (tragedies)
• Tamburlaine the Great (c. 1587)
• Dr. Faustus (c. 1588)
• The Jew of Malta (c. 1589)
• Marlowe's Dramas
• Marlowes Dr. Faustus

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Medieval Plays

• Mysteryenact events of the Bible, generally part
  of dramatic cycles presented on a religious
  holiday.
• Miraclefocus on enactments of the miracles
  performed by the saints.
• Moralityfocus on allegorical representations of
  moral issues, designed to stand alone.
• Doctor Faustus borrows many of the conventions of
  the morality play.

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The Morality Play

• Developed in the late Middle Ages.
• The central figure usually represents humanity in
  general. (Faustus represents humanity but is also
  an individual.)
• A dramatized allegory in which abstract virtues
  and vices appear in personified form, which serve
  as inspiration for various characters in
  Renaissance drama.

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Elements of The Morality Play in Marlowes Dr.
Faustus

• the battle over the spirit, waged by a Good Angel
  and a Bad Angel.
• the parade of the Seven Deadly Sins Pride,
  Covetousness, Envy, Wrath, Gluttony, Sloth,
  Lechery.
• the potential for salvation, which exists until
  Faustus finally succumbs to despair and gives up
  all hope of being able to repent.

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Summary

• Prologue Dr. Faustus, Rhodes, Germany
• Scene 1 Faustus dissatisfies with all the
• knowledge he studies and
  determines
• to study magic.
• Scene 3 Calls Mephastophilis, Lucifers
  minister
• Scene 5 Faustus surrenders his soul to Satan
• and has great power among 24
  years

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Summary

• Scene 7 Amazes the Pope by becoming
• invisible
• Scene 9 Calls the spirit of Alexander the
• Great
• Scene 11 Brings ripe grapes in January
• Scene 12,13 When 24 years is almost over,
• he begins to fear Satan
  and
• nearly repents
• He is carried off by devils at the end.

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• Themes
• Sin, Redemption and Damnation
• Sin acts contrary to the will of God
• In making a pact with Lucifer, Faustus commits
  the ultimate sin not only does he disobey God,
  but he consciously and even eagerly renounces
  obedience to him, choosing instead to swear
  allegiance to the devil. However terrible
  Faustuss pact with Lucifer may be, the
  possibility of redemption is always open to him.
  All that he needs to do is ask God for
  forgiveness. Yet, Faustus decides to remain loyal
  to hell.

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• The conflict between Medieval and Renaissance
  Values
• The medieval world placed God at the
  center of existence and shunted aside man and the
  natural world.
• The Renaissance was a movement that began
  in Italy in the fifteenth century and soon spread
  throughout Europe, carrying with it a new
  emphasis on the individual, on classical
  learning, and on scientific inquiry into the
  nature of the world.
• In the medieval academy, theology was the
  queen of the sciences. In the Renaissance,
  secular matters took center stage.

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• Power as a Corrupting Influence
• Gaining absolute power corrupts Faustus by
  making him mediocre and by transforming his
  boundless ambition into a meaningless delight in
  petty celebrity.
• The Divided Nature of Man
• Internal struggle (personified in
• good angel and the evil angel, and the old man)

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• selling his soul to obtain power
• drawn up the character of an intelligent learned
  man tragically seduced by the lure of power
  greater than mortally meant to be
• the superstitious mind frequently deemed
  magicians in league with the devil
• ideal of humanism damn nonetheless, thus
  satirizing the ideals of Renaissance Humanism

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Structure

• In extant form the play shows the familiar
  double-plot construction with buffoonery in the
  subplot (in prose) to parallel the Faust theme
  (the major plotin verse).
• The Good and Bad Angels contending for the soul
  of Faustus come straight out of the medieval
  Moralities.
• 3 main parts
• 1. The lure of Faustus
• 2. Faustus owns the magic
  power
• 3. The death of Faustus

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Functions of the Comic Scenes

1. Cover passage of time.
2. Parallel and parody the main plot.
3. Foreshadow events to come.
4. Give comic relief.

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CharacterizationFaustus

• He is bold enough to sell his soul to the Devil
  for ultimate knowledge.
• He is sometimes ultimately arrogant, overly
  confident.
• He is a loner who faces the ultimate test by
  himself.
• He can be viewed as naïve.

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CharacterizationFaustus

• A contradictory character
• tells himself hell is not bad
• ??
• wants to go to heaven
• ambitious??wastes powers
• Represents the spirit of the Renaissance

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Minor Characters

• Wagner Faustuss servant, a student
• Valdes and Cornelius Fs friends, magicians
• Robin and Rafe Ostlers at an inn
• Even these two fools can learn enough magic
  to summon demons.
• Emperor Charles V
• A knight at the court (Benvolio)
• Horse-courser

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References /relevant links

• http//mchip00.med.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webd
  ocs/webdescrips/marlowe278-des-.html
• http//www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0831904.html
  
• http//athena.english.vt.edu/7Ejmooney/renmats/fa
  ustus.htm
• http//spider.georgetowncollege.edu/english/allen/
  meddram.htm