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Fault and romanticism essay
Essays on the fate of Dr Faustus' fate
Essays on the fate of Dr Faustus' fate
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Recommended: Fault and romanticism essay
Nowadays, we all know that choosing what someone wants in his life and therefore, direct his destination, is a matter of self-decision, so we may conclude that the human being is the creator of his or her own way, and thus, is the one responsible for his or her own evils and bad decisions. Nonetheless, we also know that sometimes there are external factors that can push people into making certain decisions that may affect them negatively without they even realizing it completely. In the play Faust by Johann Goethe, decision-making power is concentrated in the main character that is Faust. This man is someone who is not satisfied with his current situation and does not really want to take his life the way it is. In addition, the figure of Mephistopheles is present, which could have made Faust more inclined to make bad decisions and to fall to the tricks of evil. However, I believe that if Faust had firm principles and human values, he would not have fallen into the traps of Mephistopheles. Therefore, I think that Faust should not be forgiven as, in my opinion, he is responsible for all the decisions he has made and that he should have overcome those temptations. …show more content…
Many of those tests may seem complicated, but in the end, they all share a common denominator, which is the basic choice between knowing what is right and what is wrong. This commonality is present in our story where the protagonist is truly free, until Satan's traps help him take the wrong path and mark a fateful destiny. In the play, it can be clearly told how good and evil lives within the protagonist, who is the one who has to decide which way to go. Human beings are always in situations where they must make decisions and Faust should know what is right and what is wrong. In our story, Faust is the one who has to make his decisions and he should be able to know what is right and what is
Faust’s dealings with darkness eventually lead him to deal with the ruler of all that is wicked and deceitful, the devil himself. Naturally Faust, longing for more than earthly pleasures, is compelled to accept Mephistopheles’ promises of complete contentment and satisfaction. Faust’s ego is such that he feels he can not be out witted even by the most skillful and cunning deceiver to ever walk the face of the earth. Soon Faust is on a journey leading to more misery and t...
The obvious elements of a psychological battle are in the characters' attempts to control their ego and superego. The "good" angel is the trademark of the good thoughts and the Superego in the story, and the "bad" angel is the trademark of the ego in the story. The good angel always gives Faustus the opportunity to repent and come back to God, and that God will forgive him and allow him to enter into heaven. "Never too late, if Faustus will repent...Repent, and they shall never raze thy skin"(II, iii; 84,86-87). The good angel argues with the bad angel while Faustus contemplates repenting his sin...
The first appearance of Faust in the story finds him having doubts about himself and the worth of his time spent in education. Undeterred by this depression, we see his pride has not diminished as he declares he is “cleverer than these stuffed shirts, these Doctors, M.A.s, Scribes and Priests, I’m not bothered by a doubt or a scruple, I’m not afraid of Hell or the Devil” (Goethe 633). Turning to magic to fill the void in his life, Faust conjures a spirit, but shrinks back from it in fear. In the ensuing argument between them, Faust asserts that he is the spirits “equal” (Goethe 637). Mephisto’s second visit at Faust’s residence leads them to having a drawn out discussion over the proposal of Mephisto serving Faust in exchange for his soul. Common sense might ask why a person would willingly discuss a deal with the devil knowing that it probably won’t end well. This instance would have to be answered that the imperious pride of Faust made him “so rash that he would give no heed to the salvation of his soul He thought the devil could not be so black as he is painted nor hell so hot as is generally supposed” (Fischer 107). In spite of his vast education, Faust’s pride pulls him into wagering his soul with Mephisto and causing the deaths of others and his
Dr. Faustus is a morality play designed to teach its audience about the spiritual dangers of excessive learning and ambition (Pacheco 9). The audience is learning that there are many consequences when you try to achieve a higher level than what is naturally offered to you. In the midst of committing sins the only way to return to God is by wanting to be fully forgiven.
The concept of good for Goethe is that everyone has the ability to be good and that errors in judgment are what make people bad but if a person keeps striving these mistakes will bring them closer to righteousness. As long as a person continues to keep moving and doing things they will most likely achieve righteousness. This is shown in the bet between Faust and Mephistopheles. Faust says that if at any time he says, "Linger a while! Thou art so fair!" that will be when Faust dies and serves Mephistopheles. This shows that if Faust were to stop wanting to do anything it would be a horrible sin. The Lord which many perceive to stand for God stands for the perfection that Faust is trying to accomplish with his life. Gretchen in the early part of the play stands for perfection because she is inexperienced and knows nothing else until Faust starts to seduce her.
alise he has made a fatal choice. By now the tragedy is inevitable; of his own free will Faustus has rejected all hope of salvation and the audience waits in trepidation for his impending doom. In conclusion the arrogance and blasphemy apparent in many of Faustus' speeches ("a greater subject fitteth Faustus' wit", "Faustus, try thy brains to gain a deity" etc) are characteristic of the classical tragic hero. For example, Faustus' pride and arrogance (which the Greeks called 'hubris') is strikingly similar to that of Aeschylus' tragic hero, king Agamemnon. As far as the issue of free will is concerned, I think that Faustus does have the opportunity to make his own decisions, despite Marlowe's paradoxical portrayal of a God whom, whilst able to control our predestination, cannot (when it comes down to it) control or undo the contract which Faustus makes.
While working with the Devil Faust did a number of evil things, some being quite tragic. It was already bad enough that Faust decided to play games with Mephistopheles, but it was worse when he decided he wanted to draw someone else into his sick deal. Faust, being overwhelmed with lust, felt that he needed to seduce and corrupt a young girl. "Get me that, do you hear, you must!" This is even worse when you consider that it was inevitable that he would succeed with the aid of Satan.
The two ideas of predestination and free will are both very controversial in this story. Even though predestination helps the idea of Faustus being fated to be damned, the idea of free will, that Faustus chose his own damnation, is more supported since it is Faustus’ own decision to ignore the many warnings and chances he had to walk away from such evil. His greed for knowledge and power clouds his morals and good intentions. As a result to his actions of ignoring his choices and resorting to necromancy, he is ultimately lead to his
This section of the play has both an important structural and contextual role in Dr. Faustus. Leading the audience through his doubt and limitations, Faustus begins to realize that his potential for knowledge and power is not half as grand as he expected. This leads him into strong bouts of inner struggle, as shown by the appearance of the good and evil angels on stage. The forces of good and evil start to tear away at Faustus, and he begins the decline into his inventible tragic downfall at the end of the play.
Although aware of the consequences of such a pact, he is blinded by three things that bring about his ultimate demise. His greed to know all, his pride that made him believe he was better than man, and his denial that in the end he would bring his own downfall upon himself. If Faustus had not been these things, he would not have brought an end to himself. Dr. Faustus denies the existence of everything, from his eventual torture in hell if he does not repent, to men, society, and indeed the world. The only aspect of his life that he does not deny is his physical reality.
Although Faustus has signed a contract with the devil in blood, it is obvious that it is still able to repent. The good angel in the play is trying to make Faustus realize this. Throughout the play the angel encourages Faustus to stay away from dark magic, “Oh Faustus, lay that damned book aside, and gaze not on it lest it tempt thy soul and heap God’s heavy wrath upon thy head.”(p. 26, line 69-71) Faustus’ growing interest in necromancy leads him to give the Lucifer his soul in return for twenty four years of luxurious life. The good angel is always accompanied by an evil angel who supports Faustus’ choice. Both spirits try to advise him on a course of action, with the evil one usually being more influential. The evil angel speaks of the power, which Faustus thirsts after. Faustus does not want to be a servant to God. He was become disillusioned with the idea of heavenly pleasures when he realizes he can profit immediately from service to the devil. In an exchange with the good angel he shows his lack of interest in having to work for rewards:
He showed great knowledge, and, in fact, he was considered to be brilliant. He was a doctor, a lawyer, a philosopher, and a theologian. Although, Faustus had everything any man could ever need, he soon grew tired of it and craved more. Nothing was enough for Faustus, he was never pleased; he always craved more than what he could have. “Waxen wings did not mount above his reach, and, melting, heavens conspired his overthrow/ falling to his devilish exercise” (I.i.21-22). He was not content with having the knowledge he possessed. “Such is the subject of the institute and universal body of the law/this study fits a mercenary drudge/who aims at nothing but external trash” (I.i.32-35). Faustus’s decisions is what makes him selfish. He never uses his knowledge to help people instead, he decides to practice witchcraft for his own benefit. He believes that by practicing black magic he will have “power,” “honor,” and “omnipotence” (I.i.53). Faustus gave everything he had, he gave up being a doctor just to satisfy his yearnings. “What doctrine call you this? What will be, shall be/ Divinity, adieu” (I.i.44-47). Faustus showed selfishness when he agreed to sell his soul to Lucifer. “Ay, Mephostophilis, I’ll give it to him” (II.i.48). Faustus knew what he was getting himself into when he agreed to sell his soul to Lucifer in trade for twenty-four years of Mephostophilis’s service. “So he will buy my service with his soul/Faustus hath
... about a chess match between man and the devil. The deal struck between Faustus and Mephistopheles is exposed as fraudulent. The deal is a false agreement in which both sides think they are outsmarting the opponent in order to quench their desires. Faustus wants power and knowledge, Mephistopheles wants a human soul, and each thinks that the contract will yield positive results for him while simultaneously not benefiting the other at all. The result is Mephistopheles winning Faustus’ soul while Faustus acknowledges that he was duped. It is evident throughout the entire play that neither Faustus nor Mephistopheles ever views the contract as a legally binding document. Faustus is aware repentance is an option while Mephistopheles does not accede to every demand made by Faustus. The contract itself is merely an attempted business scam on both sides.
Faustus’ mind is fraught with despair in his final, closing speech. It jumps frantically from thought to thought: one moment he is begging time to stop, or slow down, the next second, he is pleading to Christ for mercy and salvation. He asks to be hidden, the next instant he is asking for his punishment in hell to last ‘A hundred thousand [years], and at last be saved’ (1.13.95). These various attempts to escape his imminent doom ultimately lead to him to realise that the situation is entirely his fault, just before midnight, he finally realises to ‘curse [him] self’ (1.13.106). This extremely passionate remorse leads to a recurring theme in the play, namely, the reasons behind him not repenting at earlier stages.
Doctor Faustus act of sin is very similar to what human being faces everyday in our lives. We all want to learn and want to gain knowledge and while achieving what we want, we make mistakes and fall but we continue with our path and we also know how not to make same mistakes twice. Faustus’s act of selling his soul was all because of him being ambitious to gain power that he never had, and he exchanges the twenty-four years of power with his soul. Faustus wanting to gain power and wanting to have knowledge of something that he never had is very similar to what we want in our lives. Humans always seek for something new and something to achieve. We have curiosity and jealousy that makes us going forward rather than staying still in one place. So when I was reading this play, I felt the connection with Faustus and felt the ending was such tragedy. I felt sympathy when Doctor Faustus said, “O soul, be changed to little water drops and fall into the ocean. Ne-re be found. My God, my God, look not so fierce on me!” (Scene 13. 108-110) This phrase was very emotional because it shows Faustus’s ...