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The Christian tradition of Dr.Faustus
The religious motivitions in doctor faustus
Critical analysis of faustus
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This essay takes a look at how the given passage from Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus reflects the play as a whole, and what the passage contributes to the play. Doctor Faustus deals with many issues, for instance: the failure of ‘Renaissance man—of his dreams and aspirations and, more particularly, his failures and illusions.’ This idea of overreaching is central to the excerpt. Moreover, religion plays a large role in the extract, and continues to resonate throughout the entire play. This paper looks at both, the overreaching Renaissance man and religion, closely to show the importance of the passage under analysis to the complete work. Moreover, during Marlowe’s time, drama was considered to be ‘a satanic opposition to the Word of God’; therefore, this essay will determine whether Doctor Faustus was originally created to challenge or subvert such criticism. Furthermore, the poetic style, rhetorical devices, and intertextuality Marlowe employs are analysed to show how they may be different to the rest of the play, and how this affects the play as a whole. It is important to recognise that Marlowe’s personal life and beliefs may have had an impact on his work; however, this paper focuses on the play itself, and does not draw parallels with Marlowe and, the protagonist, Faustus. All in all, this essay considers whether one can see the entirety of the play in the chosen section.
William Hazlitt considers the character of Faustus to be a ‘personification of the pride of will and eagerness of curiosity, sublimed beyond the reach of fear and remorse.’ This is exemplified when Faustus decides to surrender his soul, disregarding all reprimands in order for him to gain more power over the span of ‘four-and-twenty years’. Prec...
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...ion to English Renaissance Tragedy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), pp. 163-173.
Hazlitt, William, ‘Critics on Marlowe: 1592-1930’, in Judith O’Neill (ed.), Critics on Marlowe: Readings in Literary Criticism IV (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1969) pp. 9-27.
Healy, Thomas, ‘Doctor Faustus’, in Patrick Cheney (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Christopher Marlowe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004).
Marlowe, Christopher, Doctor Faustus: A Norton Critical Edition (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005).
Masinton, Charles G., ‘Faustus and the Failure of Renaissance Man’, in Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus: A Norton Critical Edition (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005), pp. 344-52.
McDonald, Russ, ‘Marlowe and Style’, in Patrick Cheney (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Christopher Marlowe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004).
"Morton, Thomas - Introduction." Literary Criticism (1400-1800). Ed. Thomas J. Schoenberg. Vol. 72. Gale Cengage, 2002. eNotes.com. 2006. 21 Feb, 2011
10. Walter N. King. Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 , Vol. 8, No. 2, Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama (Spring, 1968) , pp. 283-306
Dutton, R., & Howard, J.E. (2003). A Companion to Shakespeare’s Works.(p. 9) Maiden, MA: Blackwell Pub.
Abrams, M.H., The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Sixth Edition, Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. Inc., 1993
As first introduced, Dr. Faustus appears to be an individual full of ambition that has made a name for himself within the academic community and is well respected by his peers. However, because the knowledge of man was something that he had appeared to have easily mastered, Faust becomes discontent with it much like a child tires of an old toy. Here Marlowe establishes the binary of want versus need, in which a gift is bestowed upon an individual who has put forth little to no effort in obtaining it and as a result possesses an overall lack of appreciation for its value. This applies to the young doctor in the sen...
Morgentaler, Goldie. “Meditating on the Low: A Darwinian Reading of Great Expectations.” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 38.4 (Autumn 1998): 707-721.
The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Sixth Edition Volume1. Ed. M.H.Abrams. New York: W.W.Norton and Company, Inc., 1993.
Although Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus has outclassed every one at Wittenberg with his academic studies, he is "still but Faustus, a man." Proud of his accomplishments, he desires to become a superman. His judgment clouded by the sin of his pride, he misunderstands his knowledge and dismisses the disciplines of medicine, philosophy, law, and divinity. He lusts for God's capability to "make men live eternally or being dead raise them to life again," believing the devil's arts of magic and necromancy can provide the power, honour, omnipotence and, most importantly, the wealth he craves. His deluded pursuit of the immediate pleasures such wealth can yield brings upon himself the risk of eternal damnation. By conjuring the devil, Faustus removes himself from the influence of the Holy Ghost and God's love, instigating attacks of despair, and internal conflicts as personified by the Good and Bad Angels.
Marlowe reflects ambition in the character of Faustus to deter the audience from being ambitious, and over-reaching their place in the laws of the church. Marlowe uses symbols of religion to fill the play such as the use of the dark arts, angles, demons, God, the Devil, quotes from the bible, the symbol of blood, and the use of the seven sins. With the use of these icons he humou...
* Drabble, Margaret, ed. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 5th Ed. New York: Oxford UP, 1985.
Marlowe, Christopher. The Tragedy of Doctor Faustus. Ed. Louis B. Wright. New York: Washington Square Press, 1959.
Christopher Marlowe’s 14th century play “The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus” demonstrates not how the Devil can lead mankind to temptation, but how mankind through free-will can ultimately lead itself to suffering through sin. I believe that Marlowe heavily uses Christian doctrine through the actions of John Faustus in order to criticize those who do not partake in or see the seriousness of religion.
Marlowe reflects ambition in the character of Faustus to deter the audience from being ambitious, and over-reaching their place in the ‘Chain of Being’. However, if Marlowe chose to be ‘dangerously over-ambitious’ and regarded himself as this, it is likely that he may have written ‘Dr. Faustus’ differently, not viewing ambition in such a negative way. Whatever Marlowe’s view on ambition was, it is not made clear in the play, through Faustus or other characters. Certain aspects of his personality are indeed reflected in Faustus, which make reading the play and exploring Faustus as a character even more intriguing.
Snow, Edward A. "Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and the Ends of Desire." Two Renaissance Mythmakers: Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson. Ed. Alvin Kernan. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. Print.
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.