Essays on Doctor Faustus

Written by Christopher Marlowe in 1592

English

Morality Play

Tragedy

Doctor Faustus, Mephistopheles, Lucifer, Wagner, Valdes, Cornelia

The play tells the story of Doctor Faustus, a scholar who makes a pact with the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. As the play progresses, Faustus' soul is increasingly damned, and he is finally dragged to Hell at the end of the play.

The play is a cautionary tale about the dangers of overreaching and the consequences of selling one's soul to the devil.

The symbol of Faustus' soul being dragged to Hell at the end of the play is a powerful motif of the consequences of damnation.

The play Doctor Faustus has been a major source of inspiration for many works of literature, music, and film.

• Christopher Marlowe was a contemporary of William Shakespeare, and like Shakespeare, was a major figure in English Renaissance drama.
• The title character has become an archetype for the tragic figure who overreaches and is destroyed by his own ambition.
• Marlowe's play influenced Goethe's Faust and has been a source for many other works.
• The character of Doctor Faustus has appeared in many works of fiction, including Paradise Lost, The Damnation of Theron Ware, and The Faust Legend.
• Doctor Faustus is a classic work of Renaissance drama that is still popular and frequently performed today.

• "Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships/ And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?"
• "O, what a world of profit and delight,/ Of power, of honour, of omnipotence,/ Is promised to the studious artisan!"
• "Why, man, they that gain a mass of wealth/ Increase their store of curse."
• "But Faustus' offense can ne'er be pardoned;/ His Pact with Lucifer excludes divine grace,/ And damns him to the fire that burns forever."
• "Ay, but to die, and go we know not where;/ To lie in cold obstruction, and to rot;/ This sensible warm motion to become/ A kneaded clod of matter; to be crumbled into dust!"

The play is important because it is a tragedy about a man who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power.

The play Doctor Faustus is a great example of the power of knowledge and its ability to corrupt. This story can be used to discuss the dangers of seeking knowledge for its own sake.