Certain aspects of Dr. Faustus
Can be used to support the argument that Faustus is a Renaissance hero, while others believe he has medieval traits. According to the medieval worldview, man was placed in his position by God and must be content with his lot in life. Any attempt or aspiration to go beyond this sealing was deemed a pride sin (Wessman 405). Arrogance is one of the worst offenses a medieval person can commit. This was owing to the fact that Lucifer's fall was caused by his ego when he attempted to rebel against God. Thus, for people with a medieval view, seeking pride is among the highest sins a person can commit (Wessman 405).
From the medieval perspective
Faustus has earnest desires for forbidden knowledge. To gather more intelligence than he should, Faustus reaches out for Lucifer, an action which results in his damnation (Banerjee 222). Eventually, Faustus came to understand at the end of the drama that certain powers belong to gods and that any individual who tries to deal or handle magical powers must get eternal punishment (Banerjee 222). When the scene is evaluated from his point of view, Faustus deserves the damnation punishment accorded to him; at this context, the play leans more to morality than tragedy. The conclusion is an aspect of justice, where the man who has deliberately acted against the natural laws of nature deservedly punished (Banerjee 222). The chorus at the end of the play stresses this verdict when it reprimands to learn from Faustus damnation experience and refrain from going beyond the restrictions bestowed on human beings.
The Renaissance view also explains Faustus character
In Dr. Faustus' setting, many people had conflicting perspectives on their minds, including Marlowe, the author of this text as to whether to follow the renaissance or medieval views (Fletcher 188). The pro-renaissance were frustrated on the applicability of the medieval perspectives because they were just talks. For instance, the debate about the number of angels who could stand on the sharp end of a pin was prominent on medieval theses (Fletcher 189). The pro-renaissance academics, nevertheless, revitalized a desire in classical Greek knowledge and ancient humanism. They got deeply immersed in the possibility and massive potential of humanity (Fletcher 189).
The Renaissance view holds that Faustus acts against the limitations of the medieval understanding
And the limits put on humans decreeing that he must acknowledge his position on earth without battling it (Hattaway 53). Because of his quest for more knowledge beyond the human capacity, Faustus signs a pact; his wish according to the renaissance perspective, is to rise above reasonable limits. Faustus dares damnation to realize his objectives (Hattaway 53). The tragedy occurs when an individual is condemned to damnation for goals perceived noble by going beyond the petty ceilings of humanity.
The first encounter with Faustus reveals
That he is an individual not contented in his studies in divinity, medicine, law, and dialectics (Hattaway 53). Irrespective of being the most learned the world over, he derives no satisfaction from his scholarly work, and he is not happy with the limitations of knowledge of humanity. For him to satisfy his hunger for greater understanding, he opts to test black magic. He looks forth to going beyond the usual human life and find out the heights above. It can be postulated that he wants to possess godlike characteristics (Hattaway 53).
Faustus is ready to auction his soul to Lucifer
Under terms of the agreement which he will receive after 24 years from Mephistophilis, and after the lapse of this duration, he will hand over his soul to the devil (Banerjee 225). Initially, he has the potential of a great man who serves the society for the good of all, but his willingness to exchange his soul for pleasure, he steadily falls towards destruction (Banerjee 225). He allows his abilities to be used doing stupid tricks and to quench his physical thirsts. At various point in the play, Faustus takes his time, meditates and considers repentance. He frequently contemplates about seeking forgiveness, but he deliberately remains connected to Lucifer through Mephistophilis, and never makes any effort to repent (Banerjee 225).
At the conclusion of the drama
When awaiting his condemnation to hell, he justifies his decline to repent and get reunited with God (Jones 225). All over the plot, internal and external forces propose that he might have reconsidered going back to God and get forgiveness. In the last scene, the academics want to compel Faustus to seek repentance from God, but he justifies his stand that he has lived throughout his life against the will of God and he makes no attempts to find God’s pardon and the devils appear. At that moment he screams in pain for his final verdict as they take him away (Jones 225).
The dominant theme advanced in the play
Doctor Faustus is the clash between growing renaissance and the medieval world. In the medieval world, God is at the center of the existence of everything; he put man and the natural world aside. Renaissance on the other side is a crusade with origin in Italy which started in the 15th century and spread all over Europe soon afterward (Pettitt 415). It championed the aspects of individuality, scientific inquiry, and classical learning about the nature of the world around. In the medieval (old) school of thought, theology informed sciences, while secular matters formed the center stage in Renaissance thought (Pettitt 415).
Being a magician and not a scientist
Faustus openly rubbishes the old school of thought. In his speech in the first scene, he examines all scholarly fields, starting with logic all through to theology, law, and medicine quoting ancient proponents of each: for law-Justinian, for medicine-Galen, for religion-the Bible, and Aristotle for philosophy (Poole 193). Authority and tradition were fundamental in the medieval view but not personal inquiry. He makes a decision, applying the spirit of a renaissance, to work with zero limits, authorities, or traditions in his effort to get power, wealth, and knowledge (Poole 193).
The play’s perception on the clash between renaissance and medieval values is indistinct
The author seems harsh towards the aspiration of the protagonist, Dr. Faustus, and keeps him intact on the medieval setting, where eternal condemnation is the ultimate price for human arrogance. However, Faustus represents the new generation and the modern world not keen on limits imposed by fellow human beings, region, and people free from Godly beliefs (Shepherd-Barr 65).
Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus
Was authored in the 16th century probably between 1588 and 1589, following a breakthrough of his two early sections of his play, Tamburlaine (Shepherd-Barr 65). Dr Faustus was acted throughout the last decade of the 16th century before the first edition; A-text got published in1604 (Shepherd-Barr 65). The B-text or the second version got published in 1616 (Shepherd-Barr 65). There is a significant difference between the two versions; there are several speeches in the A-edition missing in the B-version. Further, nearly 700 lines in B-text are mission in version A. Also, lines present in both versions have numerous verbal differences, both large and small (Shepherd-Barr 65).
The question of dogma is the most significant controversy encompassing Doctor Faustus play
The issue here is whether the comedy serves or subverts the Protestant principles. According to some scholars, the reformation theology offers the dramatic unity in the acts (Sofer 9). They postulate that Dr. Faustus is a thorough Christian both in import and conception. They further say that Faustus sins intentionally, and in response suffers eternal condemnation- something which is in line with the Christian beliefs (Sofer 9). Other scholars and philosophers stress the use of humanism in the play, describing Faustus as portraying as Promethean imaging reflecting the renaissance desires. Nevertheless, the protagonist acts contrary to restrictions of death, and further revolts against Calvinist teachings or predestination (Sofer 9). In a biographic point of view, Harry Levin proposes that Marlowe personally was a wilful and impenitent scoundrel determined to subvert Christian doctrines. The subversive feature of the drama is among the most familiar themes of the end of 20th-century critique. Several philosophers perceive the play as making inquiries without providing verifications of either humanist or religious characteristic (Sofer 9).
From another facet, Doctor Faustus has a unique connection with medieval miracle plays as follows: Doctor Faustus and mystery and wonder plays- English plays from the Middle Ages which advanced the miracle of the saints, and frequently biblical acts were labeled miracle plays. Often, academics have tried to draw a line between the mystery and wonder and miracle plays, calling the former the bible drama and the latter as saints’ play (Wasson 222). Their primary objective was ethical and religious teachings; however, initially based on liturgy, they evolved into secular. Most scenes advanced the life of a saint and they had a loose structure (Wasson 222). Nevertheless, the devil had his part to play, but the play revolved around the main character. In connection with Doctor Faustus, it is easy to link some characteristics of the miracle plays. For instance, scene IV in act one, we see two devils, Belcher and Belial getting in to frighten the clown. Also, scenes I and II of act II scene III of act IV, and scene II of Act V advances the topic of devils. Further, the drama preserves the chorus tradition (Wasson 222). We see the chorus announcing the beginning of the story in the first scene and filling the gaps in the plot and signaling the conclusion of the play with an earnest moral teaching. The structural looseness is quite apparent, and similar to the miracle plays, the story revolves around one prominent character, Doctor Faustus. From the names given, it is clear that the protagonists performed some great sensations in the same way doctor Faustus does terrific actions in this very drama (Wasson 222).
In conclusion
despite all its connections with the medieval moralities and miracles, Doctor Faustus cannot be fully accorded a decent play. It is the most celebrated tragedy before the advent of Shakespeare with its massive stress on characterization and internal conflict in the mind of a prominent personality. Doctor Faustus is both the finest and last of Marlowe’s heroic drama and the personification of the moral traditions of the English.
Works cited
Banerjee, Pompa. "I, Mephastophilis: Self, Other, and Demonic Parody in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus." Christianity & Literature42.2 (1993): 221-241.
Fletcher, Angus. "Doctor Faustus and the Lutheran Aesthetic." English Literary Renaissance 35.2 (2005): 187-209.
Hattaway, Michael. "The Theology of Marlowe's" Doctor Faustus"." Renaissance Drama 3 (1970): 51-78.
Jones, Michael. "Theatrical History in the Croxton Play of the Sacrament." ELH 66.2 (1999): 223-260.
Pettitt, Thomas. "The Living Text: The Play, the Players, and Folk Tradition." Leeds Studies in English 32 (2001): 413-430.
Poole, Kristen. "The Devil's in the Archive:" Doctor Faustus" and Ovidian Physics." Renaissance Drama 35 (2006): 191-219.
Shepherd-Barr, Kirsten. Science on stage: from Doctor Faustus to Copenhagen. Princeton University Press (2006): 64-69.
Sofer, Andrew. "How to Do Things with Demons: Conjuring Performatives in Doctor Faustus." Theatre Journal 61.1 (2009): 1-21.
Wasson, John. "The Morality Play: Ancestor of Elizabethan Drama?." Comparative Drama (1979): 210-221.
Wessman, Christopher. "I’ll Play Diana’: Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus and the ‘Actaeon Complex." English Studies 82.5 (2001): 401-419.
