FAUSTUS

Marlowe’s Dr Faustus is the true representative of the

Renaissance age as we find almost all the salient features of
that age in the character of Dr Faustus. The Renaissance age
in the positive senses rebirth or revival of knowledge and
enlightenment and all at once, it carries unlimited desires,
lust for infinite knowledge, power and worldly things. These
features are very much present in Dr Faustus.

The story of the Dr Faustus has been derived from German

stories, named Faustbuch. It was a story of straightforward
wickedness and well deserved punishment of Dr Faustus but
Marlowe transforms this simple story into a tragedy by giving
Faustus a voice with which he could examine his own state of
mind and think through moral problems in detail. Marlowe
creates a tragedy which makes a clear voice for
understandable reasons. Through Dr Faustus, Marlowe gives
his view point that unleashed ambitions lead Dr Faustus to
challenge and disobey God and disastrous consequences.

Marlowe’s masterpiece doctor Faustus’ theme is similar to that of

the first play-an insatiable desire for power and adventure,
though in this case the power is symbolized by learning:
“Marlowe takes old story of the medieval magician who sells
his soul to the devil for twenty-four year of pleasure and the
gift of all knowledge, and gives it a significance akin to such
world-old myth as. The Faustus’ legend becomes for us a
symbol of humanity’s splendid struggle to reach the stars,
the tragedy of infinity of aspiration ending in agony and
remorse. The most impressive thing in the play, and one
which is worthy to be placed by the side of the greatest
scenes in Shakespeare, is the one where the Devil comes to
claim Faustus’ soul.

There are two kinds of conflict in the play: one between rival
views of the nature of evil and the other between the choice
of good and the choice of evil. Faustus’ initial obstinacy
makes him persist in a heroic view of evil and renders him
incapable of moral reflections. In his soliloquy, Faustus says;
 "If we say that we have no sin
We deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us.
Why then, belike, we must sin,
And consequently die.
Ay, we must die an everlasting death."
(Act 1, Scene 1, Lines 41-46:)

As for as, the character of Dr Faustus is concerned, he is

dominated by two main character traits: intellect and
ambition. It is the intellect that creates doubt when ambition
alone would simply carry him forward in his devilish contract,
but it is also intellect that makes his ambition possible in the
first place. Within these two, evidence can be found for a
series of binary oppositions. He is capable of stupidity and
intelligence, courage and cowardice, cruelty and generosity.
In short, Dr Faustus is filled with contradiction and so comes
across as very humane, especially in his ambition to better
himself. To this extend, Faustus is a mankind figure; a
representative of each one of us. Faustus also tries to
transcend that status, however, and his ambition to be
greater than human is his downfall.

In an ironic move, the play redefines practicality when it shows

that Faustus’s knowledge, which is about the real work, is
actually impractical in comparison with an imaginative
knowledge about virtue and godliness. Besides his lust for
knowledge, Faustus is immensely conscious of social class,
though probably no more so than most people of Marlowe’s
period. Nevertheless, his habit of respect of nobility and
disrespect for servants directly contradicts any Christian
sense of human beings as equals. His little trick with the out-
of-season grapes is no greater for having provided them for
Duchess.

Faustus is the protagonist and tragic hero of Marlowe’s play,

tremendous eloquence and possessed of awesome ambition, yet
prone to a strange, almost willful blindness and willingness to
waste powers that he has gained at great cost. The tragic hero,
the main character must be realistic or present some sense of
realism. This aspect of the tragic hero is meant for the audience
to relate to or feel some form of connection with the characters
and the story of the play.
One of the features that characterize a tragic hero is that this
type of character “will mistakenly bring his own downfall”, which
is referred to as “hamartia”. For one, the main character of the
play Doctor Faustus makes mistakes, which is part of the human
condition and is something that every human being does. This
also adds to a sense of realism to Faustus, the same for Oedipus
and Hamlet, who also make mistakes.

In Marlowe’s play, the main character, Faustus, brings his own

downfall by the end of the story. In his opening speech, we see
Faustus telling readers that he has skilled himself in law,
medicine and divinity, but he wants to know more than what he
knows and also know more about other things. This aspect of
Faustus, his curiosity to learn and know more, may be thought of
as part of the human condition and human nature and isn’t
something that is seen as wrong in our society.

However, this aspect also blinds Faustus from a sense of reason

and right from wrong. This eventually leads Doctor Faustus to
make an agreement with the devil, which results in Faustus’
downfall. This aspect of Faustus’ character and personality is
similar to Oedipus. In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, Oedipus’ pride
blinds him from seeing truth, reason, as well as the difference
from right and wrong, which leads to character’s downfall and
results in, Oedipus, stabbing his eyes out. Much like Faustus,
Oedipus’ fate is sealed when he refuses to see the truth, even
when it’s standing right in front of him. Though these two tragic
heroes may feel some sense of guilt about their actions, neither
Faustus nor Oedipus seem feeling some sense of guilt or
responsibility of their flaw. We see whenever there is some kind
of good interlude; Faustus brings himself back to his evil
purposes, determining to achieve the glory and power.

What boots it then to think on God or heaven?

Away with such vain fancies and despair,
Despair in God and trust in Beelzebub.
Now go not backward. No, Faustus, be resolute.

The fact that Faustus wants to acquire more knowledge, which

adds to the realism of the play, learning and understanding more
and more subjects, and obtaining more knowledge is part of our
growth and evolve as human beings, as individuals and as a
society.
This sense of realism in the tragic hero may introduce pity. This is
a crucial aspect to the tragedy genre. If the audience and the
readers pity or sympathizes with the main character, this may
lead to suggest that the audience and readers feel some form of
connection with the hero of the play. In order for this to occur,
the character must have some realistic features. This aspect of
the tragic hero of Doctor Faustus in relation to the audience and
readers may vary.

There may be some who do pity Faustus, while other may feel no
pity for this character. The same can be said of the characters
Oedipus and Hamlet. Several people may feel sympathy for these
two characters, while others won’t sympathize with these
characters at all. This aspect and feature is part of the human
condition and adds to the realism of the character and of the
play. It is impossible to like or sympathize with everyone.

Marlow seems at his best in the portrayal of this tragic hero Dr.
Faustus. He has elevated this character to a height, which is
envied by many of the writers and it is an undeniable fact that
the character of Dr. Faustus is a remarkable character and is the
true reflection of Marlow’s dramatic genius and this one character
has given a stature, which is memorable in the history of the
English literature. In the depiction of remorse and the pangs of
conscious Marlowe is the equal of Shakespeare. Even some of the
critics are very just to remark that
“No Marlowe, No Shakespeare”