The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, commonly referred to simply as Doctor Faustus, is a play

byChristopher Marlowe, based on the Faust story, in which a man sells his soul to the devil for power and knowledge. Doctor Faustus was first published in 1604, eleven years after Marlowe's death and at least twelve years after the first performance of the play.

Dr. Faustus is an unbelievable play based on Christopher Marlowe's stories about scholar and magician, Johann Faust. Faust, born in 1488, made a pact with the devil to gain magical powers. The original Faust wandered through his German homeland until his death in 1541. The first story about his life appeared in 1587 (written in German), and was translated into English in 1592. Its title, "The History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus." Dating Renaissance texts is a difficult task, but this text is a bit more challenging. Scholars are of the opinion that Marlowe heard or read the story of Johann Faust and composed Doctor Faustus sometime between 1588 and 1592; it is officially registered in 1601. The play is a tragic comedy, and only today did I learn that it is widely believed that Marlowe only constructed its beginning and conclusion. It is said that he wrote the tragic elements, whereas two other collaborators wrote the comedic dialog in the middle. None-the-less, it's a masterpiece. The play as a whole is well loved and well written. Marlowe uses a well though out plot, and his descriptive language gives the reading audience the illusion of being physically present. Our main character is an 'every day Joe;' we can relate to him and in many ways understand his internal struggles; his traits are very like our own...... they're just amplified to a degree that catches our attention. Doctor Faustus is a lesson in morality. The never ending conflict between good and evil is evident throughout. Marlowe's personification of these characters are right on target......... Fautus' struggle with the devil is real...... we see him lose his soul. Angels and devils highlight this struggle by showing them as real physical beings that are encountered and use their influence rather spiritual beings. They're used to show Fautus' struggle and eventual capitulation to darkness, a darkness that's only exemplified in the last few moments of his struggle- those moments of regret because it's all over and there's no more turning back. Like most morality plays, Marlowe uses allegory to dramatize Faustus' struggles with good and evil. He touches on sin, redemption, and damnation; the conflict between medieval and Renaissance values; absolute power and corruption; the dividedness of human nature A chorus appears between the scenes, which provides background and comments; their songs take us back and forth between the past and present. Long, detailed soliloquies are a part of Fautus' dialog, allowing us an intricate look and understanding of his perspective. There are some very humorous moments mixed in with the tragedy of Fautus' life, and we often wish he'd use the brains he traded his soul to attain.

As a play, I'd say Marlowe was more than successful in making the point he wished to make. Further proof is there simple fact that we still use his works and enjoy them in the present day

Playboy
When Hugh Hefner started publishing Playboy, he was not only showing pictures of almost naked young women; he also wrote many articles about the Freedom of the Presses; of his or your opinion; freedom for any person to do any thing that was not harmful to others, when s/he chose. Hugh was a free spirited man. He is still a free spirited man. Many young men saw their first beautiful almost naked woman in Playboy copies. The relevance of the magazine in present times is that this man, although almost 80 years old, found a way to speak his mind--indeed to show men and many women what he thought was a beautiful woman, in his opinion. The women he chose to picture were not, usually, scholars. They were, simply, born beautiful or learned to make themselves and their bodies beautiful. Playboy still publishes cartoons about the never ending interest that most women have regarding sexual options and activities in their older ages. Mr Hefner almost was closed down by legal powers who thought his magazine was pornographic. He fought those lawsuits and the government and some nasty Christian leaders who wanted to stop his presses. His relevance, and the relevance of Playboy, continue to show us that Americans do have "freedom of the press." On the other hand, some of his pictorials were heavily air brushed, made up, and distasteful to many women, who could not compare to air brushed images of young women who appeared to be perfect. And right wing Christian leaders, almost all men, tried unsuccessfully to shut him down. He still publishes and there is still a vague freedom to our presses in America.

cathedral
The allure of such a story for a dramatist is obvious: there is a great conflict between human and divine power, a strong central character and a number of complicated spiritual issues to be found in his death. In 1935, T. S. Eliot answered this "calling" to compose a play for that year's Canterbury Festival; the result was a work that revitalized verse dramaa form that had not been widely employed for almost three hundred years. Critics praised Eliot's use of verse and ability to invest a past historical event with modern issues and themes, such as the ways in which lay persons react to the intrusion of the supernatural in their daily lives. In part because it is a religious drama which appeared long after such plays were popular, Murder in the Cathedral is still performed, studied, and regarded as one of Eliot's major works, a testament to his skill as a poet and dramatist. Although T.S. Eliot wrote Murder in the Cathedral as a verse drama, which portrayed the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, the significance of the play is its protest of the Nazi regime's suberversion of Christian beliefs. Based heavily on the writings of Edward Grim (Becket's clerk), the play portrays an individual's opposition to authority, and the subject matter had a direct correlation to the

rising Facism in Central Europe.