Introduction to Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus

Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus (c. 1588–1592) remains one of the most powerful examples of Elizabethan tragedy, capturing the tension between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It is a study of the “overreacher”—a man who dares to transcend the limits of human knowledge and power.

1. The Conflict: Medieval vs. Renaissance

The play is structured as a transition between two worldviews:

• The Medieval Framework: The presence of the Good and Evil Angels, the Seven Deadly Sins, and the literal Hell reflects a traditional morality play. In this view, Faustus is a sinner whose pride (hubris) leads to damnation.
• The Renaissance Ideal: Faustus embodies the Renaissance Man—the seeker of knowledge, individualism, and secular power. He is dissatisfied with traditional logic, medicine, law, and divinity, viewing them as restrictive.

2. Character Analysis: The Overreacher

Faustus is not a typical villain; he is a tragic hero whose “fall” is born from intellectual ambition.

• The Intellectual Vacuum: In the opening soliloquy, Faustus dismisses Aristotle (Logic), Galen (Medicine), Justinian (Law), and the Bible (Divinity). He finds them “servile” and turns to the “metaphysics of magicians.”
• The Tragedy of Choice: Unlike Greek tragedies where fate governs all, Faustus’s tragedy is one of volition. He repeatedly ignores the Good Angel and the warnings of Mephastophilis himself.
• The Paradox of Power: Once he gains absolute power, he wastes it on trivialities—playing pranks on the Pope, fetching grapes for a Duchess, and conjuring a “shadow” of Helen of Troy. His soul is sold for infinite potential, but spent on finite parlor tricks.

3. Mephastophilis and the Nature of Hell

Marlowe offers a revolutionary definition of Hell through Mephastophilis. When Faustus asks why the demon is out of Hell, Mephastophilis replies:

“Why this is hell, nor am I out of it.”

This suggests that Hell is a state of mind and the deprivation of God’s presence, rather than just a physical location. Mephastophilis is a complex antagonist; he is surprisingly honest about the horrors of damnation, acting as a dark mirror to Faustus’s delusions.

4. Major Themes

Knowledge vs. Wisdom

Faustus possesses vast knowledge but lacks the wisdom to understand its limits. He masters the how of the world but loses the why of his soul.

The Power of Language

Marlowe’s “mighty line” (blank verse) elevates the play. Faustus’s speech upon seeing Helen of Troy is one of the most famous in English literature:

“Was this the face that launch’d a thousand ships, / And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?”

Despair and Repentance

The play explores the “sin of despair.” Faustus believes his sin is too great for God to forgive. This lack of faith in mercy—rather than the magic itself—is what ultimately seals his fate.

5. Structure and Symbolism

• The Good and Evil Angels: These represent the internal psychological struggle within Faustus’s conscience.
• The Blood Covenant: Faustus must sign the contract in his own blood. When his blood congeals, it is a physical omen from his own body trying to save him.
• The Final Hour: The final scene is a masterclass in dramatic tension. As the clock ticks toward midnight, Faustus’s soliloquy shifts from grand Latin invocations to desperate, fragmented pleas to “burn his books.”

Summary Table: The Fall of Faustus

Marlowe leaves the audience with a chilling “Chorus” that warns us to “regard his hellish fall,” serving as a reminder that while the thirst for knowledge is noble, the abandonment of ethics and humility leads to destruction.

Seven Deadly Sins:

How they Appear

In Act II, Scene iii, Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Mephastophilis bring the Seven Deadly Sins out as a “show” to distract Faustus. They do not just speak; they perform a procession or a “pageant.”

• The Entrance: They typically enter one by one, often dressed in costumes that visually represent their sin (e.g., Gluttony might be padded to look obese, while Pride might wear extravagant, haughty clothing).
• The Interaction: Faustus stands as a spectator. Each sin introduces themselves, explains their “parentage” or nature, and then moves aside for the next.
• The Purpose: While Faustus treats it like a theatrical performance (a “pastime”), for the Elizabethan audience, it was a literal representation of the forces currently occupying Faustus’s soul.

The scene is a dark parody of the medieval Morality Play. Rather than being a warning, the sins are presented as entertainment, and Faustus’s delighted reaction—“O, this feeds my soul!”—highlights his total spiritual blindness, as these sins are actually consuming his soul, not feeding it.

1. Pride

• The Textual Detail: Pride appears first, claiming she disdains to have any parents. She describes herself as like “Ovid’s flea,” capable of creeping into every corner of a person.
• Analysis: This is the “root” sin of the play. It mirrors Faustus’s hubris. Just as Pride refuses to acknowledge a creator, Faustus seeks to become a “demi-god” and transcend his human limitations.

2. Covetousness (Greed)

• The Textual Detail: Personified as an old man who wishes the house and all the people in it were turned into gold so he could lock them in his chest.
• Analysis: This reflects the materialistic side of Faustus’s ambition. He initially dreams of having his spirits fetch “orient pearl” and “pleasant fruits” from across the globe, confusing worldly wealth with actual power.

3. Wrath (Anger)

• The Textual Detail: Wrath describes himself as having “no father nor mother,” leaping out of a lion’s mouth. He carries “a case of rapiers” and wounds himself when he has no one else to fight.
• Analysis: This represents the irrational, destructive nature of Faustus’s later actions. When he is frustrated or challenged—such as by the Knight at the Emperor’s court or the Old Man—his immediate impulse is a “wrathful” desire to torture or silence them.

4. Envy

• The Textual Detail: Envy is “lean with burning of the objects of his desire.” He complains that he cannot read and wishes all books were burned because they contain knowledge he cannot possess.
• Analysis: This is a sharp irony. Faustus is a master of books, yet he ends the play crying, “I’ll burn my books!” Envy’s hatred of knowledge foreshadows Faustus’s eventual realization that his learning was the instrument of his doom.

5. Gluttony

• The Textual Detail: He describes his lineage through food (e.g., “Grandfather was a Chere-wine”). He complains that his parents left him only enough for “thirty meals a day and ten bevers [snacks].”
• Analysis: This symbolizes Faustus’s intellectual gluttony. He is “surfeited” with learning but remains spiritually starving. It also bridges the gap between the “high” tragic plot and the “low” comic plot involving the hungry servants.

6. Sloth (Laziness)

• The Textual Detail: Sloth is so lazy he refuses to even describe his own parents. He begs to be carried back to a “sunny bank” because he cannot be bothered to stand.
• Analysis: This represents spiritual apathy (accidie). Faustus frequently “resolves” to repent but finds it too difficult or “tiresome” to follow through. He takes the path of least resistance by remaining in his pact.

7. Lechery (Lust)

• The Textual Detail: Personified as a woman who loves “an inch of raw mutton better than an ell [45 inches] of fried stockfish.”
• Analysis: Lust is the final sin, and fittingly, it is the one that provides the final “distraction” for Faustus. In the final act, he chooses the “shadow” of Helen of Troy—a demonic illusion—over the reality of salvation.

Here is the exact exam-targeted list of short factual questions and answers based on Andrew Sanders’s The Short Oxford History of English Literature:

Section A: Dates, Publication, & Background

Q1. What is the full, first printed title of Christopher Marlowe’s play about Faustus?

• Answer: The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus.

Q2. What are the exact historical lifespan dates of Christopher Marlowe as recorded in the book?

• Answer: 1564–1593.

Q3. What is the traditional date range suggested for the earliest composition and performance of Doctor Faustus?

• Answer: 1588–1589.

Q4. What alternative, later composition date is argued by a number of modern scholars?

• Answer: 1592.

Q5. At which specific London venue were the earliest documented performances of Doctor Faustus given?

• Answer: The Belsavage Theatre.

Q6. Under what specific chronological sub-heading in Chapter 3 does Andrew Sanders discuss the drama of Christopher Marlowe?

• Answer: “Theatre in the 1590s: Kyd and Marlowe”.

Section B: Collaboration & Scene Division

Q7. According to Sanders, Doctor Faustus is not a solo work. It was written by Marlowe and which probable collaborator?

• Answer: The dramatist Henry Porter.

Q8. Which specific structural parts of the text does general scholarly agreement attribute entirely to Christopher Marlowe?

• Answer: The serious and tragic scenes, specifically: the Prologue, Act 1 (Scenes 1 & 3), Act 2 (Scenes 1 & 3), the Act 3 and 4 Choruses, and Act 5 (from Scene 1 to the close of the play).

Q9. Who is credited with writing the low comic scenes interspersed throughout the play?

• Answer: Marlowe’s unnamed collaborator (Henry Porter).

Section C: Contextual & Conceptual Terms

Q10. What ideological movement of the late sixteenth century shapes Faustus’s relentless pursuit of knowledge and earthly power?

• Answer: Renaissance Humanism.

Q11. What specific classical mythological figure does Marlowe utilize in the Prologue as an image of tragic hubris and overreaching ambition?

• Answer: Icarus (the reference to flying on “waxen wings”).

Q12. What is the exact length of the contract terms Faustus signs with Lucifer?

• Answer: Twenty-four (24) years.

Q13. According to the textbook’s analysis of the worldview of the play, which holy institution does Faustus explicitly reject under demonic provocation?

• Answer: Marriage.

Q14. In what non-dramatic literary role does Sanders group Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare together in the late sixteenth century?

• Answer: As non-dramatic poets.

Q15. How does the text describe the stark transformation of Faustus from Act 1 to the final scene of the play?

• Answer: He transforms from a soaring, arrogant scholar who believes heaven was made for him into a “foolish, deluded, profoundly overmatched victim”.