Dr. Faustus - Christopher Marlowe

“Doctor Faustus” is one of the famous plays of Christopher Marlowe. By describing Doctor Faustus’s character, he has showed that how a man like, Doctor Faustus can go beyond the reality, that means, for getting his goal, he can go to the extent by selling his soul. And this thing, indeed, shows Doctor Faustus’s excessive desire for knowledge.

                                  Doctor Faustus is a scholar from university of Wittenberg. He is not satisfied with his knowledge. He rejects the traditional form of “Logic, Medicine, Law and Religion.” He prefers the path of evil and practices magic. For gaining his goal, Doctor Faustus has paid in terms of own soul that he has sold to Lucifer, the ruler of the Hell. In Doctor Faustus’s nature there is an element of hubris (one common Greek form of “Hamartia”) which remains thoroughly his life. Marlowe also has showed the conflict between Medieval and Renaissance values in this play.

Marlowe has showed Doctor Faustus as the man of the Renaissance time against the Medieval time. Marlowe has also showed that in the Renaissance time, “Human being” is at the center but in the Medieval time “God” is at the center and this trend is altered in the Renaissance time. Doctor Faustus is presented as an example that shows the Renaissance concept. But here, we knew the desires of Doctor Faustus which are so grand. He can do anything for satisfying his desires. But Doctor Faustus chose evil path for getting his goal and it propelled him towards his doom.

Marlowe has created the tragic element in Faustus’s character wonderfully. Doctor Faustus wants the last hour of his life to be prolonged so that his damnation may be postponed. His thirst for knowledge is limitless and this thing has led him to his TRAGIC END.

Doctor Faustus, indeed, is a tragic hero. His Black deeds lead him to disaster. Despite repentance, he is punished. His all escaping ways fail to save him from declination. We can say that Marlowe, by this play, wants to say that if we go against God, we will have to pay a great cost or we will be punished.