Doctor Faustus
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The thing that is most difficult to understand about Christopher Marlowe's play Doctor Faustus is how Faustus could persist in condemning himself to hell when he had all the evidence of heaven's existence that he needed. The presence of the devils made it perfectly clear that heaven and hell exist and that he was bound to be damned forever. This question is raised early in the play and it is hard to see why Faustus does not repent and ask for forgiveness and salvation. The Good Angel tells him it is "never too late, if Faustus will repent" (2.2.86). The Bad Angel, of course, insists that it is "too late" (2.2.85). But there does not seem to be any reason why Faustus should believe one of them rather than the other. To say that Faustus' lack of repentance was due to the pride of a man who refuses to accept limits on human knowledge, seems like only part of the answer. Faustus' pride was greater than even this statement implies. For Faustus believed that by using sorcery he alone had discovered the key that all humanity wanted. To admit that the knowledge of God was even more important than all the things he had learned would be to admit that the system Faustus discovered was incomplete. Faustus knows that many people who had none of his brilliance would achieve much more through simple goodness than he could through the system in which he took so much pride. But even this knowledge does not cause him to repent. Faustus represents some of the concerns of the men o
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ifference between a true Renaissance figure such as Leonardo and a man like Faustus who could not even see the value of his work for the future but wanted have all power himself, at that moment in time.
Faustus, for a man so brilliant, displays very little faith in human abilities. Instead he turns to a system of magic and this system, like all the authorities that were being rejected by Renaissance thinkers, had its limitations. The ridiculous devils cannot speak God's name or say who created the earth. Yet this brilliant man who believes that all will be revealed to him through magic does not get terribly upset when Mephostophilis cannot answer when he asks who made the world. "I will not," says the devil and Faustus begins to tease him, "Sweet Mephostophilis, tell me" (2.2.73-4). The devil warns Faustus not to anger him and Faustus replies in anger, "Villain, have not I bound thee to tell me anything" (2.2.76). But Mephostophilis simply replies that he is to tell Faustus anything "that is not against our kingdom" (2.2.77). This condition had not been mentioned before and the fact that it exists now nearly convinces Faustus to repent. The fact that the condition exists at all destroys the consistency of the contract id
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1553
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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