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Summary
Dr. Faustus is famous tragedy (1592, and not, as was long supposed 1588-1589) of Marlowe, that is usually regarded as his greatest tragedy. It is based on the German story of Dr. Faustus or Faust, a real person who lived in the early part of the thirteenth century, a scholar and a necromancer, who was believed to have sold himself to the Devil in return for sovereign knowledge and power. For twenty-four years he satisfies his appetite for power and knowledge by various practical jokes and distractions which the playwright merely outlines but does not elaborate. But in one scene in which Faustus evokes the spirit of Helen of Troy, the poet in Marlowe breaks out in a lyrical passage which has rung throughout the world "Is this the face that launched a thousand ships and burnt the topless towers of lium?" etc. "The last scenes of Faustus are among the most pathetic and most grandiose in Renascence drama....They are unsurpassable even by Shakespeare" (Legouis). |
| Dr. Faustus |
Critical Analysis
The plot of Dr. Faustus is ill-constructed, and is merely a string of detached scenes. The characters are more or less shadowy abstractions like the characters of a morality play. There is a good deal of clownage scenes, probably written by an inferior hand. But it is the poetry of the play that raises it to sublime heights. Even Goethe, who dealt with the same in his famous Faust "could not eclipse the poignant greatness of the last scenes of the play:" The inner conflict of Faustus is portrayed vividly. Faustus is the Renaissance hero where aspiration for Power, knowledge and love leads him to tragic disaster.