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The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus

Name: The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus
Author: Christopher Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe

c. 1592 (printed 1604) · Renaissance Early Modern · Drama · English

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Abstract

Written: c. 1588-1592
Setting: 16th century; Wittenberg, Rome and the court of the Emperor
Author: Christopher Marlowe
Country: England
Language: English
Genre: Elizabethan tragedy
Form: Tragedy in scenes, with prologue and epilogue
Recommended: Grades 9–12 (Tragedy of damnation; some comic scenes; good for grades 9-12.)

Scholar. A learned German doctor has exhausted philosophy, medicine, law and theology and, finding them barren, turns to forbidden arts.

Pact. He summons a fallen spirit, hears that hell travels with the damned, and still signs away his soul in blood for twenty-four years of power.

Squandered years. He spends his gifts on sightseeing, pranks at the Vatican, conjured emperors, out-of-season fruit and a parade of the deadly sins, while servants and clowns parody his magic.

Warnings. Angels and an aged believer urge repentance; each time fear or pride wins.

End. He embraces a vision of the Greek beauty Helen and, in a last-hour speech, begs time to stop before demons drag him away.

Reading. Marlowe's mighty verse and the tragedy of a mind refusing grace make the play a natural companion to Goethe's Faust and to Macbeth in high-school study. Students can track every moment when the hero might still turn back, compare the comic subplot with the main action, and read the closing soliloquy aloud to feel how its rhythm speeds toward midnight. The play also opens good discussion of despair, pride and the Christian teaching that grace is offered until the end.

Main characters

Doctor Faustus: A brilliant scholar who sells his soul.
Mephistophilis: Lucifer's servant who attends Faustus.
Good Angel: A voice urging Faustus to repent.
Evil Angel: A voice urging Faustus to continue.
Old Man: A holy man who begs Faustus to repent.
Wagner: Faustus's student and servant.

Summary

Doctor Faustus, written around 1592 and first printed in 1604, is Christopher Marlowe's tragedy of a scholar who sells his soul to the devil. This text follows the 1604 quarto, known as the A-text, edited by Alexander Dyce. Faustus, a learned doctor of Wittenberg, has mastered logic, medicine, law and divinity and finds them all unsatisfying. Reading the Bible selectively, he concludes that sin leads inevitably to death and turns instead to magic, which promises power, wealth and knowledge. A Good Angel urges him to repent, and an Evil Angel urges him on. With the help of the magicians Valdes and Cornelius, he conjures the devil Mephistophilis, who admits that hell is not a place apart: why, this is hell, nor am I out of it. Undeterred, Faustus signs a contract in his own blood, giving his soul to Lucifer in exchange for twenty-four years of service; as he signs, his blood congeals and the words Homo, fuge, 'Man, flee', appear on his arm. Faustus then uses his powers for trivial ends. He questions Mephistophilis about the heavens, watches a pageant of the Seven Deadly Sins, plays tricks on the Pope in Rome, conjures Alexander the Great for the Emperor, and fetches grapes out of season for a duchess, while comic scenes show his servant Wagner and the clowns Robin and Rafe misusing magic. Several times he considers repenting, but fear and pride hold him back. An Old Man begs him to turn to God's mercy. Near the end Faustus summons Helen of Troy and asks, 'Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships?' In the final scene, during his last hour, he pleads for time to stop, longs to hide from God's wrath, and offers to burn his books, but devils carry him off. The Chorus mourns: cut is the branch that might have grown full straight. The play is a powerful study of ambition, despair and the refusal of grace, and it suits high-school readers.

Virtues in this work

Hope: The Old Man shows that hope of mercy remains.
Humility: The play warns against intellectual pride.

Plot or Argument

The choice
Faustus rejects the traditional studies and turns to magic.
The bargain
He conjures Mephistophilis and signs away his soul for twenty-four years.
The years of power
Faustus tours the world, tricks the Pope and entertains princes.
The last hour
Faustus summons Helen, refuses repentance, and is carried to hell.

Characters

Doctor Faustus, protagonist
A brilliant scholar who sells his soul.
Mephistophilis, devil
Lucifer's servant who attends Faustus.
Good Angel, angel
A voice urging Faustus to repent.
Evil Angel, angel
A voice urging Faustus to continue.
Old Man, counsellor
A holy man who begs Faustus to repent.
Wagner, servant
Faustus's student and servant.

Lessons

Knowledge and power
Faustus wants knowledge chiefly as a means to wealth, pleasure and power.
- Why is Faustus dissatisfied with his studies?
- What does he do with his powers?
- When does the desire for knowledge become dangerous?
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Despair and grace
Faustus is repeatedly urged to repent but refuses, sinking into despair.
- What stops Faustus from repenting?
- What does the Old Man offer?
- Is Faustus damned by his contract or by despair?
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Tragic hero
Faustus is both a great aspiring mind and a fool who trades eternity for trifles.
- What is admirable in Faustus?
- What is his tragic flaw?
- Why does the Chorus mourn him?
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Context

Marlowe wrote in the age of Elizabeth I, amid Protestant debates over predestination, damnation and grace, and new interest in magic and science.

Composition

Based on the English Faust Book (a translation of the German Faustbuch of 1587); first printed in 1604 (A-text) and in a longer version in 1616 (B-text).

Reception

A popular stage success; the legend later inspired Goethe's Faust and many other works.

Ambition Guilt Sin Faith / Religion Science / Knowledge Death / Mortality

Comparisons

Faust, Part One
Goethe's later treatment of the Faust legend.
Macbeth
Shakespeare's tragedy of a man who chooses evil for power.

Quotes

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

— Christopher Marlowe, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, Faustus's first conjuring of Mephistophilis (Project Gutenberg #779).Quote card

The Brothers Karamazov, Book VI, Chapter 3, Of Hell and Hell Fire
What is hell?” I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love Zosima defines hell in moral and relational terms during his spiritual reflections.
Selected Sermons, Sermons on affliction and providence
Calvin frames suffering as a field for trust, correction, endurance, and communal support.
No Treason, No. VI, § I
The Constitution has no inherent authority or obligation. The opening sentence of The Constitution of No Authority.
The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, Closing reflections
Affliction I wanted, and affliction I had, full measure (I thought), pressed down and running over. She recalls that in prosperity she had sometimes wished for trials, fearing she had her portion in this life.
Henry VI, Part 1, Full Text
beauty s princely majesty is such Confounds the tongue and makes the senses rough MARGARET Say Earl of Suffolk if thy name be so What ransom must I pay before I pass For I perceive I am thy prisoner SUFFOLK How canst thou tell she will deny thy suit Before thou make a trial of her love MARGARET Why speak st thou not What ransom must I pay SUFFOLK She s beautiful and therefore to be woo d She is a woman therefore to be won MARGARET Wilt thou accept of ransom yea or no SUFFOLK Fond man remember that thou hast a wi...

“Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight,”

— Christopher Marlowe, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, Epilogue (Project Gutenberg #779).Quote card

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Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Full Text
already gained from the seed sown by our lord Gregory may grow strong and be further extended that so the promises spoken by our Lord may hereafter be brought to pass in you and that these words may summon you to everlasting happiness Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will refresh you And again Well done good and faithful servant thou hast been faithful over a few things I will make thee ruler over many things enter thou into the joy of thy Lord And we most beloved brothers sending you fi...

For Students

A reading companion for classical Christian high school students. See the student guide.

Reading Guide

Watch for

Faustus's opening soliloquy.
The signing of the contract in blood.
The pageant of the Seven Deadly Sins.
The appearance of Helen.
Faustus's final soliloquy.

Key terms and names

Soliloquy: A speech in which a character speaks his thoughts alone on stage.
Morality play: A medieval drama in which virtues and vices compete for a soul.
Blank verse: Unrhymed iambic pentameter, which Marlowe made powerful.
Necromancy: Magic that claims to command spirits of the dead.

Seminar Questions

Comprehension What does Faustus get in his bargain?
Comprehension What does Mephistophilis say about hell?
Comprehension What happens in Faustus's last hour?
Interpretation Why does Faustus misread the Bible in his opening speech?
Interpretation Why doesn't Faustus repent?
Big Question Is any knowledge worth losing one's soul?

Faith Connections

Mark 8:36 (Scripture)
What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
1 John 1:9 (Scripture)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us; Faustus omits this promise.

Logic and Rhetoric

Central argument: Ambition that rejects God's grace leads to damnation; Faustus's tragedy is not that he cannot be forgiven, but that he will not ask.

Rhetorical device: soliloquy. The last-hour speech makes time itself seem to rush toward judgment.

Debate: Resolved: that Faustus could have been saved even at the end.

Memory Work

Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it:
Faustus's first conjuring of Mephistophilis. Mephistophilis's terrible insight into hell.

Writing Prompts

Essay: How does Marlowe use the Good and Evil Angels to show Faustus's inner struggle?

Comparison with Faust, Part One: Compare Marlowe's Faustus with Goethe's Faust.

Creative Prompts

Essay
Is Faustus damned by fate or by choice?
Fiction
Write a modern scene in which someone is tempted by a bargain for knowledge or fame.
Classroom
Stage the final soliloquy and discuss its rhythm and emotion.