Can Faustus truly be regarded as a tragic hero

Faustus, a tragic hero? In order to do this, Marlowe has drawn on the conventions of classical Greek tragedy, many of which dictate the nature of the hero or heroine. In ancient times, a hero achieved heroic status not because of saintliness or wickedness, but because of the acts he performed in life. The hero should have a socially elevated status and suffer a reversal of fortune in which he experiences great suffering. This is all certainly true of Faustus, who is highly regarded as both a lecturer at the University of Wittenberg, and an accomplished scholar. During his life, he performs extraordinary feats, which were unlike anything experienced by lesser mortals. Even by modern standards, the notion of necromancy is disturbing; for a contemporary Elizabethan audience, for whom religion permeated all aspects of life, it would have been inconceivably horrific. Once Faustus is "glutted with learning's golden gifts and surfeited upon cursed necromancy" he uses his powers to embark upon amazing adventures (for example learning the secrets of astronomy upon the summit of mount Olympus) which, again, are befitting of the tragic hero. Faustus reversal of fortune is also typically tragic. During the final scene of the play, in which we witness Faustus' final hour before being taken off to hell, he is, like all heroes of classical tragedy, completely isolated. There is a poignant

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1057
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Absolute Power Simply Seems To Corrupt Faustus. Once He Can Do Everything, He No Longer Wants To Do Anything; Discuss.

Absolute Power Simply Seems To Corrupt Faustus. Once He Can Do Everything, He No Longer Wants To Do Anything; Discuss. Marlowe's representation of Doctor Faustus changes direction through the play. We follow the change in ambition and greed of a human being who seeks pleasure so much that he sells his soul to the devil for a number of years. Does the power that Faustus obtains corrupt him or is he merely dissatisfied with the power he has and is greedy for more. At the start of the play, Marlowe uses powerful language when referring to Faustus' search for knowledge. "O, What a world of profit and delight, of power, of honour, of omnipotence, is promis'd to the studious artisan". This is what Faustus wishes to obtain, the forbidden knowledge that he feels he can achieve, however it seems strange that Faustus should want to learn more and to be taught and able to understand this forbidden knowledge as he previously bids a farewell to thinking "Divinity, adieu!". Faustus is striving for a great power and his intentions are on a grand scale. "I'll have them read me strange philosophy and tell the secrets of all foreign kings; I'll have them wall all Germany with brass and make swift Rhine circle fair Wittenberg". This is what Faustus thinks he will have the ability to do, but later in his same speech we see signs of his arrogance and the way in which he is governed by greed

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1023
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

It has been suggested that Marlowe's audience would have seen Dr Faustus as a 'simply morality play' consider this view of the play using scene 5 as your starting point.

It has been suggested that Marlowe's audience would have seen Dr Faustus as a 'simply morality play' consider this view of the play using scene 5 as your starting point. Dr Faustus is, without a doubt, among Marlowe's most celebrated works of literature. It is said to be a morality play, which would be an accurate analysis, as there are many moral questions and themes present. However, it cannot be said that it is a simple play, because what is thought to be simple by one person could be interpreted as very complex by someone of a higher calibre. It is necessary to explore all levels of the play to understand its true meanings and messages. If one is to analyse what Marlowe's audience thought of Dr Faustus, then one must establish who his audience was. The play was shown during the Elizabethan period, so Elizabethan people of all classes would have watched the play. It was popular entertainment at the time, and would have been regarded as an afternoon play. Many say that Marlowe wrote the play with the primary intention to make money, so it was in his interests to make it appealing to the rich minority, but also to the poorer majority, making it an efficient source of income. What is interesting is how he managed to do this, because at the time, upper class people would have been highly educated in the fine arts, but the lower class people would not quite understand the

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1798
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Explore the presentation of Faustus in the opening scenes.

Explore the presentation of Faustus in the opening scenes. Marlowe uses many techniques to introduce Faustus to the audience within the first few scenes and even from such an early stage in the play the complexity of his character is made apparent, creating a desire for the audience to want to further engage with Faustus in order to try and understand his personality and nature. Through the use of the prologue Marlowe gives a brief history of Faustus life highlighting his success at studying and his lack of content, which followed. Marlowe warns the audience that Faustus will become involved in 'devilish exercise' which is interesting as from the very beginning the audience are anticipating Faustus' fall, knowing that he is a highly skilled man. Through Marlowe presenting Faustus in such a detached way in the prologue, using just simple facts, suspense is created as the audience await the reasons behind such an educated man's decision to become involved in activities that would with certainty condemn him to hell. To the modern audience it is perhaps harder to relate to the great importance religion played in peoples' lives in Marlowe's day when the concept of hell was much a reality of eternity in a physical place, with various punishments of torture depending on the life the deceased had led. Marlowe further highlights Faustus' scholarly nature through his choice of

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1028
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

"Marlowe is not only a great poet but also a great dramatist. His speeches are not only impressive pieces of writing but are carefully designed to sound effective on a stage"

"Marlowe is not only a great poet but also a great dramatist. His speeches are not only impressive pieces of writing but are carefully designed to sound effective on a stage" It is undeniable that Marlowe was one of the greatest writers of the Elizabethan age; many of his speeches are deservedly famous and recited often. However, there is an argument that Marlowe's speeches are so well favored not only because they have been written as spectacular poetry, but also because they are written to fit perfectly on the stage, the writing is designed perfectly for dramatic pauses, heavy stresses and simply all the ingredients needed to provide an audience with a spectacular production. One such extract from 'Doctor Faustus' is the emotional passage towards the end of the play, when Faustus realizes he has "but one bare hour to live" before he is damned to perpetual hell. Marlowe's writing effortlessly portrays Faustus' helplessness and the turmoil of his emotions, however when read aloud the piece is aided by the heavy stresses at crucial moments, the and flow of the speech combined with the drama and the tension of the language make the speech simply breathtaking. The speech begins with a sighed, "Ah, Faustus" which is Faustus evidently attempting to detach himself from the reality of what is about to befall him this is followed by an entirely monosyllabic line,

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1103
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

"Look again at Faustus' opening soliloquy, from 'Settle thy studies, Faustus, and begin' to 'Here tire, my brains to get a deity'. What aspects of Faustus, revealed here, are important to our understanding of him later in the play?

"Look again at Faustus' opening soliloquy, from 'Settle thy studies, Faustus, and begin' to 'Here tire, my brains to get a deity', paying special attention to what he says and how he says it. What aspects of Faustus, revealed here, are important to our understanding of him later in the play?" .From the opening soliloquy, the reader is given a great insight into how Faustus' mind works, how he uses logic and his intellect to draw up conclusions, and it is possible for one to forecast future events and occurrences involving Faustus on the basis of this initial passage. The opening two lines of his soliloquy indicate that he is often quick at making decisions. (However, later on, usually under the influence of other characters or sources, he rethinks whether his decision was the correct one to make). An example of his rush to decision is seen in the opening where Faustus initially states that he is about to "begin to sound the depth of that thou wilt profess". I believe that using the word 'wilt' may suggest that he has finalised his decision, and he is certain that he is going to take this path. However, this is not the case. Later on in the text, he may make a statement as if it has been finalised, yet go on to reconsider his actions. In the soliloquy, he initially claims that he will follow this path, then goes on to consider if it was the right choice, trying to seek

  • Word count: 2478
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

"An impressive opening, a marvellous ending, an indifferent middle". Does this twentieth century comment represent to you a fair summary of Dr. Faustus? Support your views by detailed illustrations of the text.

Elena Solaro 13M "An impressive opening, a marvellous ending, an indifferent middle". Does this twentieth century comment represent to you a fair summary of Dr. Faustus? Support your views by detailed illustrations of the text. The narrative patterns of Dr. Faustus can be said to take on a loose, three-part structure, in which the first part involves the serious business of Faustus conjuring the devil, the middle involves trivial entertainment and the final section, in which the play reaches an intense poetic conclusion. It is arguable that compared to the high drama and passion evident at the beginning and end, the middle of the play has little to offer. However, despite the fact that in Faustus, Marlowe intended to portray the tragic downfall of a great man, he also included the apparently frivolous middle scenes for a specific purpose. The play opens with Faustus alone in his study, contemplating the direction in which he should take his future studies. This first speech is energetic and his words are those of a young man. As Faustus continues to reveal his dissatisfaction with the limits of human knowledge, rejecting each of the various scholarly disciplines available to him, the audience begin to become suspicious of his intentions. When Faustus proclaims that "a greater subject fitteth [his] wit", and that the next step in his education must be necromancy, our worst

  • Word count: 2058
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Doctor Faustus: What do we learn about Faustus? What are our responses to his ambition? What is your response to key issued linked to pride?

Doctor Faustus: What do we learn about Faustus? What are our responses to his ambition? What is your response to key issued linked to pride? We first learn that Faustus is an academic and well educated individual from the first few lines, having studied at 'Wittenberg' we are prone to believe he is a highly educated man; furthermore, we begin to understand same of his qualities, such as, being a 'quick learner', a master of theology, yet after a change in register, we begin to identify the fact that his awareness of being an intelligent person, turns into cockiness and self-pride. 'His waxen wings did mount above his reach' This allows us to pick up on the idea that his desire for knowledge and power is beyond the scope of man; in other words, Dr Faustus feels that he has to make decisions about his future, having mastered a brilliant career. Philosophy, medicine, law and theology doesn't satisfy hum any longer and this is where we begin to embark on Faustus' attractions to the secrets of magic; having mastered all other aspects of knowledge, he want to master craft. Faustus' journey to creating magic reveals a lot about his character in just the first few pages. Faustus originally intends to increase his intellect and power to help others and impact on his chances of finding a mate to start a family, yet we begin to identify him ad being somewhat a demonic character,

  • Word count: 584
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Aysha Bismillah 11R

Aysha Bismillah 11R Drama GCSE- Evaluation of live performance The play was about a man called Dr Faustus who sold his soul to the devil for 24 years s he could live in luxury and get whatever he wanted with people waiting on him. When these 24 years come to an end Faustus regrets giving his soul to the devil and turns to God who forgives him. It was set in Whittenburg University in the 1500's. The theatre we watched the play in was small and intimate. This affected the performance because the audience were closer to the stage and this made the audience concentrate more. Faustus was a greedy character. He wanted luxury and power. The actor who played Faustus was loud and showed his emotions/feelings. His body language and facial expressions showed his confusion throughout the play. He talked to himself to tell the audience what was going through his mind. Mephostophilis was a stern character who had his way of making people change their mind. Lucifer was a mean character who looked evil and controlled people. She could also make people do what she wanted them to do. The good and bad angels were competitive and tried to keep Faustus on their side. The set was ideal for the play. It was a traverse stage with people on both sides so everyone could see what was going on. The lights were very low so the room was dark. This created an eerie effect and increased audience

  • Word count: 787
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

What does the play tell us about 16th century attitudes to ambition, pride and defiance to God?

What does the play tell us about 16th century attitudes to ambition, pride and defiance to God? Doctor Faustus was written in the Renaissance period where there was a shift from Christian ideals. People wanted to achieve their potential. At that time society was God-fearing, they believed that God gives the world purpose and the church at the time was extremely powerful. There were church laws and atheists were hung. The 16th century brought about a high level of paranoia that Satan was everywhere and God was no longer a guardian angel saving us from evil but that we had to defend ourselves from him. However with new discoveries, people began to look beyond religion and God, towards science and magic. Marlowe was quite ahead of the people of his time and was an atheist. He uses Faustus to represent the new ambitious intellects that wanted to test their abilities and turn away from religious theories. With the strict laws of the time, Marlowe wouldn't have been able to express his ideas openly and so he depicts the Christian idea of the time that the individual is responsible for his own fate, and in this story Faustus' own attitude represents the changing attitudes of the people of his time. There were many advances in this period and they came about because of the ambitions of the people to gain a deeper knowledge in all the different studies but Faustus' damnation is almost

  • Word count: 975
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay