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Summary of “The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus. This play starts with Dr. Faustus being discovered in his study looking at a book and trying to figure out which is better philosophy, divinity or magic. He decides on magic and has his servant, Wagner, send for Valdes and Cornelius who are renowned for their ability in conjuring and magic.
Tragical History of Doctor Faustus: A Morality Play is an eternal composition by Christopher Marlowe in the monarchy of the Renaissance English literature of the 16th century. In the play, Good Angel stands for a conscience that is the voice of soul, and Evil Angel stands for the human desire that is in favour of the devils—Lucifer, Belzebub and Mephistophilis.
The general theme of morality play is the struggle of forces of good and evil of the soul of man, and the aim is to teach doctrines and ethics of Christianity. In this sense Doctor Faustus is a morality play to a very great extent. We see Faustus abjuring the scriptures, The Trinity and Christ.
The Faust Project: Summary of A Selection of Critical Essays of Marlowe’s Dr Faustus Edited by A E Dyson, The University Press, 1969 Henry Maitland Maitland argues that Marlowe’s Dr Faustus is flawed and disproportioned. This is due to the middle section which trivialises the solemn, philosophical and weighty seriousness of the beginning.
Faustus then learns at the end of the play that supernatural powers are reserved for the gods and that the person who attempts to handle or deal in magical powers must face eternal damnation. When we examine the drama from this standpoint, Faustus deserves his punishment; then the play is not so much a tragedy as it is a morality play.
Dr Faustus by Christopher Marlowe, albeit debatably does in fact fall into the genre of tragedy. The fact that Faustus is a tragic hero and such a tragic hero cannot be the hero of a morality play. In spite of the very obvious links towards the medieval morality plays, it can never be wholly a morality play.
Critical Essays Faustus as Dramatic Character When we first meet Faustus, he is a man who is dissatisfied with his studies in dialectics, law, medicine, and divinity. Even though he is the most brilliant scholar in the world, his studies have not brought him satisfaction, and he is depressed about the limitations of human knowledge.