Theme

Doctor Faustus (1592)
- Christopher Marlowe

THE POWER OF KNOWLEDGE

Doctor Faustus, a well-respected German scholar, grows dissatisfied with the limits of traditional forms of knowledge—logic, medicine, law, and religion—and decides that he wants to learn to practice magic. His friends Valdes and Cornelius instruct him in the black arts, and he begins his new career as a magician by summoning up Mephastophilis, a devil. Despite Mephastophilis’s warnings about the horrors of hell, Faustus tells the devil to return to his master, Lucifer, with an offer of Faustus’s soul in exchange for twenty-four years of service from Mephastophilis.

Magic is also a motif that plays a major role in Dr. Faustus. Faustus’ downfall began with his love of knowledge, which leads for his need to use magic. Faustus loves the praise that he gets when people view him as a ‘genius’, which supports his need to have ‘special powers’. He summons demons with magic, and later brings Helen of Troy to comfort him in his final hours. The use of magic is a show of Faustus’ ‘demoralization’. He no longer wants to be a mere mortal. He wants to be as powerful as the devil himself.

One of the most apparent themes in Doctor Faustus is the battle between good and evil. At the beginning of the play, Faustus finds himself torn between good and evil, knowing the distinction and consequences of the two, but overwhelmed by his desire for worldly pleasures. Faustus’s desire for mortal satisfaction is personified through the seven deadly sins who all speak to him and tempt him.

Another important element is the power of knowledge. Knowledge can lead someone to be good or bad based on what knowledge he is acquiring. Dr. Faustus feels unsatisfied with his current knowledge because he intended to be superior to others. Mephasthophilis helps him to gain a new knowledge; black magic. However, this is not a good one. It harms him as he needs to sell his soul if he wants to learn a new knowledge that can make him superior as God.

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