By Munirah Munawar Ali
Retrieved from
The Critical Analysis of Dr Fautus.
In 1531, two years before the birth of Elizabeth I, the skies over Western Europe exploded in atmospheric chaos. A yellow tailed comet crossed the sky followed by flags, fireballs, and flaming crosses. For the incredulous onlookers, "God and Satan were once again in mortal conflict, and, as never before, men's souls stood in jeopardy" (Smith 92).
Calvin and Loyola sparked the flames of the reformation that led to a permanent schism in Western Christendom. Erasmus and More helped advance the humanist movement, and by the time Henry VIII was declared "Supreme Head on Earth," the English Renaissance was in full swing. The gloom of the medieval past gave way to an energized, exciting and experimental period that proclaimed "all in doubt" (Smith 12).
The early modern period is distinguished by its zest for life, its desire for knowledge, and its celebration of the individual.While medieval citizens saw government as a necessary evil, by the 16th century, it had become a living organism with every section of society occupying their rightful place in the body politic. But had things really changed? Had the Elizabethans shed the anxiety and conflict of their medieval past?
The heroic tragedies of Marlowe and Shakespeare suggest that the cost of challenging the limits of human possibility often exacted a medieval price and the celebration of the self-fashioning man also resulted in social tension. The pursuit of wealth and knowledge changed the delicate class structure of Elizabethan England. Merchants and traders became wealthier and more powerful than the aristocracy; the guild system broke down, and masterless men lost their place in the social order. It is in this changing world that Marlowe's morality tale of Dr. Faustus is told.
Marlowe's hero, Dr. Faustus, is the quintessential Renaissance man; a lover of knowledge, beauty, and power, operating in a society that had not yet released its grip on the medieval contempt for the world. The 15th century's obsession with death, fear of devils and damnation are played out in Marlowe's tragedy, revealing the underlying misgivings of an excessive and immoderate age.
When first introduced to Faustus he is contemplating the wealth of his knowledge: from the philosophy of Aristotle, to Galen's medicine, Justinian law, and the Bible, Faustus dismisses them all. In a parody of this insatiable desire for new, practical knowledge, Faustus instead turns to magic as his new pursuit. And with true Renaissance conceit, claims "A sound magician is a demi-god"(I.i.62).
Faustus is confronted with two opposing forces, one representing the exciting, experimental and forward-looking world, the other embodying the fear and melancholy of the medieval past. The Good Angel attempts to instill the old morals of contrition, prayer and repentance on Faustus while the bad angel speaks for the spirit of the age: "No, Faustus, think of honour and of wealth" (II.i.22). Without a second thought,Faustus chooses magic and muses on the wealth he might conjure: "Indian for gold, ocean for orient pearl...pleasant fruits and princely delicates" (I.i.84-85).
The capricious and petty magic that Faustus practices is the paradox of the play. Why, with all his power, and a finite number of years in which to yield it, does he waste time gathering grapes? It is simply to consume knowledge and them dismiss it? It seems that Faustus's magic has no purpose except to provide pleasure. Despite his fantasies of accumulated wealth, Faustus does nothing with his power except spend his time in "pleasure and dalliance", followed by periods of fear and doubt.
Although he is at heart, a good man, Faustus has made the conscious choice to sell his soul and therefore, must pay God's price. "Where is mercy now?" he asks. Full of repentance and despair, Faustus calls for Helen "Whose sweet embracings may extinguish clear / Those thoughts that do dissuade me from my vow, / And keep mine oath I made to Lucifer" (V.i.94-96). Given one last chance at redemption, his passion for beauty seals his fate: "Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again. / Here will I dwell, for heaven is in these lips" (V.i.103-104).
Renaissance man would have empathized with Faustus but would have agreed that he went too far. The desire for new, practical knowledge, and the lust for riches and beauty did not include the complete denial of salvation and heaven. Orthodox Christianity still prevailed. Faustus threatened both social and religious structures; although he seemed to want to repent, he had passed the point of no return.
In the end of the play, Faustus is back in his study, having come full circle. He awaits the chosen hour but with his power gone, he cannot stop the march of time which is now his only hope: "Fair nature's eye, rise, rise again, and make / Perpetual day; or let this hour be but / A year, a month, a week, a natural day, / That Faustus may repent and save his soul" (V.i. 139-142).
In his last hour, Faustus tries to find God but cannot make the spiritual leap necessary for redemption. He has lost his faith and once again turns to the classical knowledge he once dismissed: "Ah, Pythagoras' metempsychosis, were that true, this soul should fly from me, and I be chang'd / Unto some brutish beast" (V.ii.175-177).For Faustus, as with Marlowe's other heros, it is the belief that the human potential to possess, own, use and destroy with liberty will eventually exact a heavy price. Marlowe's overreaching stars have no faith, and therefore, must fall victim to the medieval anxiety and ambivalence that lay just below the surface of their modern age.
Sources
Marlowe, Christopher. "Doctor Faustus". The Complete Plays and Poems. Ed. E.D. Pendry (London: Everyman, 1976), pp. 274-326.
Smith, Lacey Baldwin. The Elizabethan World (New York: American Heritage, 1967).
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