Christopher Marlowe In Doctor Faustus
Bayan Al Momani
Abstract: Christopher Marlowe wrote Doctor Faustus that had characters representing all segments of the society, to show the fearful price caused by pride and overreaching ambition. Faustus or Doctor Faustus studied religion, but he sold his soul to the devil. It was a punishment for his lack of satisfaction. He felt the need to be omniscient about the two sides of religion, heaven and hell. One thing was obvious about what he would prefer, because he was quite heinous.
Marlowe's Doctor Faustus portrays a hero who passionately seeks power- the power of rule, the power of money, and the power of knowledge, respectively. He is an "overreacher," striving beyond the bounds of human capacity, or at least the limits imposed upon human achievement. Faustus seeks the power that comes from knowledge, no matter at what cost that knowledge is acquired. To get this power Faustus must make a bargain with the devil. Faustus on his part is in search of the power that comes from black magic, but the devil on his side exacts a fearful price in exchange- the eternal damnation of Faustus's soul. Faustus aspires to be a demigod. His fall is caused by the same pride and ambition that caused the fall of humanity in the Garden of Eden. 1 Christopher Marlowe could have been building a façade on his inner personal thoughts regarding his own experience for seeking knowledge. What they both have in common is that Marlowe went to Corpus Christie College, Cambridge, he was preparing for the ministry. He didn’t take holy orders; instead he began to write plays. Faustus studied religion in the University of Wittenberg to get a degree, "in th' heavenly matters of theology." Marlowe supposes that gaining knowledge is to be humble, but Faustus is proud of himself thinking that he is better than other humans "He surfeits upon cursed necromancy; nothing so sweet as magic to him." Faustus is drawn to magic, to him magic books simply mean power, he believes that he is a good magician when he thinks of himself as a god, "and
1. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, p. 745.
necromantic books are heavenly: lines, circles, signs, letters, and characters- Aye, these are those that Faustus most desires. O what a world of profit and delight, of power, of honor, of omnipotence, is promised to the studious artisan! All the things that move between the quiet poles shall be at my command." When Marlowe didn’t take holy orders he came to supplicate for his Master of Arts degree, the university was about to deny it to him, "on the grounds that he intended to go abroad to Reims, the center of Catholic intrigue and propaganda against Elizabeth." But the Privy Council requested that Marlowe had done the queen good service, and he should be granted his degree at the next commencement. 2 The relationship between the writer of the play and his own creation is like the false self and the true self. And as Robert Greene puts it one wants to pay greater attention to the relationship between things, because that will give you a greater feel to the picture as a whole. 3 The way one can see it, is that Marlowe was looking at himself in the mirror creating someone who is viciously ambitious, Faustus. Faustus, unlike Marlowe, got his degree and he was consumed by the idea of digging deeper, because he wanted more than just knowledge. To take it from a different angle, Marlowe is a master in writing such a play like Doctor Faustus, Marlowe went through hard times for seven years, but that made him determined in his work. Again Greene explained that Masters are those who by nature have suffered to get to where they are. They have experienced endless criticisms of their work, doubts about their progress, and setbacks along the way. They know deep in their bones what is required to get to the creative phase and beyond.4 "Settle thy studies, Faustus, and begin, to sound the depth of that thou wilt profess. Having commenced, be a divine in show, yet level at the end of every art and live and die in Aristotle's works." Marlowe and Faustus are like the good angel and the bad angel, Good Angel, "O Faustus, lay down that damned book aside, and gaze not on it, lest it tempt thy soul, and heap God's heavy wrath upon thy head; Bad Angel "Go forward, Faustus, in that famous art, wherein all nature's treasury is contained: be thou on earth, as Jove is in the sky, lord and commander of these elements." And when Faustus called his dearest friends, the German Valdes and Cornelius he expressed his gratitude for convincing him, "know that your words have won me at last, to practice magic and concealed art." His so-called friends entertained Faustus' desire for power; they made him entangled with ambiguities of what magic can do to 2. Norton Anthology of English Literature, p. 745 3. Greene, Robert. Mastery. P. 192 4. Mastery, p.
make him a god. Valdes, "Faustus, these books, thy wit, and our experience shall make all nations canonize us," Cornelius, "The miracles that magic will perform will make thee vow to study nothing else." Faustus announced his resolution that night, "then come and dine with me, and after meat we'll canvass every quiddity thereof; for ere I sleep I'll try what I can do: this night I'll conjure though I die therefore." Knowledge is art by itself, learning is the first step then the stage of shaping it according to one's perception. That what marks the individuality of scholars, how they take in knowledge and then their actions based on how they digest such knowledge. Faustus had that reputation that he was an overreacher, so when the other scholars heard that he was dining with Valdes and Cornelius they expressed their fears, "O Faustus, then I fear that which I have long suspected, that thou art fallen into that damned art for which they two are infamous through the world." Throughout recorded history we can detect patterns of human behavior that transcend culture and time, indicating certain universal features that belong to us as a species. Some of these traits are quite positive, while some of them are negative and destructive. 5 Faustus had proved his negative reputation, after some time of doubtful anticipation. Faustus performed black magic and Mephistophilis, a devil, showed up in the shape of a dragon which frightened Faustus. He ordered him to return and change his shape; "how pliant is this Mephistophilis, full of obedience and humility! These are characteristics of the Catholic Church, Faustus mixed knowledge or art with black magic, yet he didn’t become a commander or leader. Mephistophilis told Faustus "I am servant to great Lucifer and may not follow thee without his leave: no more than he commands must we perform." Faustus was curious why Lucifer became the prince of devils after being once an angel, he knew now that he shared with Lucifer the sinful pride, "O, by aspiring pride and insolence, for which God threw him from the face of heaven." And then Faustus asked, "And what are you that live with Lucifer?" Mephistophilis answered, "Unhappy spirits that fell with Lucifer, conspired against our God with Lucifer, and are forever damned with Lucifer." Mephistophilis almost confessed his sins, even the devil is sorry for his bad doings, "why, this is hell, nor am I out of it: thinkst thou that I who saw the face of God and tasted the eternal joys of heaven, am not tormented with ten thousand hells in being deprived of everlasting bliss? O Faustus, leave these frivolous demands which strike a terror to my fainting soul!"
5. Mastery.
"To take the devils away," like dealing with people in the shape of Valdes and Cornelius "thou art fallen into that damned art, for which they two are infamous through the world." In Faustus case, he knew quite well the price he was going to pay but he found joy in power, to him turning to God is like going backwards. He closed his ears to angelic whispers, "despair in God and trust in Belzebub. Now, go not backward, no, be resolute! Why harvest thou? O something soundeth in mine ears: "abjure this magic, turn to God again!" to God? He loves thee not." Nothing was able to obdurate Faustus from becoming damned, to him God or heaven are just fancies filled with despair. Faustus considered Contrition, prayer, repentance as illusions, fruits of lunacy, not means to bring people unto heaven. Faustus gave his soul to the devil, "Faustus gives to thee his soul"-ah, there it stayed. Why shouldst thou not? Is not thy soul thine own? Then write again: "Faustus gives to thee his soul." He presented his body and soul to Lucifer, so what is surprising in reading the rest of the play? The only thing that is worth noting is this inspiring idea "never too late, if Faustus will repent." But it is curiosity which is part of human nature that controls people like Faustus that marks them as overreachers, no real acknowledgment of their limits. Marlowe wrote a play that carried certain events and situations related to his real life, Faustus was the other side of the story with almost the same qualities and same punishment. Marlowe was accused of atheism and treason. On May 30, 1593, at the inn of the Widow Bull in Deptford, Marlowe was killed by a dagger thrust in an argument over the bill. Marlowe was known for "affairs he went about," despite the information discovered we are still "ignorant in the affairs he went about."6 Marlowe was execrated in his own time and later as a blasphemer, and that his annotations of a manuscript in the possession of his former roommate Thomas Kyd, in which he comments in scurrile ways on the character and divinity of Christ, brought about his arrest for heretical opinion in 1593. He was never brought to trial, but who stabbed him at Madame Bull's tavern was a government employee named Ingram Frizar. 7 The reasons for this murder remain unknown, but the whole thing wasn’t about a bill. Faustus seemed to be a reflection of Marlowe, a creation of his self. If he was an atheist then that was the reason for not taking his holy vows. Faustus studied religion but he hadn’t followed God, he didn’t gain that feature of humbleness that came from knowledge, instead he found joy in ridiculing religious figures. Faustus first started by asking Mephistophilis to "go, and return an old Franciscan friar: that holy shape becomes a devil 6. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, p. 7. Fraser, A. Russell. Drama of the English Renaissance, The Tudor Period. P. 205
best." Marlowe found joy in writing plays, his creations of his inner self. Marlowe is making the audience and readers wonder about "how much is Faustus is allowed to know?" because throughout the play what is he about to know, is going to be presented and consumed by the audience. Marlowe didn’t comment, interpret, or enter Faustus' mind, he just presented what is seen and heard. Marlowe also didn’t explain, and he placed the reader in the position of the spectator. This is what is called the Objective Point of View; the author disappears into a kind of roving sound camera which can go anywhere. The purest example of a story told from the objective point of view would be written entirely in dialogue like a movie or a play. 8 Different interpretations of the play can be presented by the readers; they just need to feel the whole picture performed on the stage. This is the difference between escape and interpretation, reality presented in fiction. All interpretive fiction have theme, and it is the purpose of the story. The theme, like its plot, may be stated very briefly or at a greater length. A rich story like Doctor Faustus, will give us many and complex insights into life. Marlowe presented specific persons in specific situations, who had something to say about the nature of all human beings-Marlowe presented all segments of the society- or about their relationship to each other or to the universe. So in stating the theme in a sentence, we must pick the central insight, the one that explains the greatest number of elements in the story and relates them to each other. The function of interpretive writers is not to state a theme but to vivify it. They wish to deliver it not simply to our intellects but to our emotions, our senses, and our imagination. 9It is embodied and vitalized by the story. That was Marlowe's creation of Doctor Faustus, the overreacher.
8. Perrine, Laurence. Literature Structure, Sound, and Sense. P. 162 9. Perrine, Laurence. Literature Structure, Sound, and Sense. P. 106-7
References:
Abrams,and others. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. W.W. Norton &Company.
Fraser,A. Russell and Norman Rabkin. Drama of the English Renaissance I: The Tudor Period. Macmillan Publishing CO., INC
Greene,Robert. Mastery. Profile Books.
Perrine, Laurence. Literature Structure, Sound, and Sense. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers.