Dottor Faustus

Plot: John Faustus, who feels he has reached the limits of human understanding and sells his soul to the devil in order to gain godlike knowledge about the secrets of the universe, together with the infinite power this kind of knowledge can give. The fields of the knowledge: theology, philosophy, medicine, law, magic. He agrees to surrender his soul to Lucifer at the end of 24-year period. He alternates moments of doubt and moments of pleasure occasioned by dubious magic spells. Mephistopheles, a Lucifer’s servant, enables Faustus t become invisible to play a joke on the pope, to woo the ghost of Helen of troy, and to watch a parade of the seven deadly sins. Then Lucifer claims his part of the bargain and Faustus is dragged to hell. Technique: This is a morality play. In Faustus the end of the journey is different. Marlowe creates a new tragic renaissance hero whose passionate results in death and subversive search for knowledge and power results in death and spiritual damnation, and the morality play becomes a tragic play.