Religion in "Dr. Faustus"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses Christopher Marlowe's play, "Dr. Faustus." It looks at the ways that the play serves to be an excellent study in human nature because it shows the division that occurs within the human psyche when conflicting ideas emerge. The paper specifically discusses religion and the way that it is portrayed and explored in the play.

From the Paper:

"Dr. Faustus is an excellent play in which to study character because it merges at traditional ideas with non-traditional ones. In a society that lingers between the new and the old, Dr. Faustus has a point to prove. The commentary being that the new may be enticing and mysterious but that does not mean that it is always best or even good, for that matter. Marlowe successfully creates circumstances that appeal to Dr. Faustus specifically because of his progressive thought. He becomes his own victim in that he becomes foolish and arrogant. The play embraces God in that Dr. Faustus cannot satisfy his yearnings and after all is said and done, he feels as empty as he was before. The Renaissance is significant because it places Dr. Faustus in a world where religion seems banal while everything else is mysterious and exciting. The resolution of the play, however, introduces the notion that God may still be the most mysterious of all things. Religion and the Renaissance work well in this play because while the ideas may seemed opposed to one another at first, we come to realize that the Renaissance is precisely how and why the play ends the way it does. Without the Renaissance man we have in Dr. Faustus, the play would lose its punch."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Gill, Roma. Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 62: Elizabethan Dramatists. 1987. GALE Resource Database. Site Accessed May 29, 2008. <http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com>
• Marlowe, Christopher. The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: W. W. Norton and Company. 1986. pp. 814-65.
• Ornstein, Robert. "Marlowe and God: The Tragic Theology of Dr. Faustus." PMLA. 1968. Site Accessed May 29, 2008. <http://www.jstor.org>
• Schmidt, Arnold. "An overview of Doctor Faustus." Drama for Students. 1997. GALE Resource Database. Site Accessed May 29, 2008. <http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com>

More papers on Religion in "Dr. Faustus":

• Analytical Essay # 121791 : "Evil in "Dr. Faustus"
• Analytical Essay # 28918 : "Theme of Knowledge in "Dr. Faustus" and "Paradise Lost"
• Analytical Essay # 4527 : "Servitude and Deception in "Dr. Faustus"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: