Themes of Evil

Paper Summary:

Discusses views of evil as the subject of 3 plays. Compares Shakespeare's MACBETH, Crhistopher Marlowe's DOCTOR FAUSTUS & Calderon de La Barca's EL MAGICO PRODIGIOSO, a Spanish play based on the Faust legend. Role of supernatural forces in life & actions of the protagonists of each play. The power of evil.

From the Paper:

"The character of Doctor Faustus reflects the view of the historical figure and the image that would be continued in other versions of the legend. He is a learned scholar and theologian, but his ambition for knowledge goes beyond what man is meant to know. He sells his soul for knowledge and power, which are linked, and though he is immediately and continuously faced with a sense of remorse for his fate, he cannot be said to be repentant. His nature in the beginning is more over-reaching than wicked, but that character worsens as time passes and as he exercises the power he has been given. He becomes more cruel and even asks that an old man who tries to save his soul be tortured for this act. The one action he takes that shows his former self is to send his friends away when he knows the devil is coming for him, thus protecting them. "

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