"Faust"

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at one of most powerful secular myths of early modern times, as rendered by Christopher Marlowe in his play "Doctor Faustus," and later in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's great epic poem/play Faust:" the relationship between man and the devil." This essay analyzes the relationship between man, will, knowledge, God, the role of the Church, and the devil.

From the Paper:

"The setting of the play in Wittenberg is similarly ambiguous. Wittenberg was the city in which Martin Luther nailed his condemnation of the church for its practice of selling indulgences, among other things. By buying and selling indulgences, Luther alleged, the church was implicitly condoning the practice that one could buy and sell one's way to heaven. Faustus attempts to buy and sell his way to hell. Does this mean that Marlowe is suggesting that Lutheranism and Protestantism are corrupt? After all, Protestantism, in contrast to Catholicism, was supposed to be a religion "of the book" rather than the institutions of the church."

More papers on "Faust":

• Book Review # 131595 : "Analysis of Goethe's and Marlowe's Faust Stories"
• Comparison Essay # 101586 : "Marlowe's versus Goethe's "Faust"
• Comparison Essay # 102892 : "Allusions to "Paradise Lost" and "Faust" in "Frankenstein"

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