42 pages • 1 hour read
Christopher MarloweDoctor Faustus
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1589A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Books of Magic
Valdes and Cornelius teach Faustus enough dark magic to enable him to summon Mephistophilis, who presents Faustus with books of arcane knowledge and magic spells that give him vast powers. Lucifer also presents Faustus with a book of spells. One of these books falls into the hands of two stable boys, Robin and Ralph, who try to summon demons but make a hash of it and get punished by Mephistophilis. That all three are punished for toiling with such books supports the play’s warning against the selfish pursuit of knowledge and highlights the danger of attempting to evade the laws of God and nature.
Scenes
Several scenes, or onstage sets, form the backdrop of the play. A few recur multiple times: Faustus’s study, his house’s front entrance, and rooms within his house. During these scenes, Faustus develops his ambitions, makes his devilish pact, entertains scholars, and finally regrets his decisions and meets his fate. Other scenes occur once only, and each serves as a backdrop to a feat of magic: a grove, where Faustus first summons a demon; the pope’s chambers, where Faustus and his demon make fun of the pontiff; the emperor’s court, where Faustus summons Alexander the Great; the Duke of Vanholt’s court, where Faustus summons Helen of Troy; a green field, where Faustus sells his magical horse; a street in town, where Wagner summons demons to intimidate a street performer; and an inn and stable, where Robin and Ralph misuse magic and suffer for it.
Seven Deadly Sins
The Seven Deadly Sins—Pride, Covetousness, Wrath, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, and Lechery—are a teaching device in Christian thought. These cardinal sins are led by Pride and Covetousness, which can separate a soul from a state of grace, the love and acceptance of God. In Scene 6 of Doctor Faustus, Lucifer parades the seven sins before Faustus to show him available options of misbehavior. When asked what he thinks of them, Faustus replies, “O, this feeds my soul!” (29).
Faustus and Lucifer both are guilty of pride. Faustus’s towering ambition also makes him guilty of covetousness and several other sins: He becomes wrathful toward whoever gets in his way, envies the power of the emperor, and lusts lecherously after Helen of Troy.
Wittenberg
Wittenberg—specifically the university, where Faustus receives his doctorate and teaches religion, philosophy, logic, law, and medicine—is the center of Faustus’s social and professional life and the source of his scholarly fame. Early on, the university was a controversial center of radical thought; its modern name, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, honors its most famous professor, whose writings led to the Protestant revolt against Catholicism. Faustus loves the place and its people; during his final years, he visits the university and hosts banquets for its scholars. The university represents Faustus’s worldly success before he makes a deal with the devil; it serves him as a moral touchstone. Only at the end of his life, when he realizes his scholarly ambitions made him arrogant, does Faustus regret the path he took: “oh, would that I had never seen Wittenberg, never read book!” (53).
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By Christopher Marlowe
