Name: -
Gohel Daya B.
Roll no: - 4
Paper no:-1,
The Renaissance Literature.
Assignment
title:-Doctor Faustus tragic hero in renaissance.
M.A:- Sem-1
Email ID: - dayagohil47@gmail.com
PG Enrollment no:-14101014
Submitted
to:-Department of English m.k.b.university.
v Dr.Faustus as a tragic hero.
Introduction
Dr.Faustus as the title of
the play suggests Dr. Faustus is the hero of the play. It unique place in the
play .He is the central pivot around whom the whole action of the play
revolves. As it is a hero play Marlowe has given supers me significance to this
character of the play appears just piggies. We cannot conceive of the play in
the absence of this character. He is towering personality .He is such a
fascinating character that we can never forget him. He shares our essential
feeling he is above us for the extremities.
Faustus is not entirely the
creation of the dramatist’s imagination. His characters in the career bear
close resemblance to those of the legendary Faustus of English Faust Book. It
is true that Marlowe has borrowed this character from the above mentioned book.
But he has totally transformed this character by imparting new life and vigor
to it. Her we find a mere medieval magician transformed into one of the
greatest dramatic fingers. He has become the symbol of man’s ever-insatiable
curiosity of man’s yearning for infinite beauty and power. He is the center of
conflict between good and evil that we always find raging within and without
man.
Dr. Faustus can easily be put in the
category of great tragic heroes. He has all elements within himself which are
needed to become a great tragic dramatic figure. His inordinate ambition, his
unique teachable thirst for knowledge and his everlasting courage easily
qualify him has a great tragic figure in literature.
We get details regarding his
life from the chorus in the beginning of the play. He was born in poor family
and his parents died when he was very young. He was educated at written by
where he specialized himself in theology and got doctorate in divinity. He mastered
many other subject including medicine and law. This shows that he was great
scholar as far as academic achievements were concerned. But he was not
satisfied with scholarship. He wanted to have infinitive knowledge which can
give him infinite power and of his calamity. His ambition for something beyond
human reach is the central issue of discussion. He is very proud of himself and
believes he is not meant for ordinary life. This element in his character makes
him essentially a Renaissance figure.
He is ready to sacrifice everything in order to get
something beyond human reach. He is ready to join hands with Lucifer. He is not
even disheartened in his play by the threat of God. It is true that we find him
often form between two, facing a moral conflict of its own kind. But this is
because he is essentially human. He is not totally devoid of human qualities.
He is not diabolic in his approach toward life. He becomes sensualist from the
moment that he takes up the book of magic. He undergoes tremendous change in
the course of action. He is not the same. Dr. Faustus is in the end whom we
meet in the beginning. Slowly and
gradually he losses all good qualities and at the end he becomes helpless as he
can’t even repent for his sin like ordinary persons. This tremendous loss on
the part of Faustus makes him a great pathetic figure. His constant conflict
between good and evil and his spiritual anguish heightens the tragic effect.
This inner struggle in Faustus reaches its climax in the last scene. This death
scene is remarkable in the whole range of English Drama.
In Spite of his being a great magician he does not
harm innocent people seriously. When he is confident of meeting his doom. He
takes meticulous care to request and force his scholar friends to less him
alone as he does not want his friends to be harmed by devil. He gives away all
his worldly property to his faithful servant. This shows that he loved humanity
at large and never wanted humanity to suffer because of his sins.
Dr. Faustus, thus, is with us as a great tragic
hero of all time. He is a true representation of conquering power, as Barabbas
is of the power knowledge which was the ideal of medieval scholar.
He is the most learned
scholar of the day. He has learnt all that university can teach him and yet he
has craving for the forbidden fruit of knowledge magic.
The conflict in his heart as depicted in the last
scene is great. He invokes all element of nature and asks the spheres of heaven
to stop so that the hour of death may not come and Faustus may not submit his
soul to the Devil. It is the most pathetic scene in which we see the most
courageous man craving for rescue. His tragedy is the tragedy of great ambition
for lust and power. He can be ranked with the great heroes of Shakespeare.
Dr.Faustus renaissance
tragedy.
Marlowe was the greatest ornament of public theater
until Shakespeare. His reputation as a dramatist rests on his remarkable five plays.
‘Tambourine’, ‘Dr.Faustus’, “The Jew of Malta”, ‘Edward II’, ‘Dido, Queen of
cartage’. The first true voice of the
renaissance is heard in these five plays. When Marlowe started writing the
plays English Drama was in a chaotic condition. The tragedies were written on
the model of Seneca which were full of horror and terror. The tragedy form was
too melodramatic to be called artistic or aesthetic. The writers when followed
classical form had no fire and zeal and those who had fire and zeal had no form.
Marlowe was the first who tried to give standards form to English drama in
general and to tardy in particular. Thus he was the first who serious tried to
write English plays with vigor.
His plays are marked with renaissance spirit. As he
was the child of renaissance he had great respect for renaissance element and
this spirit he expressed in most of his plays. Dr. Faustus is the greatest
English tragedy on a popular Faustus legend. As far as the theme and the story
of this play are concerned, it is not original in itself.
The story of Faustus was widely popular. Dr.Faustus
was a real person who was born in 1488, the period of renaissance. He was great
scholar who studied all most all subjects including astrology alchemy, magic
and gemology. He represented the best and the worst of the renaissance. He was
revolution airy in his ideas and rebelled against the old traditions of
society. Faustus’s legend was published in the form of book in German under the
title ‘Faustian’. It was translated into English under the title ‘The History
of Dr. John Faustus’ and was published in the year 1652.
Marlowe wanted to write a tragedy reflect
renaissance elements and he found his character quite suitable for his purpose
and the work. ‘The History of Dr. John Faustus perhaps he took as a model,
Dr.Faustus like all the other heroes of Marlowe embodies the typical
renaissance ‘virtue’ a concept popularized by Machiavelli in his book ‘prince’.
‘Virtue’ is that quality of man which drives him to find free and full expression
for his own thought and emotion.
In this respect Dr. Faustus is essential a
renaissance man. He has genuinely real reams issuance passion for knowledge
infinite. He wants freedom to choose what he likes. He is not to be bound by
any sort of taboos marrow has voiced this spirit of new learning thought him.
He is a kind of intellectual and Philosophical Tambourine yearning not for
wealth and power but for sensuous and intellectual experience.
Finally the climax of the renaissance magnificence
is apparent in the most lyrical passage of the play where Faustus welcomes the
apparition of Helen of Troy. To Faustus Helen of Troy gives not merely the
supreme sensuous pleasure and delight but also all joy and rapture of the Greek
Classics. This is evidently the strong renaissance classic for enlightenment
and delight. Dr.Faustus is again a renaissance man in his human approach. He is
essentially human in all his aspects. He loves human principle. This shows that
the play is full of renaissance elements.
SUMMARY
The play ‘Dr.Faustus’ opens with a prologue spoken
by the chorus. The chorus is a dramatic device mainly used by Greek dramatists
to perform certain dramatic functions. It introduces the theme of the play. It
also provides the introduction of the main character. It sets the tone and
gives background to the play all the better. These all function are performed
by the chorus of the play ‘Dr.Faustus’.
Dr.Faustus who was a great German scholar. He was a
profound scholar but he was poor. He mastered many subjects and he was very
popular. In this way the chorus introduces. Dr. Faustus and his circumstances
in brief. He is thinking about himself. He finds himself a complete master of
many subjects. As a medical doctor he has already achieved huge success and
great renown. Now he is not able to decide which course of study he should take
up for further study. Necromancy greatly attracts him. He thinks if he studies
this black art then he will be able to master nature.
Meanwhile we find the arrival of good and evil
angles. They try to persuade Dr. Faustus. It deems Faustus is not in mood to
listen to good angels. It is interesting to not here that these good angles and
evil angels symbolize the more conflict of Faustus. Good angels stand for his
desire to have worldly pleasures. He is so exulted over the prospects of his
forth coming adventures that he is not ready to pay any heed to his good sense.
He thinks that with the study of magic he will get infinite power for pleasure.
His absence from the university where he works is
felt and two scholars come to inquire about him. They come to know thought
Faustus’s servant that his master is busy in learning black magic. These
scholars are shock to know about such evil intentions of Faustus and they are
sorry for him.
Faustus’s first act of magic is to summon
Mephistopheles who is the assent of Satan. Faustus tries to command
Mephistopheles but he refuse to obey him without prior permission on his master
Satan (Lucifer). Faustus is very much interested in Lucifer and he asks several
questions about him.
Mephistopheles explains everything about the
downfall of Lucifer and other angel. He also tells Dr.Faustus about the
Dr.Faustus from the study of magic. But Dr.Faustus repeatedly says that he
would surrender his soul to Lucifer if he gives him worldly power and pleasure
for 14 year.
Once again we see the appearance of good and evil angels
and once again we find Dr.Faustus refusing to listen to good angel.
Mephistopheles returns and informs that Lucifer agrees to the bargain. But the
contract must be signed with the blood of Dr. Faustus. Faustus immediately
agrees to do so. The contract is prepaid and Dr.Faustus tries to sign but he
finds that his blood has congealed and then Faustus signs the bond.
Now Faustus spends him time in enjoying the fruits
of this contract. He travels extensively thought the world. Like a gleeful
child Faustus asks Mephistopheles who is now at his command according to the
condition of the bond to do more mischief. This shows the utter degradation of
Faustus. He who was once a mightily scholar has simply become the juggler
harassing innocent people. As his fame spreads the emperor invites him to the
palace and asks him to conjure up the spirit of Alexander the Great. One knight
in the court doubts his power and Dr.Faustus, after fulfilling the emperor’s
wish places horns on the head that knight.
Faustus foresees that his time has come to an end
and he returns to Wittenberg. He gives all his worldly goods to his servant.
As death draws near Faustus tries to speak with his
conscience which comes to him in the form of an old man. This old man tries to
persuade Dr.Faustus to repent once only to get the grace of God. But he is
taken away by the company of devils.
Dr.Faustus Theme
Justly this play as Christian and religion play as
a Dr.Faustus it is the theme at the heart of Christianity understanding of the
world. One idea is sin which Christian defines as a act contrary to the will of
God. In Lucifer, Faustus commits as a sense the ultimate sin. Not now disobey
God, or he concise ugly and eagerly renounce obedience to him, instead to swear
allegiance to the devil choose.
In Christian framework, however, even the worst
deed can be forgiven thought the redemptive power of Jesus Christ, God’s son.
According to Christian belief, God’s son. Accordingly to Christian belief, died
on the cross of human king sins Faustus with Lucifer may be possibility of
redemption is away open him. All of the needs do theoretically, is ask God for
forgiveness. The countless movement in Faustus considers doing that urged on by
the good angel on his shoulder by the old man. Either as emissaries of God
personification of Faustus. At that time, Faustus decides the loyal to hill
rather the seek heaven. God condemns him to spend an eternity in hell. Life
does Faustus desire to repent, in the final scene. The entire play inhabited a
Christian world. Spends his final moments in a slightly different universe,
redemption is no longer possible and certain sins cannot be forgiven.