The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus

Christopher Marlowe — 2019

The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, Christopher Marlowe's classic interpretation of the Dr. Faustus legend, was first performed in London by the Admiral's Men around 1592. It is believed to be the first dramatization of this classic tale wherein Faustus, a German scholar, trades his soul to Lucifer in return for magical powers and the command over the demon Mephistopheles. Faustus at first seeks to expand his knowledge of the universe, but soon finds that a deal with the devil brings little satisfaction. All too soon the contract expires, and Faustus is faced with the prospect of eternal damnation. Two principle versions of this play exist, one based on the 1604 quarto (the A text) and a longer, emended version published in 1616 (the B text). This edition is based on Havelock Ellis's 1893 edition of the 1604 text (the A text is currently believed by many scholars to be the closest to Marlowe's original). Often considered to be Marlowe's greatest work, Doctor Faustus builds on the ancestry of the medieval morality play, but brings a more sympathetic view to the straying hero than those precursors to Elizabethan drama, and even ventures to pose questions of common Christian doctrine. This is the last play written by Marlowe before he was killed in a Deptford tavern.

Reviews

Vanya de Lang @vampibish

Oct 17, 2022

An interesting story about the most basic of human desires. A play about truth, lies, desire and doubt. Dubbel crossing the devil? Never will you succeed. Right?

Varda@varda

Aug 31, 2022

"for all the knowledge he has gained, for all the years he has spent plunged Into the vast seas of philosophy, he still finds himself ignorant, insignificant and unsatisfied."

laila@esudevie

Aug 14, 2022

the ending scenes.

megan@mkmoore

Dec 14, 2021

faustus is hilarious, i can’t really blame him for using his powers to mess with people it was funny

zilver @howl

Sep 19, 2021

ngl this was really fun (& thinking about costa mcclure saying "it's VERY intense, VERY homo-erotic" in lolilo made it even more fun) a list of fun times with faustus: (lowkey spoilers below) • when faustus conjures up a devil and immediately sends him away because the devil is too ugly • faustus contemplating how one words the handing over of one's soul to the devil • when he asks mephastophiles where hell is and just. does not believe anything he says. • mephastophiles: but faustus. i'm literally a devil from hell. faustus: sounds fake but ok • faustus asking for a wife and mephastopheles being a troll giving him another devil dressed up as a woman instead • faustus being a suck up ("sweet mephastophiles") and mephastophiles not giving a single shit • faustus: you look ugly lucifer: this bitch ,,, faustus: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ • faustus literally telling gluttony to choke • "the first letter of my name begins with lechery" • lechery is that kid that's like "the word i'm thinking of starts with sl and ends with eep" • all the devils keep saying "tut" • robin: i have stolen this book and now i will read its magic words rafe: you actually can't read idiot • faustus using his invisibility to snatch pieces of meat away from the pope • when i misread a word and thought one of the lines was "great potatoes do kneel with awful fear" • robin and rafe totally digging the fact that they're going to be turned into an ape and a dog respectively • faustus and mephastophiles pulling a prank on a random guy making it seem as if the guy literally pulls faustus leg off • faustus: i sold my soul to the devil his buddies: god forbid!! faustus: ..... yeah he did