The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus

The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus

by Christopher Marlowe and Alexander Dyce
Epub (Kobo), Epub (Adobe)
Publication Date: 15/09/2022

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Christopher Marlowe's 'The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus' is a volatile exploration of ambition, desire, and the human condition, wrapped in the rich literary fabric of the Elizabethan period. Written in blank verse, this tragic play delves into the life of Faustus, a scholar who, dissatisfied with the limits of human knowledge, makes a fateful pact with the devil, trading his soul for twenty-four years of magical powers. Marlowe's use of soliloquies and rhetorical flourishes imbues the text with a heavy sense of foreboding, as it poses fundamental questions about morality, knowledge, and the consequences of hubris, reflecting the Renaissance's changing attitudes towards religion and individuality. Christopher Marlowe, a contemporary and possible rival of Shakespeare, was a figure shrouded in mystery and controversy. His own life of excess and ambition, coupled with his scholarship in classical texts, greatly influenced his writing. Marlowe's relationship with the themes of rebellion and tragic heroism can be traced to his own tumultuous existence, marked by allegations of atheism and his brutal murder at a young age, suggesting that he was acutely aware of the fragile state of human ambition. Readers seeking a reflective and provocative engagement with the boundaries of knowledge and the supernatural will find 'Doctor Faustus' an essential text. Its layered characterizations and moral complexities resonate profoundly with contemporary audiences, inviting them to ponder the eternal struggle between aspiration and consequence. This timeless tale encourages readers to examine their own desires in the shadow of moral reckoning.

ISBN:
8596547349075
8596547349075
Category:
Plays
Format:
Epub (Kobo), Epub (Adobe)
Publication Date:
15-09-2022
Language:
English
Publisher:
DigiCat
Christopher Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe (1564-93) was an English playwright and poet, who through his establishment of blank verse as a medium for drama did much to free the Elizabethan theatre from the constraints of the medieval and Tudor dramatic tradition.

His first play Tamburlaine the Great, was performed that same year, probably by the Admiral's Men with Edward Alleyn in the lead. With its swaggering power-hungry title character and gorgeous verse the play proved to be enormously popular; Marlowe quickly wrote a second part, which may have been produced later that year. Marlowe's most famous play, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, based on the medieval German legend of the scholar who sold his soul to the devil, was probably written and produced by 1590, although it was not published until 1604. Historically the play is important for utilizing the soliloquy as an aid to character analysis and development.

The Jew of Malta (c. 1590) has another unscrupulous aspiring character at its centre in the Machiavellian Barabas. Edward II (c. 1592), which may have influenced Shakespeare's Richard II, was highly innovatory in its treatment of a historical character and formed an important break with the more simplistic chronicle plays that had preceded it.

Marlowe also wrote two lesser plays, Dido, Queen of Carthage (date unknown) and The Massacre at Paris (1593), based on contemporary events in France. Marlowe was killed in a London tavern in May 1593. Although Marlowe's writing career lasted for only six years, his four major plays make him easily the most important predecessor of Shakespeare.

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