Christopher
Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus
What
is Faustus's hamartia? How
closely does Marlowe adhere to Aristotle's notion of tragedy?
Faustus
A German scholar who
supposedly claimed to be able to perform biblical miracles.
Dramatic Irony: audience knows something
the character has not yet realized
Syllogism: when two true statements
taken together lead to a third true statement.
- Sin leads to damnation.
- All people sin.
- All people are
damned.
Faustus’s Syllogism
His syllogism is based on his reading of the New Testament.
Romans
6.23
Faustus’s reading: “The reward of sin is
death.” (93)
1
John 1.8
Faustus’s reading: “If we say we have no sin,
We deceive ourselves, and there’s no truth in us.
Why then belike, we must sin,
And so consequently die.” (993)
Faustus’s Missteps
- Reads Paul
and John out of context
- Based on
a Catholic--for an Elizabethan, an incorrect--Bible: “Jerome’s
Bible, Faustus view it well” (993)
- Fails to
consider Grace
Faustus’s Knowledge
- Elizabethan:
knowledge is a means to an end
- Faustus:
knowledge as an end in itself
- Relies on
corrupt and unreliable sources
- Relies on
Medieval prejudices
- Authority
- Church
texts
- Christian
superstitions and traditions
- Experience
is ignored
- Disregards
demon's explanation of hell
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