What is a morality play? Do you think
that Doctor Faustus is a morality play
Elaborate
A morality play is a genre of theater that became popular in the medieval period, which presents a moral lesson through allegorical characters and plot. It typically features characters who represent abstract concepts such as virtue, vice, and death and often shows the struggle between good and evil.
Doctor Faustus, written by Christopher Marlowe in the late 16th century, can be considered a morality play in some respects. It features a central character, Doctor Faustus, who is a scholar dissatisfied with his life and sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. Through Faustus' character, the play highlights the dangers of succumbing to pride and greed and the consequences of rejecting God's mercy.
One of the key features of morality plays is their emphasis on the struggle between good and evil. Characters often face a moral dilemma, and the play's plot centers around their decision to choose either the virtuous or the sinful path. The plays also often feature a figure representing God or the devil, who is responsible for tempting the characters.
Doctor Faustus, written by Christopher Marlowe, shares some similarities with morality plays, particularly in its themes and allegorical characters. The central character, Doctor Faustus, is a scholar who becomes dissatisfied with his life and makes a deal with the devil, selling his soul in exchange for knowledge and power. The play portrays the dangers of succumbing to pride and greed, and the consequences of rejecting God's mercy.
However, Doctor Faustus also departs from the traditional morality play format in many ways, including its focus on the character's psychological development, its use of blank verse, and its ambiguous ending.
In conclusion, while Doctor Faustus shares some characteristics with morality plays, it cannot be considered a typical example of the genre. It has its own unique style and themes, which have made it a classic of English literature.
Additional information for detail study..
Dr. Faustus as a Morality Play:
The play may largely be called a morality play. By selling his soul to the devil, Faustus lives
a blasphemous life full of sterile and sensual pleasures for only 24 years. He criticises
Christianity by insulting the Pope with the Holy Fathers of Rome. There is a sharp conflict in
his soul between his ambition and conscience, between the good angel and the evil angel who
breaks out of this internal struggle. Yet, at the end Faustus yields to the temptations of Evil
angel, thus paving the way of eternal curse.
When Faustus has barely an hour to live, he realizes with the utmost pain and horror that his
sins neither can be ignored nor be purified and nothing can save him from eternal curse. He
realizes that his soul burn permanently into hell and he with the most effective expression
scourges of the very tormented soul in his last soliloquy: "My God, my God, look not so
fierce on me!.....".
The main goal of the morality play was to present educational ethics. It was a dramatic
guide to Christian life Christian death. Who ignores the path of virtue and renounces faith
in God and Christ and follow the path of Devil and Satan is destined to despair and eternal
curse. This is Marlowe's message to his play "Dr. Faustus". The most palpable expression
has been found in the sad choir in the final line: I’ll burn my books !—Ah, Mephistophilis !
In the depiction of moral plays, abstract figures of vices or virtues were embodied. Here
in this drama ‘Doctor Faustus’, we also find the good angel and the evil angel, the first
symbolizing the path of virtue and the last of sin and curse. The old man strongly
symbolizes the forces of righteousness and morality. He suggests Dr. Faustus to abjure
magic and to come to the path of light. This also bears the witness of morality.
The comic scenes of Dr. Faustus also represent the tradition of miraculous plays and ancient
morals. We found Faustus playing despicable tricks on the Pope, who represent the corrupt
religion . We also capture Dr. Faustus to make the trick with that of the horse courser who
plainly believes Dr. Faustus. When he was overwhelmed for the magical horse, he at last
realized the deceive of Dr. Faustus.
The struggle between Faustus’s uncontrolled appetites and the powers of heaven continues.
Faustus has free will, free choice, and the ability to affirm or deny God. He cannot blame
anybody but himself for his act and its consequences. After signing the document, Faustus says: ’Consummatumest’ which was the last words of Christ on earth according to the Gospel
of St. John. Marlowe shows a great insight into the twisted mind of the magician by putting
these blasphemous words in Faustus’s mouth.
We see Faustus, his emotional and intellectual instability is fully revealed. He dwindles and
waves between God and the devil. At first he is conscience-stricken: “Now Faustus, must
thou needs be damned, and canst thou not be saved”. But in a moment he is once more the
user of egocentric hyperbole : “The God thou servest is thine own appetite,/ Wherein is
fixed the love of Beelzebub/ To him I will build an alter and a church/ And offer lukewarm
blood of new-born babes.”
We may also assume that he thinks the solitary place we go to post death is paradise. He
was an atheist. But at the end, it is believed by him that paradise and hell exist and that
one may be stay there forever. Faustus can also be considered an atheist while in some
chapter he denies the existence of God and believes that the religion is a fake rite. His
misunderstand returns he says to God that he wants to weep but his tears are depleted by
the devil.
However, it would be wrong to suppose that the highest poetry of the play is confirmed to
passages of rebellion against Christianity. As he, at last, asks for mercy and wishes to repent
to his creator, he is forbidden and obliged to be eternally in hell. In this play, we are
familiarized with Faustus' sacred beliefs and in what way they are related to cultural studies.
In other words, while taking into account the fact that thoughts of hell could cause much
spiritual unrest to Marlowe.
Some Themes Related to Morality in the Play:
Temptation & Sin:
Extremely indulged in Christianity, the play portrays the appealing temptation of sin, its
results, and the probability of salvation for a sinner similar to Dr. Faustus. His journey
diverts him to the possible path from temptation to sin to redemption: his aspiration is lured
by the possibility of infinite knowledge and power, he commits sins to attain this, and then
refuses probable salvation and redemption. He is so entranced in his longing for acquiring
power that he ignores the results of his dealings with Lucifer and turn him to everlasting
hell. Surrendering to his temptations, he refuses God and makes a deal with Lucifer and
Mephistophilis and receive rotary motion of sin if there is sin.
In depicting the sinful conduct of Dr. Faustus, Marlow exposes the passive impacts of sin on
Faustus himself. In spite of his initially noble aspirations, Faustus finishes up utilizing his
magic for practical jokes, tricks, and claiming for a pretty woman for wife, though it is
rejected when the ugly one is presented by Mephistophilis. Faustus, a respected scientist,
looks like just a shadow of his previous self after bonding with Lucifer. Faustus and his
company harm the others through sins, yet Faustus has the option of salvation all through the
play. Whenever Faustus revives the name of God, Good Angel assures him to turn to God
and become resurrect but the Evil Angel warns that Faustus cannot resurrect. Both angels
may be looked at to presenting the opposition of redemption and the temptation of vice and
versa. Most of the play, Faustus hears to the Evil Angel, but at the last he repents. The
question is that whether he truly repents at the end or not is arguable and has significant
insinuations. Clearly it is to state that he was very late to be responded to the way of God.
However, whether he repented too late or did not truly repent, he refuses the opportunity of
salvation and is cursed permanently in the everlasting torment of hell.
Flash & Spirit:
The tussle between flash and spirit is robustly portrayed in Dr. Faustus. Flash is connected to
man's physical desires and lusts, whereas spirit concerns faith and God. Flash regards earthly
joys more significant, whereas spirit resists these lusts and desires. Faustus was wavering
between the two and at last determined that earthly pleasure more persistent than spirit. So as
the result Faustus evaluates flash more than spirit.
Good & Evil:
The issue of good and evil is very significant in Dr. Faustus. The struggle between good and
evil turns the man to be hesitant and remain puzzled and Dr. Faustus is not exception of that.
It is the selection of the man that he must have to choose either to good or evil and which
way is the good and which way is the bad for him.
Pride & Sin:
The factor of pride and sin is the most significant one to the downfall of Dr. Faustus.
Considering all the witty intellectuals about the base twenty four years superiority, Dr.
Faustus falls in the trap of pride promptly take on sin to realize and achieve his lusts and
desires, leading him to hell.
Actually, salvation concerns repentance of the soul confessing the heinous deed he has done,
but Dr. Faustus rejects to repent, causing his damnation and eternal punishment in hell.
Knowledge & Wisdom:
Dr. Faustus is hungry for knowledge and in result he always is in quest for that. He studies
almost all branches of knowledge as well as religion, yet he still is hungry for more
knowledge that is the reason behind adopting the prohibited knowledge "the black magic".
Here his incomparable wisdom fails him.
Man’s Lust & Power Limitations:
Dr. Faustus like any other human being, is not exceptional to be desirous and lust such as
the lust for wealth, beauty, power... etc, yet when he decides to take the incorrect way to
have his desires and lusts fulfilled, he has no success. After selling his soul to Satan by
signing the contract for his desires to be fulfilled, he thought that he could do anything in
his power, but afterwards he recognized his limitations as a human when he ushered that
his black art or black magic just to entertain the dukes. He was unable to create something
like God, the Omnipotence, showing his power limitations.
Greed:
Like the other protagonists of Marlow’s plays, Dr. Faustus forgets his responsibilities and
duties to God and other creatures. To reach his overwhelming success he tries to hide his
weak personality. He was tragic only for his wish to fulfilling his greed.
Conclusion:
From the abovementioned discussion and the material obtain, we can conclude that
Christopher Marlowe is an English playwright as well as a poet in Elizabethan era. He is the
first pioneer of Elizabethan tragedy writer of his time. Marlowe provides with the typical
model of moral play remarkably in the personalities and characters he utilizes: a lot of whom
are figurative characters. For instance, Good Angel as well as Evil Angels may be considered
such characters. The first one evidently signifies the good power which attempts to direct
Faustus towards repentance, and the evil power which leads him to curse. If it is to be
observed to a glance at the play text, one will observe that the Good and Evil Angels often
emerge temporarily, and frequently serve as a pause for Faustus' discourse. Afterwards, they
vanish once more. This thing implies that their personalities are not real, but it was a mere
incarnation of Faustus' ideas and suspicions. Despite of all its connections to the wonders or
morals of the Middle Ages, Doctor Faustus may never be treated as a morality play. It is the
greatest heroic tragedy because of its enormous pressure on characterization and internal
strife in the soul of a lofty character. The play is indeed, a terribly pessimistic statement of
the futility of human aspiration. Marlowe here uses a Christian view of heaven and hell to
Salvation & Damnation:
In the Christianity, salvation is essential for purification of the soul and to preserve the soul
from everlasting torment of hell. If a person fails to do so, he will be cursed forever.
Actually, salvation concerns repentance of the soul confessing the heinous deed he has done,
but Dr. Faustus rejects to repent, causing his damnation and eternal punishment in hell.
Knowledge & Wisdom:
Dr. Faustus is hungry for knowledge and in result he always is in quest for that. He studies
almost all branches of knowledge as well as religion, yet he still is hungry for more
knowledge that is the reason behind adopting the prohibited knowledge "the black magic".
Here his incomparable wisdom fails him.
Man’s Lust & Power Limitations:
Dr. Faustus like any other human being, is not exceptional to be desirous and lust such as
the lust for wealth, beauty, power... etc, yet when he decides to take the incorrect way to
have his desires and lusts fulfilled, he has no success. After selling his soul to Satan by
signing the contract for his desires to be fulfilled, he thought that he could do anything in
his power, but afterwards he recognized his limitations as a human when he ushered that
his black art or black magic just to entertain the dukes. He was unable to create something
like God, the Omnipotence, showing his power limitations.
Greed:
Like the other protagonists of Marlow’s plays, Dr. Faustus forgets his responsibilities and
duties to God and other creatures. To reach his overwhelming success he tries to hide his
weak personality. He was tragic only for his wish to fulfilling his greed.
Conclusion:
From the abovementioned discussion and the material obtain, we can conclude that
Christopher Marlowe is an English playwright as well as a poet in Elizabethan era. He is the
first pioneer of Elizabethan tragedy writer of his time. Marlowe provides with the typical
model of moral play remarkably in the personalities and characters he utilizes: a lot of whom
are figurative characters. For instance, Good Angel as well as Evil Angels may be considered
such characters. The first one evidently signifies the good power which attempts to direct
Faustus towards repentance, and the evil power which leads him to curse. If it is to be
observed to a glance at the play text, one will observe that the Good and Evil Angels often
emerge temporarily, and frequently serve as a pause for Faustus' discourse. Afterwards, they
vanish once more. This thing implies that their personalities are not real, but it was a mere
incarnation of Faustus' ideas and suspicions. Despite of all its connections to the wonders or
morals of the Middle Ages, Doctor Faustus may never be treated as a morality play. It is the
greatest heroic tragedy because of its enormous pressure on characterization and internal
strife in the soul of a lofty character. The play is indeed, a terribly pessimistic statement of
the futility of human aspiration. Marlowe here uses a Christian view of heaven and hell to make a protest which is essentially anti-Christian. We can conclude that Dr. Faustus is both
the fulfilment of the English moral traditions and the finest and final of Marlow's heroic
plays. As a morality play, it bears all the relevance and proves humility, belief and
compliance to God's law. As a heroic play, it rejoices power, beauty, wealth and knowledge
as well as it seems to be a supplement to Marlowe’s another masterpiece "Tamburlaine the
great”.
