Post a New Comment/Question on The Tragical History of Dr.Analysis of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus Posted By Redzeppelin at Sun, 5:38 AM in The Tragical History of Dr.

Was Faustus saved? We know that his mutilated body is discovered in the morning, but what of his soul? Was his request sufficient? Or do you accept the generally accepted conclusion that he got what he asked for, got what his blood-signed signature required? Let Faustus live in hell a thousand years,Ī hundred thousand, and at last be saved! Yet for Christ's sake, whose blood hath ransomed me, Oh, the half the hour is past! 'twill all be passed anon. Here is an excerpt from his final moments: Faustus ends the play waiting for the demons to conduct him to Hell as per the terms of his agreement with Mephistopheles. For those who have read the play, we know that Dr. This question sparked an interesting discussion years ago in a graduate seminar on Elizabethan literature - perhaps it will do the same here.

The latest scholarly consensus (as of the late 20th century) holds the A text as more representative because it contains irregular character names and idiosyncratic spelling, which are believed to reflect a text based on the author's handwritten manuscript, or 'foul papers.' The B text, in comparison, was highly edited, censored because of shifting theatre laws regarding religious words onstage, and contains several additional scenes which scholars believe to be the additions of other playwrights, particularly Samuel Rowley and William Bird (alias Borne). Scholars have disagreed which text is more representative of Marlowe's original, and some editions are based on a combination of the two. Both were published after Marlowe's death.

Doctor Faustus is a textual problem for scholars as two versions of the play exist: the 1604 quarto, also known as the A text, and the 1616 quarto or B text. Marlowe's protagonist is instead carried off by demons, and in the 1616 quarto his mangled corpse is found by several scholars. While versions of 'The Devil's Pact' can be traced back to the 4th century, Marlowe deviates significantly by having his hero unable to 'burn his books' or repent to a merciful God in order to have his contract annulled at the end of the play. This play is based on the German Faustbuch, which was the first dramatised version of the Faust legend of a scholar's dealing with the devil. In reprinting this edition, I have here and there amended the text by means of the later 4tos,-1616, 1624, 1631.-Of 4to 1663, which contains various comparatively modern alterations and additions, I have made no use. AS IT HATH BENE ACTED BY THE RIGHT HONORABLE THE EARLE OF NOTTINGHAM HIS SERUANTS.

Doctor faustus text