This play reveals the story of a common man who allows his greed for knowledge to overwhelm his common sense and objectivity and lead him down a cursed path from which he cannot recover. It is also a commentary on the plight of the Renaissance man as he attempted to find and define himself without God. Intriguing to look at, and quite revealing to the mindset of both the author and the time. ( )

For all Faustus’ plans, dreams and schemes of political influence and power, to be “a mighty god,” as the play progresses he becomes baser and more ridiculous until he is on the level of a clown and a jester, performing parlor tricks for the scholars and locals and using his unfathomable powers to play pranks on the unsuspecting.

Marlowe wrote Doctor Faustus toward the end of the Renaissance, a period of time that valued the pursuits of knowledge and self over relationship with God, and meant for the play to be both cautionary and commentary. Through Faustus’ questions put to Mephistophilis (his personal assistant from Hell… literally), Marlowe shows that all things have their origins in God. As the kingdom of Hell is set against Heaven, it because an exercise in futility and vanity for Faustus to pursue all the hidden knowledges because he can not follow them to their ultimate ends, God Himself.

Several times in the play (which covers a 24 year period as that is part of Faustus’ contract) Faustus shows signs that repentance is weighing heavy on his heart. Faustus is caught between the Good Angel’s council to repent and that God will forgive him, and the Evil Angel, who first tries to entice Faustus to follow Hell, and ultimately threatens him that if he repents devils will viciously tear him apart. All the way to the last few days, God continues to call to Faustus and tries to turn his heart to repent and return, but Faustus refuses every time. With the final call, Faustus shows how cruel and vulgar he has become by sending devils to torment and kill the old man who had tried to inspire him to turn back.

Click for full review (including a vid clip of SNL's skit taken from the play): http://thekoolaidmom.wordpress.com/20... ( )

Very good play. Beautiful language, engaging plot--even centuries after it was written. ( )

The Faustian deal of selling your soul to the devil is so pervasive in our culture now, most people would probably be familiar with the story without having read it - either Marlowe's version or any other. Partly morality play (although more engrossing than most) and partly commentary on pre-destination versus free will, Doctor Faustus is about a young scholar who manages to conjure up a devil and live a short and sweet life of luxury before his eternal damnation.

Faustus is never a particularly sympathetic character - he is horrifically short-sighted and solipsistic, right up to his final hour before damnation. But it is entertaining, and would be a fun play to stage. Plus it's interesting to see the origins of what I had thought of as a timeless cultural legend ( )

This is a set book for the OU’s AA100. I’m considering doing the course in 2009 and am getting a head start through OpenLearn.

I’m not a fan of Ye Olde English but I was pleasantly surprised to be able to understand this play. Of course, I was helped by having read it before (as an Undergraduate at Dundee University) but that was a long time ago. This edition has a lot of additional information and utilises large quotations from academic works. I found that a lot of this went right over my head and am hoping that the OU’s notes are more helpful.

It’s hard to say who I might recommend this book to. It’s not something I would usually read. I suppose anyone interested in 17th Century literature since it is a classic of its time.

7/10 ( )