Wasn’t sure if I have the patience to read a classic play, but this wasn’t so bad. After having read “The Picture of Dorian Gray” earlier this year, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus has been looming at the back of my mind. Finally, I’m done with it.

The play is a medium-paced story written in typical classical style. Considering it was penned sometime between 1589-1592, the content is fairly readable and the theme is surprisingly relevant more than 430 years later. Well, I guess human nature doesn’t change in sync with societal advancements!

The story is based on the German legend of Faust. The eponymous Faustus, a renowned scholar, is bored with his life and starts dabbling in occult magic/ He ends up signing a deal with devil: his soul in return for twenty four years of power and knowledge. He makes the most of these two dozen years, meeting heads of the church and the state, and travelling across the country showing off his prowess. But when the sands of his gifted time come to an end, he cries and turns to God for forgiveness. And what do you think happens?

The book is a classic portrayal of the vagaries of human nature and how people remember God only in times of trouble. It is pretty well-written and quite interesting, though a tad more religious than I had expected. I can see why Christopher Marlowe was considered a talented dramatist in London until his untimely death changed the focus over to Shakespeare.

3.5 stars from me, rounding up to 4. I might have enjoyed it more had I actually read it or heard a better audio version. The Librivox recording was average.


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It is recognisable for its influence, and the "don't aspire beyond the human limits of knowledge" is a tale as old as time itself, but this still holds up magnificently, which I wasn't expecting.
A play written in blank verse with the theme of a repentant God, an unrepentant Devil, and a human having sold his soul to the latter in exchange for knowledge and relief from boredom sounds (and is) exciting. It helps that Marlowe keeps it simple, doesn't get too preachy, and fills up the gaps nicely even with a foregone conclusion.
TL;DR - don't sell your soul to the Devil, with a capital D - who would have guessed? ( )

More muscular and direct than much of Shakespeare, this is an easy and enjoyable read. There are many lovely lines to savor. Obviously a fun play to produce, with its procession of colorful characters, fiends, and fantasms, its surprising this isn't more often seen in repertoire. ( )

The second play by Christopher Marlow I have read. I had an easier time reading it this time. Nice telling of the story of Faust. ( )

Not the best Norton Critical that I've come across. A very spare introduction, and rather short on context considering how much there was going on at the time (though there is a healthy dollop of faustbook). A good comparison is the equivalent edition of The Tempest, which seems to do much more with much less.

Seems to lean rather heavily on Calvinism as context for the play, taking the difference between the faustbook and Doctor Faustus as mostly theological. This is an interesting approach and offers some good insights on the play (and Marlowe's formative years), but the scope is rather narrow for a Norton Critical.

Both the A and B text are provided, naturally with modernized spelling/punctuation. This is not a side-by-side edition: you read them in sequence. Being short, this works fine, and the differences between the two are what make up most of the introduction. I'd recommend supplementing this with the first 3 sections of [b:Lives of Faust: The Faust Theme in Literature and Music: A Reader|7054766|Lives of Faust The Faust Theme in Literature and Music A Reader|Lorna Fitzsimmons|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1381304452s/7054766.jpg|7305946] to get a more complete analysis of the play.

As for the play itself, five stars for anything by Marlowe. ( )