Dr Faustus- context

The Renaissance

• In the 1300s, European civilization began shifting away from the church-dominated Middle Ages.

• A new period called the Renaissance emerged, emphasizing secularism and humanism.

• The Renaissance was a cultural, intellectual, and artistic movement.

• It began in Italy and spread across Western Europe over several centuries.

• The movement was inspired by the rediscovery of Greek and Roman literature.

• Classical-based art and learning became central to the era.

General religion notes-

• The Renaissance saw a major upheaval in the Roman Catholic Church called the Protestant Reformation.

• During the Middle Ages (5th century to the Renaissance), the Catholic Church controlled daily life in western and central Europe.

  • Religious rituals and observances shaped the calendar year.

  • Church teachings were the sole authority on ethics, life’s meaning, and the afterlife.

  • Heresy (disagreement with church teachings) was severely punished

the change in the church’s control notes-

• The rapidly changing Renaissance era challenged the Church's control over spiritual and material life.

• Some individuals questioned Church practices and doctrines.

  • One key figure was Martin Luther, a German theologian.

  • He opposed the Church’s practice of accepting money for penance.

  • His protest escalated into a major reform movement, dividing the Church into Protestants and Catholics.

impact of the Reformation in England-

• In England, the Reformation was particularly turbulent:

  • 1534: King Henry VIII broke from the Roman Catholic Church and established himself as head of the Church of England.

  • After his death in 1547, England shifted violently between Protestantism and Catholicism.

  • Queen Elizabeth I (who took the throne later) established a moderate religious policy:

    • The Church of England retained Catholic structures.

    • Doctrinal lines between Catholicism and Protestantism were blurred.

    • The monarchy, not the Pope, became the Church’s supreme authority.

    • In 1570, the Pope excommunicated Elizabeth I, making papal supporters enemies of the Queen.

Atheism

• Queen Elizabeth I attempted to establish a religious middle ground for English Protestants.

• Despite this, religion was subject to Renaissance scepticism.

• Questioning religious doctrine could lead to accusations of blasphemy or atheism.

  • Atheism in this context meant criticising/questioning religion, not necessarily a total lack of belief.

  • In England, atheism was equivalent to treason, as denying God meant denying the monarch’s divine right to rule.

  • This was especially problematic for Elizabeth I, whose rule depended on the legality of Henry VIII’s divorce.

Allusion/criticism of atheism in DF

• Christopher Marlowe’s Dr Faustus explores this kind of "atheism"

  • Many so-called atheists were actually agnostics or religious dissenters.

  • These individuals valued rational thinking and challenged church orthodoxy.

  • They doubted the literal truth of scripture rather than rejecting God entirely.The play rejects religious dogma but not Christianity entirely.

• implications on the play itself

  • The ending aligns with Christian beliefs in heaven and hell, showing acceptance of scripture.

  • However, the play also critiques organised religion and religious rituals.

Calvinism notes-

• The play explores the theme of human free will vs. predestination.

• This was a key topic in contemporary religious debates.

• Protestant theologian John Calvin (1509–64) advanced the idea of predestination.

• Calvin preached that salvation is granted by divine grace alone.

• Each person’s fate is predetermined by God.

• Human choices and actions only fulfill what has already been divinely decided.

Renaissance humanism notes-

• Renaissance Humanism was an intellectual movement focused on the classical world and human experience, rather than religion.

• Humanists valued education, especially in classical literature and civic virtue.

  • They believed in realizing individual potential for personal and societal benefit.

• Key elements of Renaissance Humanism:

  • Interest in ancient literature and art.

  • Eloquent use of Latin and the study of philology.

  • Belief in education’s power to create productive citizens.

  • Emphasis on the individual and their moral autonomy.

  • Encouragement of non-religious studies.

• Humanism was not opposed to religion—Humanists could be Protestant or Catholic.

Renaissance theatre

• Theatre in Renaissance England developed alongside major cultural shifts in:

  • Religion (e.g., mocking Puritans and slandering Catholics in plays like Twelfth Night).

  • Economics, social norms, sexuality, and politics.

• Theatre was seen as a potential threat to authority:

  • Playwrights and actors were imprisoned, and all theatres in London were shut down for months.

  • Queen Elizabeth’s government recognized theatre’s power to subvert cultural norms.

• Elizabethan playwrights were often subversive individuals:

  • Christopher Marlowe:

    • Accused of atheism and suspected of homosexuality.

    • Former spy, murdered at 29 in suspicious circumstances.

• Government control over theatre:

  • Plays were expected to be patriotic, moral, and written in stately verse.

  • All plays had to be approved by the Master of the Revels.

• Marlowe defied expectations:

  • Doctor Faustus appears to follow the moral tale structure but questions its legitimacy.

General Marlowe context-

• Christopher Marlowe was born in the early years of the English Renaissance.

• His life and work were shaped by new ideas in science, art, religion, and philosophy.

• Marlowe rose to fame in his early 20s and became Elizabethan London’s most exciting playwright.

  • Rumors of his espionage work and sexuality added to his mystique.

  • In just five years (late 1580s–early 1590s), he wrote seven plays and three poems.

  • Scholars still debate the exact dates of his works.

• Marlowe faced accusations of atheism throughout his life.

  • Thomas Beard, a Cambridge contemporary, saw his violent death in a tavern brawl as divine punishment.

  • He died 10 days after defending himself to the Privy Council and being released on bail, at age 29.

• Neither version of Doctor Faustus was published in his lifetime, fueling authorship debates.

Marlowe as a free thinker

• He became a Free-Thinker, part of an underground intellectual group called the School of Night.

  • This group included noblemen, courtiers, and commoners.

  • They embraced new ideas and rejected old ones.

  • Their pursuit of knowledge, especially questioning church dogma and biblical inconsistencies, led to them being labelled as atheists and persecuted.

• Doctor Faustus reflects this Free-Thinker spirit:

  • Faustus is a skeptic and intellectual.

  • He seeks forbidden knowledge, violates heaven’s laws, and is ultimately damned.

Morality plays notes-

• Morality plays were popular in 15th- and 16th-century Europe.

• They used allegorical stories to teach a moral lesson based on Christian teachings.

• Characters represented abstract qualities such as:

  • Goodness vs. Evil

  • Virtue vs. Vice

• The plot typically involved:

  • A "mankind" figure tempted by worldly pleasures and sin.

  • A battle for the human soul between good and evil forces.

  • The protagonist ultimately repenting and being saved, ensuring their place in Heaven.

• Key example: Everyman

  • God sees Everyman indulging in worldly desires and sends Death to call him to account.

  • Everyman seeks help from allegorical figures:

    • Fellowship (friends) and Goods (material wealth) abandon him.

  • Knowledge leads him to Confession, which grants him forgiveness.

  • In the end, Good Deeds is the only companion that helps Everyman reach Heaven.

Greek Tragedy/ Tragic hero-

• Affirmed by the reference to Icarus in the Prologue, many view ‘Doctor Faustus’ as a tragedy, supported by the play’s structure, the inclusion of a tragic Chorus to narrate the action, and the unhappy fortune that awaits the hubristic Faustus.

• Yet, Faustus does not fully match with the criteria of Aristotle’s tragic hero – namely, that he is not noble born + other elements

Carnival notes-

• Festive activities in Elizabethan drama, such as masques, masquerades, revels, and feasts, were used to undermine strict social boundaries.

• The carnivalesque served as a cathartic release during periods of festive disorder and social inversion.

• Symbols, costumes, and masks disrupted conventional meaning and parodied reality.

• Key elements of Carnival:

  • Parody and travesty—mockery of everyday categories, creating a world of misrule.

  • Masquerade revealed the arbitrariness of social status and identity.

• Contrast between official pageantry and Carnival:

  • Authority-sanctioned pageants used idealised imagery.

  • Carnival replaced these with humble, everyday objects (e.g., from kitchens and workshops).

  • Material and bodily experiences, such as food and eating, became central.

• Carnival grounds social reality, placing the body and its needs at the centre of the social process.

Humanism notes-

• Humanist Focus on Individual Potential

  • Renaissance Humanism emphasized the power of human reason, intellectual achievement, and self-improvement.

  • Faustus embodies this ideal—he is a highly educated scholar, seeking limitless knowledge and personal greatness.

  • His ambition mirrors the humanist belief in human potential, but Marlowe questions whether such unbounded pursuit of knowledge is wise.

• Knowledge and Classical Learning

  • Humanists placed great value on classical literature and philosophy, studying works from Greece and Rome.

  • Faustus engages in deep study but rejects traditional disciplines (e.g., law, medicine, theology) in favor of forbidden, supernatural knowledge.

  • His desire to transcend human limitations reflects a humanist thirst for discovery but also warns of its excesses.

• Moral Autonomy and Free Will

  • Humanism encouraged moral autonomy—the idea that individuals should think critically and make their own ethical choices.

  • Faustus exercises his free will by choosing to sell his soul for power and knowledge, but Marlowe explores whether this choice was truly his own or predestined (linking to Calvinist ideas).

• Tension Between Humanism and Religion

  • While humanists valued reason and inquiry, they were not necessarily anti-religious—many sought to reconcile faith and learning.

  • Doctor Faustus presents a clash between humanist ideals (intellectual ambition, skepticism) and Christian doctrine (sin, repentance, and damnation).

  • The play criticizes both—it celebrates knowledge but warns against unchecked ambition that defies God.

humanism criticism-

• Faustus believes knowledge will make him godlike, yet he ultimately falls into despair.

• This suggests that humanist ideals, when taken to an extreme, can lead to hubris and destruction.

• The play questions whether humanity should pursue all knowledge, or if some things are best left unknown.