Dr. Faustus stays within the guidelines of a standard “tragedy”, seeing the ultimate peripeteia of the protagonist, who unbeknownst to him is morally wrong. The speech provided displays strong parallels to the tensions as a whole in the play, ranging from religion to power. The speech also invites the audience to wonder whether hell is fact or fiction, regardless of religious beliefs. Marlowe creates an almost summarized version of the entire play through this speech, with regards to the characters speaking and key ideas touched on within it.
The speech provides evidence of the constant strife over religious beliefs and shows glimpses of the darker side of religion, with the mention of hell and “Lucifer” (5.131). Faustus is stubborn in his belief that “hell’s a fable” (5.127) and that signing his soul to the devil is “mere old wives’ tales” (5.135) , yet in his eventual traverse to eternal damnation, he sees the role it plays in the fate of his soul. The speech also reflects on the context of the play, as it was produced at a time of religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics in England (Marlowe's Literary Scepticism). This affects the way the audience is expected …show more content…
It contributes to the continuous tensions between devout Catholics and Atheists, shown by stubbornness of Faustus and Mephistopheles in their beliefs. Faustus’ desire for more makes him more alluring to the audience, as the extent to what Faustus will do for power is humorous. The context in which the play was set provides a sense of constant hostility, demonstrated by Faustus’ preference for Renaissance values over Medieval ones. Christopher Marlowe popularizes Dr. Faustus amongst people of different eras through its range of universal themes, and these themes are what ultimately lead to conflict, which can be witnessed from the speech
The speech provides evidence of the constant strife over religious beliefs and shows glimpses of the darker side of religion, with the mention of hell and “Lucifer” (5.131). Faustus is stubborn in his belief that “hell’s a fable” (5.127) and that signing his soul to the devil is “mere old wives’ tales” (5.135) , yet in his eventual traverse to eternal damnation, he sees the role it plays in the fate of his soul. The speech also reflects on the context of the play, as it was produced at a time of religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics in England (Marlowe's Literary Scepticism). This affects the way the audience is expected …show more content…
It contributes to the continuous tensions between devout Catholics and Atheists, shown by stubbornness of Faustus and Mephistopheles in their beliefs. Faustus’ desire for more makes him more alluring to the audience, as the extent to what Faustus will do for power is humorous. The context in which the play was set provides a sense of constant hostility, demonstrated by Faustus’ preference for Renaissance values over Medieval ones. Christopher Marlowe popularizes Dr. Faustus amongst people of different eras through its range of universal themes, and these themes are what ultimately lead to conflict, which can be witnessed from the speech