Necromancy In Doctor Faustus

In the play Doctor Faustus written by Christopher Marlowe, Marlowe tells the tale of a power hungry theorist who turns to necromancy in order to attain his goals. The play shows the rise and fall of Faustus throughout his journey into black magic. Marlowe finely illustrates Faustus’ desires for power and fame. Throughout the play Faustus has several opportunities to relinquish the dark arts and ask forgiveness from God, yet he never does. Faustus rejects the intervention of God in an effort to propel his self-interests. Doctor Faustus dove into a realm in which he had no business doing so. By deciding to partake in necromancy and exemplifying the Seven Deadly Sins Faustus condemned his soul to Hell. One should not feel sorrow for his ultimate damnation. Faustus chose to wander onto the dark path of necromancy, which resulted in his rightful punishment. Faustus deserves to be punished for his sins. He supposedly dedicated his life to the teaching of Christianity, yet seems to blatantly disregard them at any turn. If one dedicates themselves to a doctrine, they have the moral …show more content…
Marlowe’s use of gluttony differs from what is traditionally thought of. Gluttony exists within the play as a metaphorical sin whereas the others are more physically represented. Faustus desires to use his knowledge from Mephistopheles to indulge in the decadence of the world. In order to indulge, Faustus must pack himself full of knowledge much like a gluttonous person would do with food. He then is able to indulge in the vices in which he so greatly desires. Living in gluttony clouds the ability to see the ever approaching threshold. Faustus was too distracted with the prospects of pleasure, that he did not stop to think if it was the right thing to do in the first place. One cannot be a hedonist, living from pleasure to pleasure. The threshold exists to show how fortunate pleasure truly is. To do anything else would be an