Synopsis

Set in Germany, the play relates the quest of John Faustus for knowledge and power beyond normal human capabilities. Frustrated by his inability to uncover the mysteries of the universe, he makes a contract with a demon, Mephastophilis, in exchange for twenty-four years of luxury, and magical access to illicit secrets. Faustus turns his back on God and embraces a life of little more than dubious shallow trickery. No grand revelations await the doctor.

The play ends back in Wittenberg. Faustus shows his friends a vision of Helen of Troy. An Old Man tries to make him repent, but Faustus refuses. As the time draws near for Mephastophilis to take him to hell, Faustus grows more desperate, his anguish propelling him to an understanding of what heaven means. However, whether incapable or unwilling, he turns away from God and is dragged screaming to hell.


Scene Summaries

Prologue

The Chorus tells us that the play is about an ordinary man, a scholar called Faustus. His intellect has made him arrogant, and extremely ambitious. The story will open as he embarks on a study of magic, the only domain of knowledge he has yet to conquer.

Scene 1

Faustus is seen sitting amongst his books, and he begins to tell us about the authors. He derides them, rejecting each of their disciplines in turn. Theology is his last hope, but labels it useless, declaring it is inevitable that all men must sin and die. But Faustus believes that applying his considerable intellect to the study of magic will make him immortal. Admitting that he is still a novice in the subject, he sends his servant, Wagner, to fetch the magicians Valdes and Cornelius. They will teach him how to gain power over the spirit world.

The Good and Evil Angel appear. The Good Angel threatens Faustus with God’s anger if he continues; the Evil Angel counters this by telling Faustus his course will lead to greater power on earth. This prompts Faustus to aspire and dream, and he shares his ideas with Valdes and Cornelius. The two magicians promise to help him achieve his ambitions and the scene closes with Faustus attempting his first spell.

Scene 2

Two of Faustus’ old friends are seen wondering where he is now. Wagner, Faustus’ servant, passes them, and makes fun of typical scholarly discourse. Eventually he tells them that Faustus is dining with Valdes and Cornelius. The two men realize their friend is learning black magic and resolve to help.

Scene 3

Faustus has learned the art of magic and conjures up a devil called Mephastophilis. Faustus is arrogant but when he gives orders to the demon, he is told that his requests will only be granted if Lucifer, Mephastophilis’ master, consents. They discuss Lucifer and the account of his exile from heaven. Faustus proposes a contract with the devil - in exchange for his soul Lucifer should give him twenty-four years where he may live "in all voluptuousness". They arrange to meet and confirm the agreement after Mephastophilis has consulted his master.

Scene 4

Wagner meets a "clown" in the street and bribes him to become his servant. When the man hesitates, Wagner conjures up two devils, Baliol and Belcher, who frighten him into submission.

Scene 5

We see Faustus in his study, thinking about damnation. The Good and Bad Angel appear and plead with him. When they leave, Mephastophilis enters and tells Faustus that Lucifer has agreed to the bargain as long as the contract is signed in blood. The doctor questions Mephastophilis about hell, and then attempts to write his name. However, the blood will not flow, and when a message appears on his arm urging him to flee, the demon distracts him from hesitation by a group of dancing devils.

When the bargain is sealed, Faustus at once begins to pester Mephastophilis for the secrets of the universe. All of his requests are met with dissatisfaction. He thinks of heaven, and the Good and Bad Angels appear again. Faustus declares that he cannot repent, and calls on Mephastophilis to discuss the nature of the world. The information given seems limited, and the devil is not allowed to talk about theological matters. Faustus dismisses him and the Angels return. Just as the doctor seems to be on the verge of repenting, the most powerful devils, Lucifer and Belzebub, appear with Mephastophilis and issue threats with a display of the Seven Deadly Sins. Faustus is impressed and decides to visit Hell.


Scene 6

Time passes and Faustus is now famous. Two ostlers, Robin and Rafe, plan to use one of the doctor’s book of spells to seduce a kitchen woman and get free drink.

Chorus 2

Wagner describes how Faustus is proceeding in his study of black magic. He tells us that the doctor has ridden in a chariot pulled by dragons to the top of Mount Olympus, the home of the Ancient Greek gods. Faustus will next try out his new powers at a papal feast in Rome.

Scene 7

Mephastophilis informs Faustus about the layout of Rome. He makes Faustus invisible and when the Pope enters with the Cardinal of Lorraine and attendant friars, the doctor plays tricks on them, disrupting the feast. Some friars curse Faustus, causing him to set off fireworks and beat them.

Scene 8

Robin and Rafe use the book of magic to steal a silver goblet. They accidentally call up Mephastophilis, and he transforms them into an ape and a dog for having brought him all the way from Constantinople.

Chorus 3

Faustus returns home to Wittenberg and immerses himself in his old friendships and entertainments. His skill is noticible, and he is summoned to the court of Emperor Charles V.

Scene 9

The Emperor tells Faustus that he may practise magic safely in his court, and the doctor is humble towards him. He gives a magic show, invoking devils in the image of Alexander the Great and Alexander’s Queen. A knight is sceptical, and leaves the stage, but everyone else believes the show to be genuine. Faustus asks for the knight to be sent for, and when he appears we see that the doctor has caused horns to sprout from his head. The Emperor and his court leave, and Faustus tells Mephastophilis that his twenty- four years of power are nearly over. He will spend the close of his life in Wittenberg.

Scene 10

Faustus proceeds to play tricks on a horse-trader. He turns a bundle of hay into a horse and sells it to a horse-courser for forty dollars, warning him not to ride the horse into water. The man accidentally insults Faustus by suggesting that he would do well as a horse-doctor. This prompts him to doubt his identity.

The horse-courser returns soaking wet and tells us that the horse turned into hay when rode into a pond. He tries to wake the sleeping Faustus to get a refund, shouting and pulling on his leg. This comes off in his hand and Mephastophilis lets him escape as long as he pays a further forty dollars. When he leaves we find out that the detachable leg was a trick. At the end Wagner appears with news of an invitation from the Duke of Vanholt.

Scene 11

Faustus is in the middle of entertaining the court of Vanholt. The pregnant Duchess craves grapes, and despite it being the middle of winter Faustus provides her with a bunch from the other side of the world. He is promised a reward and they depart to continue the conversation elsewhere.

Chorus 4
Wagner reminds us of Faustus’ imminent death. He is back in Wittenberg enjoying a drunken life of revels. Wagner is unable to understand why the doctor should still choose to go to these student parties.

Scene 12

Three scholars have been arguing over who was the most beautiful woman ever. Faustus conjures up a vision of Helen of Troy and she crosses the stage in silence. The scholars praise her beauty and the skill of Faustus, and leave. An Old Man unexpectedly enters and declares these actions to be evil. He urges the doctor to repent, and when Faustus despairs, he prevents his suicide.

The departure of the Old Man sees Mephastophilis appear with threats of torture if the doctor does not fulfil the bargain made. Faustus gives in and asks two favours - for devils to torture the Old Man and to be able to sleep with Helen of Troy. The Old Man enters as Faustus is kissing Helen. They leave the stage together and devils torment him. We see him defy hell and welcome death.

Scene 13

Faustus is wretched, and miserably greets his scholarly friends, informing them that he must soon go to hell. They tell him that he should repent, but he says that invisible devils hold his tongue and hands. They go to an adjacent room to pray for him. The play ends with a long anguished monologue by Faustus. He longs for time to stand still, alternately resolving to call on God and then hide from his wrath. He ends with wishing that he had not been born with a soul. Faced with God’s rejection and Lucifer’s embrace, Faustus is taken to hell.

Epilogue

The Chorus describes the tragedy of Doctor Faustus as a lost opportunity for honour and education. We are asked to learn from the story and not try to rebel against divine law.


Themes

Belief

The conflict between belief and unbelief dominates Marlowe’s play. In the sixteenth century the concept of atheism could be defined as both a denial of the existence of God and also a denial of the goodness of God. Faustus uses the idea of ‘a mighty god’ as an alternative to the Christian God. So while modern audiences wouldn’t consider him an atheist, an Elizabethan audience would. In addition, while he is sceptical about God, he seems to believe that he has a soul. Paradoxically this aligns him with some aspects of conventional theology but not others. His belief system is shaky and suspect; he is constantly moving from one opinion to another, unable to root himself. His sense of identity wavers, shown in his use of his own name instead of the personal pronoun, as if he is standing outside himself looking helplessly on.

Religion

The succession of Queen Elizabeth to Mary in 1558 saw Catholicism outlawed in England. The Pope was described as the Antichrist, the Catholic Church as the ‘Whore of Babylon’, and Catholic forms of worship, in particular the Latin Mass, treated with disgust and terror. Repressive laws and taxes were introduced in order to re-educate the public and turn them towards Protestantism. The fear of invasion and the war with Spain intensified the revulsion. Priests who failed to attend Protestant services were arrested - if they were caught administering the forbidden Catholic rites they could be tortured to death. However, the reign of Elizabeth did not feature more violence than Mary’s; religious dissent was met with execution in both.

Marlowe placed Faustus in the Martin Luther’s home university of Wittenberg, whose teachings were the basis for the formation of early sixteenth century Protestant Anglicanism. That Faustus should mock the Pope suggests Marlowe is satirizing Catholicism; an Elizabethan audience would quickly be ready to laugh at these jokes. His use of Latin in his spells suggests the Latin of the Catholic Mass, and that Marlowe is setting up the idea that Catholicism is no more than a trick of the Devil’s. In consideration the play certainly seems to be a diatribe against the Catholic religion.

The dominance of mainstream Anglicanism during Elizabeth’s reign was put under stress by the Puritan religion. The Puritan sect, with its emphasis on free speech and independent thought, undermined the officially prescribed homilies and services set down in the Book of Prayer, ordained by Elizabeth’s Government. Rather than conformity to authority, the religion preached individual obedience to one’s own conscience instead. This was deemed dangerously subversive, and was a source of anxiety to those in positions of power. Shepherd draws attention to the way Marlowe’s plays "often show scenes or stories in which …individual speech is repressed or in which official speech making is viewed critically". Faustus is seen as struggling between an ideal of Puritan individualism, and the need to conform to imposed structures.