Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe

Doctor Faustus Christopher Marlowe

Plot Overview

Doctor
Faustus, a well-respected German scholar, grows dissatisfied with the
limits of traditional forms of knowledge—logic, medicine, law, and
religion—and decides that he wants to learn to practice magic. His
friends Valdes and Cornelius instruct him in the black arts, and he
begins his new career as a magician by summoning up Mephastophilis, a
devil. Despite Mephastophilis's warnings about the horrors of hell,
Faustus tells the devil to return to his master, Lucifer, with an offer
of Faustus's soul in exchange for twenty-four years of service from
Mephastophilis. Meanwhile, Wagner, Faustus's servant, has picked up some
magical ability and uses it to press a clown named Robin into his
service.


Mephastophilis
returns to Faustus with word that Lucifer has accepted Faustus's offer.
Faustus experiences some misgivings and wonders if he should repent and
save his soul; in the end, though, he agrees to the deal, signing it
with his blood. As soon as he does so, the words “Homo fuge,” Latin for
“O man, fly,” appear branded on his arm. Faustus again has second
thoughts, but Mephastophilis bestows rich gifts on him and gives him a
book of spells to learn. Later, Mephastophilis answers all of his
questions about the nature of the world, refusing to answer only when
Faustus asks him who made the universe. This refusal prompts yet another
bout of misgivings in Faustus, but Mephastophilis and Lucifer bring in
personifications of the Seven Deadly Sins to prance about in front of
Faustus, and he is impressed enough to quiet his doubts.

Armed
with his new powers and attended by Mephastophilis, Faustus begins to
travel. He goes to the pope's court in Rome, makes himself invisible,
and plays a series of tricks. He disrupts the pope's banquet by stealing
food and boxing the pope's ears. Following this incident, he travels
through the courts of Europe, with his fame spreading as he goes.
Eventually, he is invited to the court of the German emperor, Charles V
(the enemy of the pope), who asks Faustus to allow him to see Alexander
the Great, the famed fourth-century b.c. Macedonian king and conqueror.
Faustus conjures up an image of Alexander, and Charles is suitably
impressed. A knight scoffs at Faustus's powers, and Faustus chastises
him by making antlers sprout from his head. Furious, the knight vows
revenge.

Meanwhile, Robin, Wagner's clown, has picked up some
magic on his own, and with his fellow stablehand, Rafe, he undergoes a
number of comic misadventures. At one point, he manages to summon
Mephastophilis, who threatens to turn Robin and Rafe into animals (or
perhaps even does transform them; the text isn't clear) to punish them
for their foolishness.

Faustus then goes on with his travels,
playing a trick on a horse-courser along the way. Faustus sells him a
horse that turns into a heap of straw when ridden into a river.
Eventually, Faustus is invited to the court of the Duke of Vanholt,
where he performs various feats. The horse-courser shows up there, along
with Robin, a man named Dick (Rafe in the A text), and various others
who have fallen victim to Faustus's trickery. But Faustus casts spells
on them and sends them on their way, to the amusement of the duke and
duchess.

As the twenty-four years of his deal with Lucifer come
to a close, Faustus begins to dread his impending death. He has
Mephastophilis call up Helen of Troy, the famous beauty from the ancient
world, and uses her presence to impress a group of scholars. An old man
urges Faustus to repent, but Faustus drives him away. Faustus summons
Helen again and exclaims rapturously about her beauty. But time is
growing short. Faustus tells the scholars about his pact, and they are
horror-stricken and resolve to pray for him. On the final night before
the expiration of the twenty-four years, Faustus is overcome by fear and
remorse. He begs for mercy, but it is too late. At midnight, a host of
devils appears and carries his soul off to hell. In the morning, the
scholars find Faustus's limbs and decide to hold a funeral for him