The Tragical History of Doctor FaustusChristopher MarloweOmniClassics · Literature
The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus
Christopher MarloweA scholar trades the limits of ordinary knowledge for a promise of extraordinary power.
Progress is saved in this browser
About the book
Faustus surveys the recognised fields of learning and finds their possibilities too narrow for his ambition. His turn to forbidden arts brings an agreement that promises knowledge and power while fixing a terrible cost. Marlowe sets magnificent aspirations beside scenes in which those powers are used for far smaller ends, making the discrepancy part of the tragedy. Warnings, entertainments, arguments, and moments of hesitation give the passing time an increasingly urgent presence. The play asks whether desire has expanded Faustus's freedom or narrowed his ability to choose. This text is Alexander Dyce's edition based on the 1604 quarto, with stated amendments from later quartos. Its speeches make the attraction of boundless achievement audible alongside the fear that achievement cannot answer.
- Ambition
- Knowledge and limits
- Choice
Why read it
For the dramatic contrast between the scale of Faustus's imagined powers and the uses to which he puts them.
Alexander Dyce edition based on the 1604 quarto · English text