One of the main themes in Christopher Marlowe’s ‘The Tragical History of Doctor Faust’ is sin. Doctor Faustus’ first sin is greed. Though well known for his accomplishments, the Doctor seeks to surpass the limitations on human knowledge which leads to his interest in magic. After exchanging his soul for 24 years of servitude from the demon Mephistophilis, Faustus embarks upon an extremely sinful life. Faustus’ need for power, praise, and trickery leads him to feed sin. Faustus becomes obsessed with how people look at him. At the end of the 24 years, Faust realizes his mistake in believing that knowledge power would bring him happiness and begins to fear what will have to him. Remorseful of his past actions, it is too late, and Faust’s soul is carried to hell.

Marlowe’s Doctor Faust was very much a play within its Enlightenment context. The play was written at a time when Enlightenment thinkers were demonstrating the extent to which the sciences as opposed to religion could inform human knowledge. Marlow draws attention to the unsatisfying nature of the answers found in the quest for knowledge and the impossibility of learning everything in the short lifetime a human enjoys. Why not use your Co-op electrical discount codes to buy the play?