Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe

Title: Dr. Faustus

(Originally written in Early Modern English.)

Author: Christopher Marlowe (English, 1564-1593)
Originally written: 1589-1592
Page count:1604 publication - 42 pages;
1616 publication - 63 pages

Dates read: 4/1/2020-4/5/2020
2020 book goal progress: 9 out of 20
Month category: April - Easter / Religion
Back to the Classics category: 
Classic with a Person’s Name in the Title


Read my other book reviews for my 2020 goal HERE.


Description on back of book:
Dr. Faustus is Christopher Marlowe's version of the famous legend of a doctor who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. Based on the German legend of Johann Georg Faust, a magician of the German Renaissance who reportedly gained his mystical powers by selling his immortal soul to the devil. The Faustian legend has forever come to symbolize the inherent peril in dealing with unscrupulous characters and supernatural forces. Marlowe's account is based primarily upon an anonymous late 16th-century work concerning the history of the real-life Faust. Marlowe's work is presented here in this volume in both its 1604 and 1616 versions.

First line:
1604 version -
CHORUS:
Not marching now in fields of Trasimene,
Where Mars did mate the Carthaginians;
Nor sporting in the dalliance of love,
In courts of kings where state is overturn'd;
Nor in the pomp of proud audacious deeds,
Intends our Muse to vaunt his heavenly verse:
Only this, gentlemen, - we must perform
The form of Faustus' fortunes, good or bad.

1616 version -
CHORUS:
Not marching in the fields of Thrasymene,
Where Mars did mate the warlike Carthagens;
Nor sporting in the dalliance of love,
In courts of Kings where state is overturn'd;
Nor in the pomp of proud audacious deeds,
Intends our Muse to vaunt her heavenly verse:
Only this, gentles, - we must now perform
The form of Faustus' fortunes, good or bad:
And now to patient judgments we appeal,
And speak for Faustus in his infancy.

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 5.4 - ⭐⭐⭐
Characters      -  6
Atmosphere   - 5
Writing Style - 6
Plot                - 5
Intrigue          - 6
Logic             - 4
Enjoyment     - 6
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

This was pretty meh. There was no real message to the play other than if you sell your soul to the devil, you'll be damned and go to hell. I was hoping it would have more depth to it, but it just fell flat for me. One thing I didn't get was why Faustus only asked for 24 years to control a devil and then accept damnation. If he was making a deal with Lucifer and Faustus was the one making the terms - why did he only give himself 24 years?

The 1616 version is more humourous and about a third longer than the 1604 version. The earlier version seemed to focus on knowledge as the reason for Faustus selling his soul and getting the power to control Mephistophilis, a devil from hell. In the later version, he seemed more focused on petty vengeance and making fools of others. My favorite characters were GOOD ANGEL and EVIL ANGEL. They made me think of...

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Christopher Marlowe have the last words:

1604 version -
FAUSTUS: First I will question with thee about hell.
Tell me where is the place that men call hell?

MEPHISTOPHILIS (a devil): Under the Heaven.

F: Ay, but whereabout?

M: Within the bowels of these elements,
Where we are totur'd and remain forever;
Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscrib'd
In one self place; for where we are is hell,
And where hell is there must we ever be:
And, to conclude, when all the world dissolves,
And every creature shall be purified,
All places shall be hell that is not Heaven.

F: Come, I think hell's a fable!

M: Ay, think so still, till experience change thy mind.


1616 version -
FAUSTUS: First I will question with thee about hell.
Tell me, where is the place that men call hell?

MEPHISTOPHILIS (a devil): Under the heavens.

F: Ay, so are all things else; but whereabouts?

M: Within the bowels of these elements,
Where we are totur'd and remain forever:
Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscrib'd
In one self-place; but where we are is hell,
And where hell is, there must we ever be:
And, to be short, when all the world dissolves,
And every creature shall be purified,
All places shall be hell that are not Heaven.

F: I think hell's a fable.

M: Ay, think so still, till experience change thy mind.