“Had I as many souls as there be stars, I’d give them all for Mephastophilis. By him I’ll be great emperor of the world” .
Doctor Faustus (102-104)
Doctor Faustus is a play scripted 📝 by Christopher Marlowe around 1592. The play moves along with the life of a scholar 👨💼 named Faustus who paves the way to his own tragic end 😦. The plot revolves around Faustus who decides to sell his soul to the devil 👿 in order to gain magical 🎩 powers.
Meet Doctor Faustus 🎓
Doctor Faustus is introduced in the play as a scholar who questions all the existing ideas 🤯. He finds them imperfect ❌. He concludes that medicine is incomplete as no doctor 👨⚕️ can help a dead person ⚰️ awaken and logic is nothing than arguments.
Doctor Faustus to Practise Necromancy? 🤔
Finally, he decides to learn necromancy which can yield him ultimate knowledge 🧠 and power💪. He calls out his servant cum student, Wagner to call ☎️ upon the magicians Valdes and Cornelius 🧛♂️ to teach him necromancy🃏.
Is the Faustian Bargain Accepted? 🤝
Upon dealing the basics of necromancy, Faustus calls upon a devil named Mephastophilis 👺. Faustus on his first appearance commands him to present himself in a beautiful manner and orders him to leave. Faustus is admired 😯 at the obedience and dreams 😌 of him being treated as a Prince 🤴 by the devils👽.
What entices Faustus to necromancy? Is it just to gain knowledge or the greed for wealth and power? 🤨
Faustus is then pleased 😌 to see Mephastophilis in another shape and puts forward his deal of exchange 💱 of soul after 24 years for the ultimate possession of knowledge. The agreement is signed ✒️ with the blood of Faustus as per the command by Lucifer🦹♀️.
Will Faustus Repent? ✝️
Faustus thinks of repenting. A Good ood angel 🧚♀️ and a Bad angel 🗿appears before him. The Good angel persuades him to repent and follow the path of God. While the Bad angel suggests to continue this so that he can conquer the world 🌐. Even though disturbed for a second, he decides to practise necromancy.
Faustus with Lucifer and the Seven Deadly Sins
Lucifer appears before Faustus as he once again tries to repent and cries 😫 out for Jesus. Lucifer commands 🤫 him not to call Jesus 😇 as it would harm the devils. Lucifer then fascinates Faustus by introducing him to the Seven Deadly Sins 😡😠 and letting them talk.
Doctor Faustus – The Master of Ultimate Knowledge and Power.
Faustus is on a sky ride in the chariot driven by dragons 🐉 to study astronomy 🌠. Necromancy blinds Faustus 🙈. He is delighted by playing cheap pranks before the Pope and his assistants in Rome. He enjoys by frightening 😳 them being invisible 🌬️ and throwing plates 🍽️ and food 🍲 placed on their dining table.
The Magical Powers of Faustus Extends the World 🌍.
He is called by Charles V👑, the King of Germany 🇩🇪, and the Duke and Duchess of Vanholt to amuse them. Charles V is amazed as the soul of Alexander the Great and his rival Darius is called before him.
The Duchess of Vanholt asks him to bring grapes 🍇 as she knew it wasn’t the season of it. Faustus brings a plate of fresh grapes and it was one of the tastiest 😋 that she has ever had. Both of the royals assured to reward him 💴.
Was he using his power in the right way? Or did the evil in him step out as he mastered power? 😑
He neither used his power for the benefit for people nor for himself. His power satisfied his evilness. He pranked on a horse trader 🐴 by selling his horse and warning ⚠️ him not to ride it in the middle of water 💦.
The horse trader misunderstood that the horse had certain magical powers⚡ and rode it 🐎 in the middle of a pond 🏞️. The horse turned into a stack of hay 🍂 he fell into water. The man came to argue with Faustus but ran away frightened 🙄 seeing other terrible magic.
Doctor Faustus and The Helen of Troy 👸🏼
“Was this the face that launch’d a thousand ships,And burnt the topless towers of Ilium? Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.Her lips suck forth my soul: see where it flies! Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again.Here will I dwell, for heaven is in these lips, And all is dross that is not Helena”.
Faustus realises he has come to the end of 24 years. He is now confused 😕 on to repent or not. Mephastophilis calls him traitor and Faustus promises 🤝 him that he won’t repent. He assures Mephastophilis to handover his soul to Lucifer🦹♀️.
But finally Faustus reveals that he wishes to woo Helen. He says that Helen of Troy will make him forget about the deal he has made with Lucifer. Helen appears and he is obsessed 💏 with her beauty. He delivers a very long speech 🗨 that describes her beauty to fascinate ☺️ her.
The End of Faustian Reign
“But Faustus’ offense can ne’er be pardoned! The serpent that tempted Eve may be saved, but not Faustus” .
Doctor Faustus (15-16)
Faust realises his soul 👻 will be taken forever to hell🔥 and he doesn’t want that to happen. He is worried 😯 when the clock 🕒 strikes. He cries out loud but is helpless 😣. He begs time ⌚ to stop 🛑. He is ready to burn his books 📚, be in hell for a thousand years but not forever.
“Ugly hell gape not! Come not, Lucifer! I’ll burn my books—ah, Mephastophilis”!
Doctor Faustus (112-113)
His soul is finally carried by devils 👽 to hell. The play ends with a moral message 💬 delivered by the chorus who advises learnt men not to be tempted by the unusual desires.
“Regard his hellish fall,Whose fiendful fortune may exhort the wiseOnly to wonder at unlawful things:Whose deepness doth entice such forward wits,To practice more than heavenly power permits”.
Chorus (4-8)
Was there really a man named Faustus? 😳
It is believed that there was a man named Faustus who practised black magic 🧝♂️ in the early 15th century in Germany. Then, a man arrived in the later part of the 15th century and called himself ‘Faustus the Younger 🧛♂️’. He too did black magic 🎩. There were many books 📒 published in Germany by the 16th century narrating Faustlores.
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Naeema Jaleel
Writer at Inclined ScorpioOn an extended process of giving birth to myself structuring own concepts & beliefs.
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5 Comments
Rubin Goel · May 26, 2021 at 1:39 pm
Doctor Faustus is the only book I have ever read and it feels so good to read it. I think everyone should read it atleast once. It’s a must. Thanks Naeema for writing this awesome blog 😃
Inclined Scorpio · May 27, 2021 at 12:33 am
Thank you Rubin for visiting Inclined Scorpio ❤️
More reviews coming soon!
Stay tuned
Harish Kulkarni · May 26, 2021 at 10:17 pm
It’s quite amazing how clean the blog looks.it’s kind of fun reading your blogs. You guys should start a weekly newsletter, count me in.
Inclined Scorpio · May 27, 2021 at 12:32 am
Hi Harish !
Glad you like our platform 🙂
Yes we are soon going to start it Harish, you will be informed on your mail id 😉
Pankaj · May 27, 2021 at 12:34 am
Great work