Dr. Faustus Essay: The Tragic Downfall of Dr. Faustus -- Doctor Faust

The Tragic Downfall of Dr. Faustus        Christopher Marlowes play, its genre an English tragedy of the sixteenth century, presents the tragic troth of the Faust theme in the tradition of medieval morality plays. The concepts of good and evil in these plays and their psychological implications reflect a historical background in which the church service dominates the ethical and moral concepts of their time. Faustus defies societys norms and embraces the devil with courageous desperation, fully aware of the inevitable consequences, but incapable of being satisfied with his compassionate limitations.   The play is divided into tail fin acts, each of them representing a progressive stage of Faustus downfall, his moral and ethical decline. In the prologue preceeding the first act, which is written in the form of a poetic commentary, Faustus is allegorically compared to Ikarus, the classic mythological figure, through the alliteration of waxen wings (Prol ogue line 20). Ikarus actual flight represents symbolically Faustus intellectual endeavors to unreached heights. The melting of Ikarus wings find their match in Faustus downfall and devastation. The language used, discloses hierarchical thought pattern scholarly pursuits are high standing in value. The closeness to the sun that causes Ikarus fall foreshadows Faustus destruction and his desire to become like God. This reflects the pre-renaissance understanding of social order - people are to stay in their God-given place in society.   But the image of Ikarus expiration is also to be taken literal. Heavens conspired his overthrow (Prologue line 21) foretells Faustus actual death while the blame for it is being placed scornfully and s... ...t of sin, but Faustus, in hell is all manner of delight(II,ii,179).   The struggle between Faustus superego/good angel and his id/bad angel continue throughout the play and the possibility of achieving a balance doesnt seem to exist. I n the society of the sixteenth century repressive moral standards prohibited a possible balance between ethical demands and human passions, causing psychological traumas as the reader can observe it in this play. Society of this time, forcing their limited understanding of God on people, caused thinkers like Faust to lose their discover for a supernatural experience with God that could have solved their questions. It would take another two hundred years until in the period of Enlightenment a new Faust, created by Goethe, would retain his noble character and conquer with reason the trivial attempts of Mephistopheles.