Ashfaque Ali Zardari
The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, simply called to properly as Doctor Faustus, is an Elizabethan tragedy by Christopher Marlowe, consisted on German stories about the title character Faust. It was probably written in 1592 or 1593, shortly before Marlowe’s death. Renowned German scholar Doctor Faustus expresses discontent with the authority of conventional knowledge, including logic, medicine, law, and religion, and ultimately decides he wants to learn how to conduct magic. He learns instruction in the art of black magic from his partners Valdes and Cornelius, and he starts his new job as a magician by bringing the demon Mephastophilis. Mephastophilis warns Faustus about the dangers of hell, but Faustus instructs the devil to go back to Lucifer, offering Faustus’s soul in return for twenty-four years of Mephastophilis’s labor. In the meantime, Wagner, the servant of Faustus, acquires magical abilities and sets them to use by manipulating Robin, a clown, into working for him. Mephastophilis assures Faustus that Lucifer has given his approval for their arrangement. Though Faustus has some doubts and questions if he should turn from his sins in order to preserve his soul, he ultimately agrees to the agreement and signs it with his blood. The Latin phrase “Homo fuge,” which means “O man, fly,” appears branded on his arm as soon as he does so. Once more, Faustus is overcome with ideas, but Mephastophilis bestows upon him abundant presents and a book filled with amulets and charms for him to study. Later on, Mephastophilis responds to all of his queries concerning the nature of the world, only declining to reply when Faustus inquires as to the identity of the universe’s creator. This rejection causes Faustus to have more worries, but when Mephastophilis and Lucifer provide personifications of the Seven Deadly Sins to parade before him, he is sufficiently captivated to allay his fears. Equipped with his novel abilities and aided by Mephastophilis, Faustus embarks on his journey. He travels to Rome to the pope’s court, where he performs a number of illusions and turns invisible. He boxes the pope’s ears and steals food from the meal, upsetting the pope. After this episode, he makes his way through European courts, becoming more and more well-known along the way. Eventually, he receives an invitation to the German emperor Charles V’s court, who is the pope’s adversary. Charles V begs Faustus for permission to summon Alexander the Great, the renowned Macedonian ruler and conqueror from the fourth century BCE. Charles is deeply captivated by the vision of Alexander that Faustus conjures up. When a knight mocks Faustus’s authority, Faustus responds by growing antlers out of his head as a form of discipline. Enraged, the knight vows retaliation. Wagner’s clown, Robin, has been practicing magic on his own, and he gets into a lot of funny mishaps with Ralph, another stablehand. In one scene, he calls upon Mephistopheles, who threatens to transform Robin and Raf into animals (although it is not clear if he actually does so; the text is unclear). After this, Faustus continues his adventures, tricking a horse-runner on his way. He sells the horse, which transforms into a pile of straw when he rides into the river. At the end of his adventures, he is brought before the court of Duke Vanholt. There, he performs a series of tricks, and the horse-runner shows up, as well as Robin, a human named Dick (called Ralph in the A version), and various other people who have been tricked by Faustus. However, Faustus cast a spell on them and sent them away, much to the delight of the Duke and Duchess. At the end of his twenty-four year contract with Lucifer, Faustus starts to mourn his imminent death. He summons Mephistopheles, who summons Helen of Troy (the famous beauty of the ancient world), and uses her appearance to impress a crowd of scholars. The old man orders Faustus to repentance, and Faustus pulls him away. He summons Helen again, and is amazed by her beauty. However, time is running out, and Faustus informs the scholars of his contract with Lucifer. The scholars are horrified and decide to pray for Faustus. On the last night before the end of the twenty four years, he is overcome by remorse and repentance. He pleads for mercy but is too late and his prayers are not answered. At midnight a host of demons come and take his soul to hell. The next morning the scholars found Faustus’s limbs and decided to have a funeral service for him.
