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Unit 11: Doctor Faustus: Plot Construction Including Detailed Analysis of Sub Plot and Theme

has the option of repentance that will save him from hell. But once he has committed himself to his Notes
own damnation, Faustus seems unable to change his course. While Christianity seems to accept
even a deathbed repentance as acceptable for the attainment of salvation, Marlowe plays with that
idea, possibly rejecting it for his own thematic purposes.

11.3.10 Valuing Knowledge over Wisdom

Faustus has a thirst for knowledge, but he seems unable to acquire wisdom. Faustus’ thirst for
knowledge is impressive, but it is overshadowed by his complete inability to understand certain
truths. Because of this weakness, Faustus cannot use his knowledge to better himself or his world.
He ends life with a head full of facts, and vital understanding gained too late to save him.

11.3.11 Talk and Action

Faustus is, with no exceptions, beautiful when he speaks and contemptible when he acts. His opening
speeches about the uses to which he’ll put his power are exhilarating, but once he gains near-
omnipotence he squanders twenty-four years in debauchery and petty tricks. This gap between
high talk and low action seems related to the fault of valuing knowledge over wisdom. While Faustus
has learned much of the Greek world’s learning, he has not really understood what he’s been reading.
He can talk about potential and plans in terms of a Greek worldview, but he lacks the internal
strength to follow through on his purported goals.

11.3.12 Quest for Power

The theme of the quest for power in Doctor Faustus is connected with the theme of the quest for
knowledge. Knowledge bestows power on the knower. The kind of knowledge pursued by Faustus
is practical knowledge, bestowing upon him practical powers.
However, Faustus’ quest for power transforms him into a magician. With the help of Mephistophilis,
he demonstrates his powers in the papal court and in the palace of the Duke and the Duchess of
Vanholt. His power reduces him to the position of a mere court entertainer.

Faustus’ quest for power does not take into account the need for acquiring spiritual
power. Faustus’ magic is magic divorced from spirituality. Hence, it is shown to be dangerous.
Instead of leading to his salvation, his quest for power results in his damnation.

11.3.13 Quest for Knowledge

Marlowe’s Faustus embodies the Renaissance aspiration for infinite knowledge. In the first scene of
the play, Faustus reviews all the existing branches of knowledge. He rejects them all and opts for
the study of the black arts, since they will bestow upon him “a world of profit and delight/of
power, of honor, of omnipotence.”
Faustus’ pursuit of knowledge involves every aspect of his complex being: spiritual, intellectual
and physical. Faustus’ choice of magic make more sense if the audience imagines him in the modern
world rejecting theoretical studies and choosing technology. He commits himself to the world of
experience. This appeals to his creative instinct, but in the process it leads to his destruction.
Faustus’ knowledge gives him power. He exhibits his magical power to emperors and dukes. He
descends to the level of a court entertainer by invoking the spirits of Alexander and his paramour
and of Helen of Troy. He is reduced to the role of producing grapes out of season for a pregnant

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