Doctor Faustus - Christopher Marlowe

Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe was one of the texts that I had to read for my English degree last year and one of only a few that I actually fond myself enjoying somewhat. Before I picked up the text, which is a play, I already knew quite a bit about because of the allusions made towards it in John Webster's Duchess of Malfi, which I had read the year before. This on its own should be a testimony to the play and the cultural impact that its performance and subsequent publication had. It is however its authors predecessor's (Shakespeare) works that are most well known. Christopher Marlowe is himself however quite a character. He was born in ...  Read the complete review

The only reason I actually read Doctor Faustus is because it is required reading for the course I am doing. At first I didn't think it would be very good reading, but I was pleasantly surprised. This is a short play written by the Elizabethan writer Christopher Marlowe. The play itself was not performed until after Marlowe's death and it was considered by the Catholic Church to be blasphemous. Most people will know the story, or at least know of Faust. Doctor Faustus, in the story, is a brilliantly clever German doctor who sells his soul to the devil for power and knowledge. He seeks the ability to conjure up what he wants by using ...  Read the complete review

This review is an attempt by myself to turn to a more classical subject than Iron Maiden and Pot Noodles, and as there were no reviews written for this play I decided to try my hand. You can rest assured that all the observations are not taken straight from websites, as I studied this play for AS-level English Literature and my book is full of scribbled notes. This early 17th century play was written for the stage but not performed widely until after the author Christopher Marlowe's death. Its themes of heaven, hell and damnation were common to a lot of the plays of the time, but it was also deemed inappropriate and blasphemous in places by the heavily ...  Read the complete review