The goal of any true renaissance man is to improve himself. This goal may border on heresy, as it leads to a man trying to occupy the same position as God. Lucifer commits this same basic sin to cause his own fall. To Doctor Faustus, this idea of sin is of no concern at the beginning of Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. Faustus' goal is to become god-like himself. In order to accomplish this, he learns of science and shows an interest in magic. He turns to the pleasures of magic and art and the poewr of scientific knowledge as substitutes for the Christian faith he has lost" (source 5 115). Clearly, this total disregard for God makes Faustus an atheist. However, it is only his renaissance quality, which seals his damnation, not his lack of faith. It is interesting to note how Faustus directly parallels Marlowe himself. The play is written as if Marlowe's vindication of Faustus will vindicate him in the end. This has a direct effect on style as well as the overall spin, which Marlowe takes on the archetype. Such as strong connection between Faustus and M

"He is partly an artist, who does not wish to glorify God, as his medieval predecessors did, but to applaud and please man; he is partly a scientist and philosopher, whose hope is to make man more godlike and not to justify his miserable life on earth; and, most significantly he is a Protestant, a Lutheran by training who has attempted through Reformation to escape the evils he associates with a Roman Catholic Church." (source 5 113)

Doctor Faustus opens with a depiction of Faustus as the perfect Renaissance man.

Faustus cries out, "Ah Christ, my Savior! / Seek to save distressed Faustus' soul" (Marlowe 42). In response, Lucifer states, "Christ cannot save thy soul, for he is just; / There's none but have interest in the same" (Marlowe 42). This brings up the point that Faustus cannot escape his fate of damnation, because Christ is just. The evil angel is mirrored with this point, however this point must be incorrect because it is said by Lucifer. It is clear from the good angel that Faustus' repentance will save him, however, Lucifer would have Faustus believe that it is not true. A just Christ would accept Faustus' repentance over his contract with Lucifer without hesitation. This is the point that Faustus fails to see in his belief that he has lost free will and cannot be saved. Even at times when Faustus tried to repent, he was not genuine and therefore was not repenting. He backed down when threatened with clawing by devils, so clearly he lacked the faith necessary to repent. So, in that sense, Faustus' own impure heart made it impossible for him to repent and caused him to fall into the trap that he has lost free will. The line of reasoning which leads out of this trap is that a man has control over his own heart and can lead himself towards his ability to repent. Faustus was blind to this because the believed that Lucifer controlled his heart and lacked the courage and faith to find his way out.

On the other hand, Faustus does not need Mephistopheles to damn him, Faustus himself causes his own damnation. An intense present dominates Faustus' life where he does not seem to care how his actions in the present will cause problems in the future. He seems to believe that anything he does may by rectified very simply. After he signs his contract with Mephistopheles, he exclaims, "O thou art decieved!" (Marlowe 38). The deception which Faustus is alluding to is that, "When I [Faustus] behold the heavens, then I repent / And curse thee, wicked Mephistophilis, / Because thou hast deprived me of those joys" (Marlowe 38).

This all ties back to Faustus' attempts to attain perfection, because the point where he tried to gain perfection was the point at which he lost his faith. It becomes clear from the allegory which Christopher Marlowe has set up that a man who focuses too much on his own perfection will lose any hope of becoming perfect. Marlowe understands this point so well because it is one which ruled his life. "Christopher Marlowe was a man of the Renaissance, in love with life and equally in love with the world in which he lived" (source 3 3). Marlowe's own life came through in the words of his plays, "Marlowe's life sounds like a plot from one of his plays, a gifted individual's unusual abilities and searching mind, though they set him apart, bring him suffering and codemn him to a violent death" (Source 5 4).

Faustus turning to God implies that he has free will or there is divine intervention. However, divine intervention would destroy the idea of faith, therefore Faustus must have free will in order to extricate himself from his contract. "Faustus sees the will as the ultimate power within man" (Source 9 158). Unfortunately, Faustus believes that he has lost free will, "Faustus is a skeptic who is committed to the possibilities of this world who does not have faith. Therefore since men are guilty by nature and Faustus has no f

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Approximate Word count = 2626
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)