The Renaissance period emphasized the revival of classical learning which fired the imagination of people with "the spirit and rational ideals of ancient Rome and Greece" (Burgess, 309). It has encouraged the people to seek wealth and power, live this life to the full because tomorrow you'll be dead. That is, the theme of "eat, drink, and merry for tomorrow we die" which is known as Carpe diem or seize the day. The Renaissance Theater was wholly professional and public, which charged admission fees to allow audiences to witness their performances.

On the other hand, the Middle Ages period emphasized the concept of don't seek to know too much, learn contempt for this world, and put your energy into saving your soul. It was characterized with its feudal, monastic, and agrarian culture. The art and literature in this period were "rooted in the Christian culture

that preserved, transmitted, and transformed classical tradition" (Burgess 309). The medieval drama had been an amateur

Are but obeyed in their several provinces,

Indirectly, throughout the play, Marlowe exhibits a Protestant view of God. Faustus believes that he can't repent because it's a Protestant's belief that once he had signed a blood contract, he can't withdraw from such a commitment. This point differentiates from those of the Catholic ideals. Faustus could still receive salvation but after repentance, true one.

His inconsistency in beliefs is revealed also in being once a master of theology, and when finding everything insufficient, the resorts to Black magic directly, by calling it as a "heavenly" act, neglecting that this act will only bring him eternal damnation in the end. Sylvan Barnet claims that

In the middle ages, "Greek and Latin had withdrawn into the monasteries; so the Renaissance new learning came as a new dawn, a sudden widening of the scope of human experience and intellectual horizon." (Burgess P: 309)

But what is mysterious in his demand is that he could have married previously, and that the first thing he should ask for is his original dream, infinite knowledge.

Later on, when Faustus conjured Mephostophilis, he asked him about hell, and how it is. His reply was that "It's a state of being that one carries around inside" (Zane 36) which is completely contradictory to the image that Marlowe had portrayed in the end of the play, "consisting of severe punishment and torment, where ugly devils swarm about and punish the unrepentant sinner" (Eva 47), which is a typical medieval concept.

In the last scene, where our protagonist was taken to hell after an awful night in knowing his destiny, Marlowe's intention was to deliver a moral lesson. Since Faustus has delved into the field of church's forbidden knowledge, his award should be hell. This hell in the end was completely different from what he had expected. It was as the Medievals considered it to be, and not what Mephostophilis told him about. This result was completely contradictory to what Renaissances longed for. At the same time this hell was never imagined like that by all the Greeks.

On the other hand, Fautus's ambition had also made him a "first-class scholar" and without this "inner drive, he would have remained the illiterate peasant he was born." (Zane 36)

Some common words found in the essay are:
Sylvan Barnet, Eva Fitzwater, German Poet, Middle Ages, Doctor Faustus's, Zane Faustus's, Starting Faust, Helen Troy, Doctor Faustus, God Faustus, zane pub, burgess 309, middle ages, revival classical learning, completely contradictory, zane 36, classical learning, period emphasized, play marlowe, renaissance period, thirst knowledge,
Approximate Word count = 1955
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)