Battle Between Good and Evil in Dr.

Faustus

The story Dr. Faustus represents the constant battle between good and evil. Every day, we are
faced having to choose between the two, even if there seems like there is no solution. Faust, in
the story Dr. Faustus, represents those that choose to stoop to a lower level in order to get what
they want. The good angel and the bad angel are the morals that pull the Faust's soul apart,
forcing him to make a decision that can effect his future. The story Dr. Faustus is a great example
of how one wrong decision can cause an everlasting burn.

In the story Dr. Faustus, there is a battle of good versus evil going on. Faust is a man who is
desperate for power and control. He wants to do anything he wants to do, and control anything he
wants to control. That is where Mephistophales, a blood-sucking devil appears, preying on Foust
and his confusing soul. Mephistophales was in heaven, and was kicked out. His soul is burning,
and so he is desperate to take Foust's soul with him. Misery does love company. Faust wants
power when he states "I charge thee wait upon me whilstg I live. To do whatever Faustus shall
command".(Act 1, scene 2,lines 33-34). While Faustus demands his power, Mephistophales is
miserable in hell. He wants Faust's soul, and the two make a trade.

Meanwhile, the good angel appears. The good angel is trying to convince Faust to drop this
insanity, because the bible is what he should be reading, rather than the magic book. When it
seems like the angels have gotten to Faust, the devils appear. It is an insult to the bad angels to
hear Christ's name in their presence. While the good angels are telling him to repent, the bad
angels are giving him a taste of pure hell. (p48) They bring out the seven deadly sins. (48)
Lucifer, in the meantime, worked his magic, and Faust signs the dotted line. It is over. The seven
deadly sins represent the agony of hell. Faust now became the eighth. He now became just as
evil and manipulative as Mephistophales. He now was forever damned.

Temptation is society's worst enemy. When challenges arise, everyone wants answers, even if
that means taking the wrong route. A great example of Faust in our society is robbery. Although
most robbers know that it is morally wrong, despair for money and control turns their soul to the
devil, who is ready to take advantage. After all, going to prison is like going to hell. That is the
price they will pay for allowing the devil's spirit to creep inside them, and let their souls burn
forever.
I believe that the story implies a moral that temptations often lead to a disaster. We all have to do
what is right, and not allow our despair to take over. When our consience tells us that what we
are doing is wrong, the best thing to do is not to fight it. It is often time right. We can not take the
dark road, even if it is surrounded by colorful decorations. After all, looks can be deceiving and
coniving. We all have to take control and do what we feel is right. We can not allow the devil to
take over our soul and destroy us!0

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Christopher Marlowe's Dr. Faustus - The Folly of Dr. Faustus

Christopher Marlowe's tragedy of Dr. Faustus envelops a realm of theological issues around one
man's quest for knowledge. Feeling a university education to be inadequate for his purposes,
Faustus makes the ultimate sacrifice possible to quench his thirst for otherworldly wisdom. Yet
even though he gains amazing powers and a broad reputation as a man in the know, his quest is
incomplete. He actually learns very little.

The nature of knowledge involves both the ability to recall facts, dates, events etc. and also the
power to assimilate this new information and assign it the appropriate value. When Faustus signs
away his soul to Lucifer to gain the service of Mephastophilis, he really gains no knowledge of
himself. It could be argued that Mephastophilis provides books and takes Faustus to far off lands
which in a way enriches the doctor's facilities. Yet through their companionship, Faustus comes
to rely entirely on Mephastophilis to impress or poke fun at the esteemed men he meets.

To be sure, Faustus gains wide...

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The Tragic Downfall of Dr. Faustus

Christopher Marlowe's play, its genre an English tragedy of the sixteenth century, presents the
tragic conflict of the Faust theme in the tradition of medieval morality plays. The concepts of good
and evil in these plays and their psychological implications reflect a historical background in
which the church dominates the ethical and moral concepts of their time. Faustus defies society's
norms and embraces the devil with courageous desperation, fully aware of the inevitable
consequences, but incapable of being satisfied with his human limitations.

The play is divided into five acts, each of them representing a progressive stage of Faustus'
downfall, his moral and ethical decline. In the prologue preceeding the first act, which is written in
the form of a poetic commentary, Faustus is allegorically compared to Ikarus, the Greek
mythological figure, through the alliteration of "waxen wings" (Prologue line 20). Ikarus' actual
flight represents symbolically Faustus' intellectual endeavors to unreac...
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Deluded Pursuit in Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus

Although Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus has outclassed every one at Wittenberg with his
academic studies, he is "still but Faustus, a man." Proud of his accomplishments, he desires to
become a superman. His judgment clouded by the sin of his pride, he misunderstands his
knowledge and dismisses the disciplines of medicine, philosophy, law, and divinity. He lusts for
God's capability to "make men live eternally or being dead raise them to life again," believing the
devil's arts of magic and necromancy can provide the power, honour, omnipotence and, most
importantly, the wealth he craves. His deluded pursuit of the immediate pleasures such wealth
can yield brings upon himself the risk of eternal damnation. By conjuring the devil, Faustus
removes himself from the influence of the Holy Ghost and God's love, instigating attacks of
despair, and internal conflicts as personified by the Good and Bad Angels.

Faustus' hunger for immediate gratification suggests immense self-torment and self-denial.
Weighing his options at each instant of time, he maximizes his pleasure and minimizes his pain,
apparently discounting the implications of his decisions on his prospects and happiness in the
future. Rebelling against God, he invites the devil's temptations, hoping to obtain an offer like
Satan's to Jesus in the desert wilderness. One understands why Satan imputes an infinite value
to Christ's soul. However, why does Faustus' soul warrant twenty-four years of service by
Mephostophilis?

Faustus, too, is a superior being. He consciously removes the yoke of academia, and exerts his
free will. After freely entering into his contract with Lucifer, he repeatedly considers repenting.
When he calls on Christ to help "save distressed Faustus' soul," the evil trinity of Lucifer,
Belzebub, and Mephostophilis appear, possibly to tear him to pieces. Under duress, he vows,
"never to name God or pray to him." However, with only one-half hour left on earth, he calls on
God. Faustus, forever the horse trader, tries to strike a deal with God. He asks God, for Christ's
sake and blood, to limit his time in hell from a thousand to a hundred thousand years. Unlike the
pride-deluded horde of fallen angels who incurred an eternity of torment after an eternity of
heavenly bliss, Faustus, a human being like Jesus, grasps for a finitude of torment and an
eternity of heaven after his earthly bliss of twenty-four years.
The Supernatural in Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Marlowe’s The Tragical History of D.
Faustus

The supernatural forces are at once alike and distinct in Shakespeare’s The Tempest and in
Marlowe’s The Tragical History of D. Faustus. The supernatural is kind to Prospero and his
daughter Miranda in The Tempest, while the devils in Dr Faustus eagerly wait for the day that
Faustus would join them in Hell. In both plays, the supernatural provides recurrent waves of
sounds and feelings, lending special atmospheric qualities to The Tempest and Dr Faustus. The
supernatural serves as a reminder of the hierarchies that exist in both plays, and it also
illuminates the human heart, revealing the characters’ thoughts and wishes. Often appearing
visible to all, the supernatural forces in The Tempest and Dr Faustus sustain the plays by
providing a distinct atmospheric backbone, by reminding the characters of the existing
hierarchies, and by revealing the characters’ inner hearts.

Soaked in the supernatural, Shakespeare’s The Tempest possesses an impenetrable veil of

eeriness. It opens with...
Christopher Marlowe's The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus

For a play that has retained much of its scholarly value over the four hundred and ten years, there
is surprisingly little known about Christopher Marlowe’s masterpiece, The Tragical History of the
Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. The date of its first performance is unknown, and is highly
obscured by the added facts that there are two texts of Doctor Faustus, one published in 1604;
the other in 1616 (Ribner viii). Christopher Marlowe, even in these early times, set a standard for
tragic plays, which would not be rivaled until Shakespeare unleashed his literary landmarks at
around the same time Marlowe’s career ended. Despite the lack of specifics on this seminal work,
it is still easy to feel the pain Christopher Marlowe wished to convey with this text. Within the rich
dialogue of The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, Christopher Marlowe attempts to
communicate a personal struggle; both emotional and spiritual, between what Marlowe views as
human nature and what the world views as God’s desires for man, and the overwhelming feelings
of loss which accompany this struggle.

Doctor Faustus is a play that thrives primarily on the discourses that abound throughout its
length. In the dialogue between the two main characters, Doctor Faustus himself, and the demon
Mephistophilis, one finds almost the entirety of the play. Doctor Faustus “…is a man who of his
own conscious willfulness bring...
Psychoanalytical, Feministic, and Cultural Perspectives in Dr. Faustus

Christopher Marlowe's acclaimed Doctor Faustus uses many rhetorical methods to breathe life
into the plot and story line. There are obviously psychoanalytical methods used, as well as certain
aspects of the feministic method, somewhat less evident, but no less important are the cultural
background issues that come into play. These three methods help to smooth the edges and
round out the corners of this complex journey into the fictitious life of a highly educated man who
appears to have anything he would need.

Psychoanalytically speaking, the battles between the id and superego of Dr. Faustus, cause
severe turmoil in his moral conscience. This is evident in the text by the battery of the two angels,
one holy and the other evil. He even consciously battles with his id, when he cries out, "O Christ,
my savior, my savior! Help to save distressed Faustus' soul." (P. 48, lines89-90) Faustus often
becomes offensive with Mephastophilis throughout the story line. Lucifer and Belzebub have a
brief cameo to persuade Faustus from his desires to fall back into the ranks of God's followers.
Finally, in the final moments of the play, Faustus undergoes an incredible examination of
conscience in a vain attempt to regain his place within the Kingdom of God.

Considering the fact that Christopher Marlowe wrote this play knowing that the cast would be
predominantly male cast, there is considerable material to be used for feministic analysis.
Unfortunately, because of the fact that the part of Mephastophilis was played by a female in the
Shenandoah Shakespeare Express's rendition of the play, it is hard to determine whether the
same sexual innuendoes would have been apparent if the part had been played by a male.
Regardless, the performed text comes across as Mephastophilis acting in a very sexual manner
towards Dr. Faustus when the devil is tempting the good doctor.

Dr. Faustus' unique abilities allow him to become a prominent man in his society. He is called
upon to entertain even the most honorable of kings. His high social status even obtains for him an
invitation to eat with the Pope. Undoubtably the Devil chose to take full advantage of his man
puppet and disgraced and dishonored the Holy of Holies. Dr. Faustus even goes so far as to
disgrace men of privilege with horns on their heads. The great and powerful doctor fears no man,
but pleases those who assume power over him to further advance his position in society.

Dr. Faustus appears to have everything wrapped up. His position on the social ladder is very
intimidating. Unfortunately, he cannot intimidate the Lord of evil. This causes him to undergo
tremendous stress and mental anguish about his ever approaching fate. But, he has the ever
present Mephastophilis to aid him, and guide him, and comfort him. Everything comes together in
the end, all rolled up into a tight ball of irony. Faustus' social status cannot save him from the
devil, his conscience burns under his skin, and his "friend" Mephastophilis just adds one more
soul to her list. Quite ironic, in a round about way.
Dr Faustus

In Dr. Faustus, Christopher Marlowe uses the resolution of the conflict between Dr. Faustus and
the beliefs of his time to explore the idea of man’s place in the universe. In Faustus’ time, it was
believed that man had a place in the universe, and man must stay within his boundaries. It can be
shown that Dr. Faustus stepped out of his place, failed in his attempt repent his actions, and
ultimately caused his own end.

The conflict between Dr. Faustus and the belief system of the age of discovery is established
when Faustus makes a pact with the devil to sell his soul. Faustus, a top scholar and doctor in
many fields, feels as though he has reached the pinnacle of human achievement. Yet, he desires
further knowledge and power, knowledge and power that are not humanly attainable. However,
through his pact with the devil, Faustus gains the power necessary to perform black magic, cast
spells, and perform other godly deeds. Although Faustus is repeatedly warned by
Mephostophelis, he continues greedily and foolishly in his actions. Despite his high aspirations,
Faustus still has desires of the flesh, as he requests a wife from Mephostophelis: “…I am wanton
and lascivious and cannot live without a wife.” (p. 43) Here Faustus is shown to have internal
conflict between godly aspirations and human aspirations. Nevertheless, it is shown that Dr.
Faustus is intent on becoming more powerful than any human, and he has gone to great lengths
to do so.

After selling his soul for twenty-four years of power and knowledge, Dr. Faustus soon realizes
what he has done. He tries to repent his bond with the devil, yet the devil will not have it and
binds him to his contract. Following this, Faustus continues to have doubts about his actions. At
the same time, Faustus wins fame and fortune for his magic skills, yet his doubts remain as
strong as ever. Although Faustus bargained away his soul for super-human power, it is apparent
that he uses it to play tricks and silly pranks on people, the opposite of his initial intent. Dr.
Faustus continues to use his power meaninglessly for tricks and the like. He is later approached
by the old man, who begs Faustus to consider the mercy of God, for Faustus has retained his
human soul and can be forgiven by God. Here the conflict between Faustus and the belief system
of his time escalates even further when he fails to repent his sins against God. The conflict is
finally resolved, or ended, when Dr. Faustus’ twenty-four year pact ends, and he is carried away
to hell by demons. Marlowe uses this action as a means to show that if man steps out his place in
the universe, he will indeed fall as far as his aspirations were high. It is proved that Dr. Faustus
did indeed cause his own end.

Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus attempts to prove that man must not step out of his place, or
he will meet his demise. Through Faustus, Marlowe succeeds at this attempt on many levels. The
clash between Faustus and the beliefs of the times is resolved when Faustus fails to repent his
sins and meets his demise at the hand of Lucifer. Marlowe makes it clear here that he his against
Faustus’ high ambitions and believes those with god-like ambitions will fall to their demise.
Faustus here becomes representative of man’s desire for unattainable knowledge and power,
albeit on an exaggerated level. Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus uses the conflicts of the main character
and the resolution of these conflicts to establish and further his ideas throughout the novel.
Dr Faustus

In Dr. Faustus, Christopher Marlowe uses the resolution of the conflict between Dr. Faustus and
the beliefs of his time to explore the idea of man’s place in the universe. In Faustus’ time, it was
believed that man had a place in the universe, and man must stay within his boundaries. It can be
shown that Dr. Faustus stepped out of his place, failed in his attempt repent his actions, and
ultimately caused his own end.

The conflict between Dr. Faustus and the belief system of the age of discovery is established
when Faustus makes a pact with the devil to sell his soul. Faustus, a top scholar and doctor in
many fields, feels as though he has reached the pinnacle of human achievement. Yet, he desires
further knowledge and power, knowledge and power that are not humanly attainable. However,
through his pact with the devil, Faustus gains the power necessary to perform black magic, cast
spells, and perform other godly deeds. Although Faustus is repeatedly warned by
Mephostophelis, he continues greedily and foolishly in his actions. Despite his high aspirations,
Faustus still has desires of the flesh, as he requests a wife from Mephostophelis: “…I am wanton
and lascivious and cannot live without a wife.” (p. 43) Here Faustus is shown to have internal
conflict between godly aspirations and human aspirations. Nevertheless, it is shown that Dr.
Faustus is intent on becoming more powerful than any human, and he has gone to great lengths
to do so.

After selling his soul for twenty-four years of power and knowledge, Dr. Faustus soon realizes
what he has done. He tries to repent his bond with the devil, yet the devil will not have it and
binds him to his contract. Following this, Faustus continues to have doubts about his actions. At
the same time, Faustus wins fame and fortune for his magic skills, yet his doubts remain as
strong as ever. Although Faustus bargained away his soul for super-human power, it is apparent
that he uses it to play tricks and silly pranks on people, the opposite of his initial intent. Dr.
Faustus continues to use his power meaninglessly for tricks and the like. He is later approached
by the old man, who begs Faustus to consider the mercy of God, for Faustus has retained his
human soul and can be forgiven by God. Here the conflict between Faustus and the belief system
of his time escalates even further when he fails to repent his sins against God. The conflict is
finally resolved, or ended, when Dr. Faustus’ twenty-four year pact ends, and he is carried away
to hell by demons. Marlowe uses this action as a means to show that if man steps out his place in
the universe, he will indeed fall as far as his aspirations were high. It is proved that Dr. Faustus
did indeed cause his own end.

Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus attempts to prove that man must not step out of his place, or
he will meet his demise. Through Faustus, Marlowe succeeds at this attempt on many levels. The
clash between Faustus and the beliefs of the times is resolved when Faustus fails to repent his
sins and meets his demise at the hand of Lucifer. Marlowe makes it clear here that he his against
Faustus’ high ambitions and believes those with god-like ambitions will fall to their demise.
Faustus here becomes representative of man’s desire for unattainable knowledge and power,
albeit on an exaggerated level. Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus uses the conflicts of the main character
and the resolution of these conflicts to establish and further his ideas throughout the novel.
Dr. Faustus

Dramatic Quality of the Central Scenes in ‘Dr Faustus’ by Christopher Marlowe 'Dr Faustus' is
considered by many to be a tragic play, in fact, Marlowe himself called it, ‘The Tragicall History of
the Life and Death of Dr. Faustus’. However, there are several scenes in the middle of the play
(scenes 6 to 11) which can be considered to be comical scenes, which do not fit into the
stereotype of tragedies of the time. They can be considered to be interesting scenes in their own
right, but their overall purpose and their closely linked end dramatic quality, is examinable.

The central scenes are in place chiefly to interject humour into what would otherwise be a grave
and serious play. They also work to parody the main plot and at the same time aid foreshadow
Faustus’ downfall later on in the play. Both of these effects add to and improve the dramatic
quality of 'Dr Faustus'. They add another dimension to the play and prevent it from being purely a
grim and flat tragedy; without these central scenes, the play may not be as interesting and may
be lacking in dramatic quality. The central scenes add another level to Faustus’ character,
showing the audience how his behaviour and attitude to life have changed giving us a break from
the overall tragedy of the play.

They also contribute to plot development in that they help further the play’s themes.
For example, the scenes with Robin and Rafe (scenes 6 and 8) parallel the main plot.
Although the pace here is fa...
Remind yourself of scene 5, lines 167 – 280 (pages 31 – 37 in the New Mermaids Edition) from
“Now would I have a book…” to the entrance of The Seven Deadly Sins. (In some other editions,
this section begins near the end of Act 2 Scene 5 and includes the opening of Act 2 Scene 1.)

What is the importance of this section in the context of the whole play?

In your answer you should consider:

-The dramatic effects created by the Good and Evil Angels
-The language used by Faustus and Mephastophilis.

This section of the play has both an important structural and contextual role in Dr. Faustus.
Leading the audience through his doubt and limitations, Faustus begins to realize that his
potential for knowledge and power is not half as grand as he expected. This leads him into strong
bouts of inner struggle, as shown by the appearance of the good and evil angels on stage. The
forces of good and evil start to tear away at Faustus, and he begins the decline into his inventible
tragic downfall at the end of the play.

At the start of section, we see Faustus is beginning to use his powers to attain rare and elusive
knowledge about our universe, forming elaborate demands, such as;
“Now would I have a book where I might see all characters and planets of the heavens, that I
might know their motions and dispositions”. Of course, the knowledge is granted, but appears to
be enclosed in one single-volume book. Faustus sees this as a boundary – another restriction, on
the pledge that was supposed...
Ambition, intelligence, and will are all attributes that can help one to succeed in life. What of these
when they are used to strive for power? These attributes of the human mind turn into arrogance,
ignorance and, at the extreme, (lead to) eternal damnation - (as) seen in Christopher Marlowe's
Dr. Faustus, and similarly in society today. Faustus is enticed to reach for more power than is
attainable through mortal means: "Whose deepness doth entice such forward wits/ To practice
more than heavenly power permits"(Epil. ll.7-8). In his ignorance, he gives up his soul.

John Faustus - the main character - is educated in many fields: medicine, law, divinity, and
philosophy, yet his appetite for knowledge is still insatiable. Despite his vast knowledge he is
unfulfilled because he still lacks power. As the play unfolds, Faustus is overcome by a craving for
power. He eliminates God from his life: "And Faustus vows never to look to heaven,/ Never to
name God, or pray to him,/ To burn his Scriptures, slay his ministers,/ And make my spirits pull
his churches down" (5.270-3). In we...

Marlowe's dramatic activity comprises six brief years, from 1587 to 1593. Yet those six years
produced six splendid plays. As the writer of genuine tragedy, all his works illustrated his
individualistic conception of tragedy. The classical Greek conception modified by the
Renaissance spirit, the conception which portrays `the struggle between the overweening soul,
typically Renaissance in its insatiable ambition, and the limitations which it seeks to overcome'.
Doctor Faustus was probably written in 1592, although the exact date of its composition is
uncertain. The idea of an individual selling his or her soul to the devil for knowledge is an old
motif attached to the historical persona of Johannes Faustus. The immediate source of Marlowe's
play seems to be the anonymous German work Historia von D. Iohan Fausten of 1587, which
was translated into English in 1592, and from which Marlowe lifted the bulk of the plot for his
drama.

Doctor Faustus essentially follows the Greek format of tragic drama. The play starts with the
chorus which is the traditional attribute of Greek plays an...
Can Faustus truly be regarded as a tragic hero

Faustus, a tragic hero?

In order to do this, Marlowe has drawn on the conventions of classical
Greek tragedy, many of which dictate the nature of the hero or
heroine. In ancient times, a hero achieved heroic status not because
of saintliness or wickedness, but because of the acts he performed in
life. The hero should have a socially elevated status and suffer a
reversal of fortune in which he experiences great suffering. This is
all certainly true of Faustus, who is highly regarded as both a
lecturer at the University of Wittenberg, and an accomplished scholar.
During his life, he performs extraordinary feats, which were unlike
anything experienced by lesser mortals. Even by modern standards, the
notion of necromancy is disturbing; for a contemporary Elizabethan
audience, for whom religion permeated all aspects of life, it would
have been inconceivably horrific. Once Faustus is "glutted with
learning's golden gifts and surfeited upon cursed necromancy" he uses
his powers to embark upon amazing adventures (for example ...

Doctor Faustus and the Role that Sin plays in God's Divine Plan.

The nature of sin is brought up many times in the play Doctor Faustus. It seems that Faustus (like
all of us) is damned. The question posed is; can we as humans do anything to save ourselves
from eternal damnation, or are we doomed from birth. The play deals with Faustus struggle to
understand sin and its effect on the human soul. There is an interesting scene where the seven
deadly sins appear before Faustus. To understand the importance of the seven deadly sins in this
play, we must first learn what constitutes a sin. Once we grasp this, we can proceed to
understand the role that sin has on the play. Then we can determine whether or not we as
individuals have any impact on our salvation.

In the bible sin is regarded as any deviation or any lack of conformity, to the will and nature of
God. The basic cause for sin is a lack of perfect love for god. Sins come in many forms, they can
consist of deeds, thoughts, attitudes, or even states of character. The bible teaches that all
people have sinned, and that by our n...

Passages of Irony

The first passage, ‘I see an angel hovers o’er thy head and with a
vial full of precious grace, offers to pour the same into they soul:
then call for mercy, and avoid despair’. The old man, in scene twelve
lines forty-four to forty seven, says this quote. The significance
that this passage has to the play as a whole is that this relates this
play to the traditional morality play. In morality plays, the normal
procession is that in some point of the play, the well respected being
who has been tempted away from his responsibilities is confronted by a
respectable person to leave the tempters, and go back to his normal
responsibilities. I feel that this is exactly what this quote is
telling Faustus to do. Obviously the who play does differ from a
normal morality play, but this play still has a lot of morality
features. Also the old man is trying to persuade Faustus that what he
is doing is not right, and so he should look up to God and repent. I
feel that the old man links with the Good Angel in this play. I feel
that the play suggests this as, the old man is trying to convince
Faustus that what he is doing is wrong, and this is exactly what the
good angel has been trying to do throughout the play. This passage
also suggests to me that The Old man has been sent down from God as a
final chance for Faustus, and is possibly Faustus’ last chance to
repent. I feel that Faustus wastes this opportunity.

Faustus himself says the second passage, ‘O what a world of profit and
delight, of power, of honor, of omnipotence is promised to the
studious artisan!’ This passages significance to the play as a whole,
is that it suggests how selfish and how much Faustus desires power. It
shows that all Faustus thinks about is how wealthy and powerful he can
become were as, he should be thinking how he is going to repent and
how he is going to resist becoming damned for eternity. Faustus shows
how he does not listen to other, but simply decides things by himself.
He should not be thinking of what the world has to offer him, as that
is selfish and greedy, he should be thinking about what he can do for
the rest of the world.

‘Why this is hell, nor am I out of it.’ This third passage, displays
exactly how mephastophilis feels about hell. It suggests that once
hell has got you and you have been damned to it, there is then no
escape from it, as it is then inevitable. It shows that Mephastophilis
does not actually like hell and that he probably wishes that he wasn’t
there but once in hell you have to learn to live in it, as there is no
escape. This passage could also suggest that possibly being on earth
is a form of hell in it’s self, as this passage suggests that hell is
were ever a person who has been damned is, as they are damned they
cannot get away from hell so were ever they are hell is.

The final passage, Faustus is again trying to repent in some kind of

way. There is a sense of irony in this passage as Faustus talks about
the heavenly lips that ‘Helen’ has, but this is not the real Helen as
this is a devil that has been conjured up by mephastophilis to look
like Helen. So how can heaven be in the devils lips, it can’t. Faustus
ignores this fact that Helen is a devil, and instead talks about how
heavenly she is. Faustus wants to believe that one kiss of Helen will
free his soul, so that he will not then be damned. The relevance that
this passage has to the rest of the play is that the play is filled
with irony, as Faustus contradicts his self a lot as well. This
suggests to me that Faustus is often confused and is unsure exactly
what will happen to him, and kind of doesn’t want what is coming to
him to finally meet him, and on the other hand he wants the fame and
fortune in his life through he use of magic.

Overall, every one of these passages has a strong relevance and

significance to the play as a whole, and these show a lot of what the
play is about and show us more on Faustus’ complex character.