Doctor Faustus as a Renaissance Play

 

The Renaissance gave birth to a new age in England. It cleared off the cobwebs of ignorance and superstition. It made the way clear for the diffusion of new thoughts and new ideals. It developed a passion for knowledge infinite and a love for more and more power. Deep learning began to find flavour. People of this age began to take interest in the exploration of the new world and in adventure. Literature, music, dance and mirth played a significant role in the general life of the people of this age. Interest in science, nature and geography stirred the people of the age.

The Renaissance inspired the writers of the age to give expressions to the values that the Renaissance had brought in its wake. Marlowe also showed his love for the Renaissance spirit. His Doctor Faustus reflects all the important features of the Renaissance. The hero of the play is a great Renaissance figure.

Passion for knowledge and power was a very important feature of the Renaissance. Doctor Faustus reflects this spirit. The hero of this play, Faustus, was born into a low family but he was endowed with the natural gift of a brilliant mind. He received a university education and got a doctorate in Theology. He mastered all the sciences of the time. But this could not quench his thirst for knowledge and power. Thus one by one he dismissed all subjects and decided to study magic. He believed that a sound magician is a mighty God. For the sake of acquiring knowledge, he sold even his soul to the Devil. Thus the character of Faustus reflects one of the important features of the Renaissance.

Deep learning was one of the important characteristics of the Renaissance. People of this period were fond of books. We find a clear reflection of this Renaissance spirit in the character of Doctor Faustus. He was fond of Aristotle's work. He studied a lot of books on theology, philosophy, medicine, law, logic, physics, and economics. The metaphysics of magicians and books of Necromancy were heavenly to him.        

Doctor Faustus deals with interest in the exploration of a new world and in trade and commerce. Faustus wants to have power over the spirits. He wants to have them fly to India for gold and to ransack the ocean for orient pearls. Like all Renaissance men, Doctor Faustus shows his interest in the quest for new regions beyond the seas. 

            Interest in science, nature and geography stirred the people of the Renaissance age. This spirit is clearly reflected in Doctor Faustus. Faustus knows that the year is divided into two circles over the whole world. When it is winter in one circle, there is summer in the other. He gets information about the entire universe from Mephistopheles.

Apart from the above-mentioned features, we get many other features of the Renaissance in Doctor Faustus. Like all Renaissance men, Faustus tried to make the impossible possible. He made several inquiries from Mephistopheles. The spirit of inquiry was a dominant trait of the Renaissance. Like all Renaissance men he loved music, dance, mirth and beauty. And that's why he wants to see Helen.

Thus, Doctor Faustus is an excellent play. It deals with the spirit of the age. It clearly reflects a lot of important features of the Renaissance.