Dr. Faustus

Dr. Faustus

• 1.
  Umm-e-RoomanYaqoob(Roll # 3) Dr.Faustus Seven Deadly Sins ChristopherMarlow ChristopherMarlowe (26February1564 – 30 May 1593) wasan Englishplaywright,poetandtranslator of the Elizabethanera.Marlowe wasthe foremostElizabethantragedianof hisday. He greatly influencedWilliamShakespeare,whowasborninthe same yearas Marlowe and whorose to become the pre-eminentElizabethanplaywrightafterMarlowe'smysteriousearlydeath.Marlowe'splaysare knownforthe use of blankverse andtheiroverreachingprotagonists. Dr. Faustus The Tragical Historyof the Life andDeathof Doctor Faustus,commonlyreferredtosimplyasDoctor Faustus,isa playby ChristopherMarlowe,basedonthe GermanstoryFaust,inwhicha mansellshis soul to the devil forpower,experience,pleasure andknowledge.DoctorFaustuswasfirstpublishedin 1604, elevenyearsafterMarlowe'sdeathandatleast10 yearsafterthe firstperformance of the play.It isthe mostcontroversial Elizabethanplayoutside of Shakespeare,withfew criticscomingtoany agreementasto the date or the nature of the text. SevenDeadlySins The SevenDeadlySins,whenmentioned,conjure upancienttalesof darkdeedsanddarkcharacters, like FaustusandMephistopheles.Dr.Faustussupposedlysoldhissoul tothe devil,the evil Mephistophelesand,insodoing,made himself preytoall typesof corruptionanddegradation.Inhis descentintowickedness,the ruinedFaustuscommittedall of these deadlysins: pride,envy,gluttony, lechery, anger,covetousness,and sloth. These sinswere considereddeadlybecause theyledFaustus,or any manor womanwhowouldcommitthemontoa path fromwhichthere wasno return. Pride The firstdeadlysinwasthat of pride.Pride,the motherof all sins:believingtoomuchinour own abilitiesinterfereswithusrecognizingthe grace of God. Pride wasconsideredtobe the mostseriousof the sins.It isidentifiedasexcessive self-esteem, especiallywhenthe proudpersondoesnotaccept his/herproperpositioninthe GreatChainof Being.LuciferwasthrownfromHeavenbecause he would not acceptthe Sonof God beingplacedatGod’sright hand,whichhe believedtobe hisownrightful place.Those guiltyof pride were destinedtobe brokenonthe wheel inHell.Inthe pageantinDoctor Faustus,Pride istooarrogant to accept the positionintowhichhe hasbeenborn,andhe has an inflated sense of hisself-worth. In almosteverylist, pride isconsideredthe original andmostseriousof the sevendeadly sins,andthe source of the others.Dr. Faustussawhimself asincomparisontoothersina competitive nature;he sits there andtellsthe audience of hisaccomplishmentsandwishesformore glory.Faustuscastsaside the doctrinesavailabletohim,scorningthemforbeingtooeasyor simplisticforhim.He therefore is unsatisfiedwithbeingmortal,i.e.,subjecttothe lawsof nature andGod. He believesGodwill notgive himthe answershe deserveswhile he isonearth,soturns to Luciferinstead. Umm-e-Rooman Yaqoob
• 2.
  Covetousness The secondis covetousness.Covetousnessorgreed is,like lustandgluttony,asinof excess.However, it isappliedtoa veryexcessive orrapaciousdesireandpursuitof material possessions.ThomasAquinas wrote,"Greedisa sinagainstGod, justas all mortal sins,inas muchas man condemnsthingseternal for the sake of temporal things."InDante'sPurgatory,the patientswere boundandlaidface downonthe groundfor havingconcentratedtoomuchon earthlythoughts. Hoardingof materialsor objects, theftandrobbery,especiallybymeansof violence, trickery,ormanipulation of authority are all actionsthat may be inspiredby covetousness.Suchmisdeedscaninclude simony,where one attempts to purchase or sell sacraments,includingHolyOrders and,therefore,positionsof authorityinthe Church hierarchy. Asdefinedoutside of Christianwritings,greedisaninordinate desire toacquire or possessmore thanone need,especiallywithrespectto material wealth. Faustusdemonstratesthisinvariousscenes,whenhe evokesthe devilsmagic,the wantof a wife,and the overall actionsof hischaracter portrayhispursuitof knowledge andglory.Usuallythissinis manifestedthroughsex,power,orimage whichdemisesthe self-control andcansuffocate the soul.Itis the self-destructive driveforpleasure whichisoutof control. Faustusperformshissillytricksforself- indulgence. Kinza Qaisrani Wrath Wrath is the thirdsin. Wrath, alsoknownas rage, may be describedasinordinate anduncontrolled feelingsof hatredandanger.Wrath, inits purestform, presentswithself-destructiveness,violence,and hate that may provoke feudsthatcango on for centuries.Wrathmaypersistlongafter the personwho didanothera grievouswrongisdead.Feelingsof angercan manifestindifferentways, includingimpatience,revenge,andself-destructive behavior,suchasdrug abuse or suicide. Wrath is the onlysinnotnecessarilyassociatedwithselfishnessorself-interest,althoughone canof course be wrathful forselfishreasons,suchasjealousy. Dante describedvengeance as"love of justice pervertedtorevenge and spite".Initsoriginal form, the sinof wrathalsoencompassedanger pointedinternallyaswell asexternally.Thus suicide wasdeemedasthe ultimate,albeittragic, expressionof hatreddirectedinwardly,afinal rejectionof God'sgifts. Faustusdemonstrateshisimpatience withthe wayhe treatsthe people aroundhim, hisservants (demonicandhuman), aswell asothercharacters. Wrath is whatFaustusfeelswhenhe conjuresup hornsto place on the headof a knightof EmperorCharlesV,court. Since the knightshowsskepticismin Faustus’powers,Faustusmustrebuke hisinsolence byplacinghornsonthe knight’shead. Samia Shabbir Envy The fourthis envy. Envyischaracterisedbyspite andresentmentatseeingthe successof another. Those whocommitthe sin of envyresentthe factthat anotherpersonhassomethingtheysee themselvesaslacking,andmayevengloatif anotherpersonlosesthatsomething.Those guiltyof envy were destinedtobe putintofreezingwater. Like greedandlust, Envy ischaracterizedbyaninsatiable desire.Envyissimilartojealousyinthattheybothfeel discontenttowardssomeone'straits,status, abilities,orrewards.The difference isthe enviousalsodesire the entityand covetit.
• 3.
  Faustusenviesthe Emperor,the Pope,LuciferandevenGodforhavingpowerandstatusbeyondhim. He summonsMephistophelessothat he can use himto have a powerhe hopeswill exceedthe powerof themall.Dr. Faustuswantedmore inhislife andenviedthe powersof others.Therefore he wantedto commandthe demonsto control the worldto hisaccord. Dr. Faustuswasenviousof the accomplishmentof othersandwantedtoexceedtheirglory. Sara George Gluttony The fifthsinisgluttony;temperance inacceptingthe natural limitsof pleasures,andpreservesof the natural balance.Thisdoesnotpertainonlyto food,butto entertainment andotherlegitimate goods, and eventhe companyof others.Gluttony isthe overindulgence and overconsumption of anythingto the pointof waste. In Christianity,itisconsideredasinif the excessive desire forfoodcausesittobe withheldfromthe needy.Because of these scripts,gluttonycanbe interpretedas selfishness;essentiallyplacingconcern withone'sowninterestsabove the well-beingorinterestsof others.Medieval churchleaderstooka more expansive view of gluttony,arguingthatitcouldalsoinclude anobsessiveanticipationof meals, and the constanteatingof delicaciesandexcessivelycostlyfoods. At the endof histwenty-fourthyear,withdeathclose,Faustusis‘swillingandrevelingwithhisstudents’ ina feastwith‘foodandwine enoughforanarmy’.Faustusdemonstratesgluttonywhenhe evokesthe use of the dark arts. He is attemptingtogobeyondhisearthlyknowledge whiledisturbingthe natural balance of Gods lawsand expectations.Faustuswantstoelevatehimself asanequal to God.In Faustus’s eyesGodis no longerthe balance ormediuminhislife,the devil hasbecome the greaterpowerto Faustus. Faustusstartsusingthe devilsname inplace of where one woulduse Godsname. Rabia Ashiq Sloth Slothisthe sixthone.Sloth can entail differentvices.While slothissometimesdefinedasphysical laziness,spiritual lazinessisemphasized.Failingtodevelopspirituallywillleadtobecomingguiltyof sloth.Inthe Christianfaith,slothrejects grace andGod. Slothhasalso beendefinedasafailure todo thingsthat one shoulddo.Bythisdefinition,evil existswhengoodmenfail toact. Sloth,inconjunctionwiththe othersins,workstomuffle the spiritual sensessowe firstbecome slowto respondtoGod and thendriftcompletelyintothe slumberof complacencytothe demonicways.Thisis the sixthsininthe deathof Faustus.Faustushasbecome numbto hisownsub consciousness;he no longerabidesbywhathe does.Eveninthe scene where he signsthe contract withthe devil,hisblood congealsandhe doesnot understandwhy.Hisownbodyisfightingthe deadlydeedhe wasattempting to do. The slothful person,likeFaustus,isunwillingtodowhat God wantsbecause of the effortittakesto do it.He summonsMephistophelesandsignsthe contractwithLucifersohe can have knowledge, possessionsandexperienceson-tapwithoutanyeffortonhispart. Mehak Rasool
• 4.
  Lechery Lechery,greedisthe seventhsin.Lust orlecheryisan intense anduncontrolleddesire.Itisusually thoughtof as uncontrolledsexualwants,howeverthe wordwasoriginallyageneral termfordesire. Therefore lustcouldincludethe uncontrolleddesireformoney,food,fame,orpower.Those guiltyof lecherywere destinedtobe smotheredinfire andbrimstone (sulphur).Lecheryisthe onlyone inthe pageantwhois obviouslyfemale.InElizabethantimesitwasthoughtthatthe Devil targetedmen throughwomenwho,like Eve,were ruledbytheirappetitesratherthanreason,giventodelusional imaginingsandfartoo feebletoresisttemptation. The Old Man pleadswithFaustuswithlove torepentandcall onGod’s mercy.Faustus,prizingfleshover spirit,wasteshisremainingtime onlecheryratherthanheedhisadvice.He instructsMephistopheles insteadtosummonHelenof Troyfor hislover .Faustusalsodisplayslust inactone whenhe stateshe has notaccomplishedgreatness.Faustuswantstogainglory;he has expectationsof otherstogethim hisglory.Faustususes Mephistophelestogainglory andhe doesnotacknowledge thatthe demonis responsible forall the taskshe performs,butstatesitishisgiftof the dark arts Conclusion These sevensinsare the reflectionof Dr.Faustuspersonality.He isa self-centeredpersonwhoonly thinksof himself andcando eachand everythingtofulfil hisdesires. He isa personimprisonedinhis owndesiresandhe put isegoabove all. Faiza Anwar Kamal Thank You 