“The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus” or simply “Doctor Faustus” is a tragedy written by Christopher Marlowe. Mr. Marlowe lived in the same period as William Shakespeare and it’s hard to compete with the fame of the latter. But he was very famous in the circles of Queen Elizabeth and his works were widely popular.

The idea of a person selling the soul to the devil for something that this person values more is as old as Christianity. But the fact that Faustus sold his soul for knowledge is a novelty of this book and is probably linked to the fact that the author went to Cambridge and received a high-quality education for that time.

Faustus is a scholar of diverse interests: he studies medicine, astronomy, theology and even legal matters. But he is deeply unsatisfied with his results. He decides to try something beyond science and turns to magic. He summons the spiritual Lords of Magic and gets some insights from them on how to start experimenting on his own.

Throughout his experiments, he is visited by Mephistophilis, Good and Bad Angels, Lucifer, and many other thoughts and creatures. Finally, the Doctor can’t resist the temptation to have unlimited access to whatever place, knowledge and person he wants and gives up his soul for it.

The tricks that are used to convince the Doctor, the journeys he has taken to German courts, Pope’s quarters in Rome and many other places represent an unbelievable adventure. The book is rich in hints, allusions, entertaining thoughts and interesting characters.

Christopher Marlowe had a very exciting life and it was just as full of mysteries and speculations as Shakespeare's life. He might have served hidden purposes for the pleasure of the royal court, he might have gained a lot of material for his works from previous texts, but it doesn’t make his books any less fascinating and worthy to read.

Author: Shelly Austin