Media Adaptations
In 1968, actor Richard Burton both directed and starred in an adaptation of Doctor Faustus. This film can be found on videotape from Columbia.
Marlowe Leads the Way, a 1967 filmstrip about the life and works of Christopher Marlowe, is distributed by Eye Gate House.
Bibliography and Further Reading
Brooks, Cleanth, ''The Unity of Marlowe's Doctor Faustus'' in A
Shaping of Joy: Studies in the Writer's Craft, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
1972, pp. 367-80
Brooks addresses critics who overlook the unity in Doctor Faustus. He
argues that if Marlowe's pact with the devil condemns his soul irreversibly,
the play lacks conflict, offers no room for dramatic progression, and becomes
merely "elegiac." While acknowledging the weaknesses in the play's middle
section, Brooks believes Marlowe's powerful poetry unifies the work.
Thematically, Brooks interprets the play as exploring different types of
knowledge: self-knowledge, knowledge of the natural world, and divine
knowledge. Although Marlowe's approach has medieval elements, Brooks interprets
his use of demonic imagery in psychological terms, noting that "the devils ...
are always in some sense mirrors of the inner states of the persons to whom
they appear."
Davison, Peter, "Doctor Faustus" in International Dictionary of
Theatre: Plays, edited by Mark Hawkins-Dady, St. James Press, 1992, pp.
187-89.
In a concise but insightful commentary, Davison pinpoints the exact moment of
Faustus's damnation as his kiss with Helen of Troy. Additionally, Davison
discusses the significance of the Good and Bad Angels and the Old Man's
role.
Keeble, N. H., in Reference Guide to English Literature, edited by D.
L. Kirkpatrick, St. James Press, 1991, pp. 1548-49.
Keeble provides context on the historical origins of the Faustus myth and
suggests how Marlowe might have encountered the original German story.
Supporting the view that Marlowe did not write the play's comic interludes,
Keeble attributes these subplots to another writer, likely Samuel Rowley.
Keeble refutes interpretations of Doctor Faustus as an anti-Christian
play and views Faustus's self-deception as his tragic flaw. He praises the
play's ending, particularly Faustus's final soliloquy, calling it "one of the
most powerful in all Renaissance drama."
Knights, L. C., "The Strange Case of Christopher Marlowe" in Further
Explorations, Chatto & Windus, 1965, pp. 75-98.
Knights interprets Marlowe's Doctor Faustus as fundamentally a play
about desire and limitation. These forces can be destructive, as they are for
Faustus, but when balanced, they lead to a true understanding of reality.
Knights describes Faustus's motivations as immature, driven by "the perverse
and infantile desire for enormous power and immediate gratifications." He does
not trivialize this desire or view it as inherently evil, suggesting that
recognizing human limitations can lead to a mature understanding of reality.
Faustus's downfall stems not from his desires but from his refusal to accept
human limitations.
Maxwell, J. C., Introduction to Complete Plays and Poems of Christopher
Marlowe, Everyman, 1996, pp. VII-xxvi.
In a brief but comprehensive overview of Marlowe's writings, Maxwell offers
biographical details and thematic analyses of the author's body of work.
In Shakespeare's Contemporaries: Modern Studies in English Renaissance Drama, edited by Max Bluestone and Norman Rabkin, second edition, Prentice-Hall, 1970, pp. 112-27, Wilbur Sanders discusses Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. Sanders considers the play to be great but flawed, citing structural, aesthetic, and thematic inconsistencies. He writes that the "unity of Doctor Faustus is ... something that we have to create for ourselves," struggling to reconcile the play's powerful beginning and end with its disjointed middle. According to Sanders, audiences must cherish the brilliant poetic moments while overlooking other instances of "baffling banality, if not naivety." Moreover, Sanders argues that the play unsuccessfully mixes medieval and modern theological elements, especially concerning its conflicting depictions of Hell.
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