How does Doctor Faustus represent the aspirations of a Renaissance scholar?

The Renaissance was a great intellectual and cultural movement based on the rediscovery of ancient learning. It gave rise to a humanistic philosophy which put man, not God, at the center of the universe, and that's precisely how Doctor Faustus sees himself.

Like the archetypal Renaissance man he is, he has a deep passion for knowledge, an insatiable desire to assert himself against a world rapidly becoming more and more intelligible. There's a restlessness about him, a sense that the world's somehow not big enough for him. He wants to explore, to discover, to know and to learn. But more than anything else, he seeks the power that increased knowledge can bring. For Doctor Faustus, as much as any Renaissance man, knowledge is indeed power, and the more he can have of both the better, even if it means selling his soul to the Devil.

The Renaissance saw a huge push in scientific knowledge. With the invention of the printing press in 1440, books were more likely to start circulating and spread new discoveries. Many discoveries and advancements were made during this time by many names we would recognize today. Famous scientists from the Renaissance include Galileo Galilei, who invented the telescope; Nicolaus Copernicus, who proposed the solar system revolved around the sun; and William Henry, who discovered the circulation of blood.

Faustus represents the greed for more knowledge. He has exhausted himself in all earthly studies, so he makes a deal with the devil to gain magic. Renaissance scholars would have wanted the notoriety that came along with a new scientific advancement but also didn’t land them in jail. The above-mentioned Galileo was interrogated by the Spanish Inquisition and found guilty for heresy. For Faustus, the only way to learn more was to gain power through magic.

How does Doctor Faustus reflect the ideas of the Renaissance Period?

In order to help you work on your question about how Doctor Faustus exemplifies Renaissance ideas, let us begin with a review of some of the main characteristics of this era. The Renaissance came about, at least in part, as a reaction to the Medieval period, during which time the Roman Catholic Church provided a primary influence on the outlook and artistic expression of Western Europeans.

In contrast, the Renaissance vision brought back the classical ideas of the ancient Greeks and Romans (especially philosophy) and emphasized the value of the individual. Humanism, a way of thinking that emphasizes rational thinking rather than unquestioned reliance on religious dogma or unsubstantiated folk superstitions, is another important characteristic of the Renaissance.

How do these ideas relate to Christopher Marlowe’s 1592 play, The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus? To begin with, we may find a similarity between the revived ancient classics and this play. In Greek mythology, hubris, or excessive pride, leads to the downfall of many a hero or even an ordinary person. For example, the weaver Arachne boasts that she can out-do even the goddess Athena in her tapestry-making skills. For her hubris, the goddess punishes her by turning her into a spider (this tale provides the derivation of the scientific name for the class to which spiders belong—arachnids).

There are many more examples of punishment for hubris in Greek mythology. The character of Doctor Faustus also suffers from excessive pride, and his arrogant and unrealistic belief in his own abilities leads to his downfall. Another character from Greek mythology with whom Doctor Faustus shares a tragic flaw is Icharus, who ignores the wisdom of the older and much more knowledgeable Daedalus and flies too close to the sun. This causes his dramatic fall from the sky and his death.

Faustus rebels against the socially imposed-limitations to the quest for knowledge (part of Medieval thinking) but, ironically, goes too far and is punished. In some important ways, this play presents an interesting evaluation of both Medieval and Renaissance ideas. The interweaving of both suggests to me that the author may have, on some level, wanted to create a cautionary tale warning that even an emerging positive Renaissance idea could be misused.

What is the Renaissance? How is it represented in Doctor Faustus?

Most critics agree that the Renaissance marked the reemergence of and a revival of interest in classical learning.  It generally characterizes the period between the fourteenth century and the end of the sixteenth century, though the dates often fluctuate depending on one's viewpoint.  Much of the painting began to incorporate classical themes, rather than the purely Christian religious images characteristic of the Middle Ages.  In literature, much of the emphasis placed on religious subject matter was set aside in favor of renewed interest in the philosophical thought of the Greeks and Romans, particularly Plato and, to a lesser extent, Aristotle.

Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus treats subject matter emerges from the time period of the sixteenth century; however, it represents an intellectual undercurrent that has much more in common with the Middle Ages than the classical world.  Throughout the Middle Ages (and to a lesser degree the ancient world), interest in alchemy and astrology were not uncommon.  Though authors did not agree on the value of this knowledge, the power it could convey on the holder of it was a serious matter of contention.  Doctor Faustus certainly explores the relationship between "accepted" knowledge, which Faustus clearly indicates does not give him the power he seeks, and the "forbidden," magical knowledge that he believes will grant him the power for which he yearns.