Knowledge in Dr. Faustus
The Renaissance era was a unique time when people valued human nature and they wanted cultural, political, literature and art rebirth. The period was characterized by the desire for power and worldly pleasures since people valued individuality. Artists and authors gained the freedom and opportunity to express and challenge the middle Ages. Some authors such as Christopher Marlowe created tragedies that focused on power and wealth. Doctor Faustus is a typical character who value intellectual knowledge and ignore religion. The play 'Doctor Faustus' by Marlowe is a great play that talks about a well schooled Faustus who graduates from a German university. In his studies, he reflects on fruitful pursuits such as medicine, law, and divinity. However, he dismisses all these fields and focuses on magic art, which he believes that it will make him become a mighty god. Faustus asks his friends Valdes and Cornelius to help him study the magic art but the good angel speaks to him and tells him not to focus on magic and read the scripture. On the contrary, the bad angle convinces him to follow his interest in magic. Since Faustus believes that the magic art will give him great power, he decides to follow the devil angle instructions. He abandons all other fields of study and decides to study the magic art. His friends help study the dark arts and promise him that the learning will bring wondrous powers. However, knowledge is power but when it is misused, it becomes the path to damnation.
The play 'Dr. Faustus' reflects on Renaissance ideologies, a period when people reformed the medieval world and shifted to the Renaissance era. In the medieval world or during the middle ages, the Roman Catholic Church was so important as it dominated the individual's lives. All people believed in God and recognized that sin is the source of evil (Karim, 144). However, during the 14th century, Italy and Europe developed a cultural phenomenon, which emphasized learning and knowledge and the quest for power. Faustus is a typical character who abandons the medieval model and we see that he has a great ambition to find classical knowledge (Karim, 144). He challenges the Roman Church doctrines and perceives the Pope as unholy. Note that the Renaissance is characterized by new ideas that influence people's culture and thoughts.
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The play is very significant as it reveals important lessons that are applicable not only during the Elizabethan era but also in modern times. Roohi (1358) introduces the topic of knowledge versus wisdom and asserts that there is a big difference between knowledge and wisdom. In most cases, people want to gain knowledge and less seeks wisdom. It is important to note that wisdom plays a significant role in our lives and it is not derived from learning. The source of wisdom is nothing but a deep understanding of life. Note that Faustus is not satisfied with the fields of knowledge such as logic, medicine, law, and region, and therefore prefers to study the magic arts (Roohi, 1359). He has an uncontrollable ambition to discover the world and gain unlimited knowledge and more importantly gain supreme power. The play 'Doctor Faustus' has a Renaissance spirit in that Faustus believes on knowledge and power. He also believes that the only way he can become powerful is by becoming a magician so that he will utilize the magic power and enjoy the profit, delight, honor, and command all things (Roohi, 1361). Note that during the Renaissance era, people are influenced by the need to gain wealth and this is the reason why Faustus decides to follow the devil.
It is important to understand that Doctor Faustus is influenced by pride and this can be seen as the first transgression that he commits. He is proud that he is full of knowledge by studying various disciplines such as religion and law. However, his pride motivates him to seek new knowledge but he cannot utilize knowledge effectively to gain wisdom (Roohi, 1351). Note that knowledge is power but when it is misused it can cause downfall. Note that Faustus comes across the tension between Renaissance emotion and Christianity and therefore he is unable to balance the power. He has employed more knowledge about the Greek world but when it comes to acting, he is unable to apply wisdom to achieve his purported goals (Roohi, 1351). He has learned that hell is eternal and he needed repentance. However, he still holds on unto the flesh or in other words, he values the flesh and devalues the spirit. Thus, his greed and ambitions lead him to damnation. He prefers knowledge and power rather than a responsibility to God.
Karim et al (2015) adds that Doctor Faustus is an atheist because he rejects God, he shows no relevance to the Christian doctrines, and he sacrifices his body for wealth and world pleasures. The good angel speaks to Faustus and tells him that “lay that damned book aside’ (Karim et al. 144). However, Faustus focuses on being the greater emperor. He willingly rejects God and when he meets Pope in his privy chamber, he displays his atheist character by teasing the Pope and snatching the cups and dishes. Faustus fulfills all his desires which ultimately cause damnation. However, he develops spiritual distress and the good angel persuades him that God is ready to forgive his sin. However, he says that “Hell strives with grace for conquest in my breast” (Karim et al.147). Note that every time holy things are revealed to him, the devil brings confusion and hinders him from seeing the importance of repentance. This shows that Faustus is driven by evil powers to commit sin or in other words, he is not engaging in indulgence as a self-willed man. Even though in some cases he shows irreverence to the Holy Trinity, he has a desire to get the salvation. He says that "My God, my God! Look not too fierce on me”! (Karim et al.144). This clearly shows that Faustus has realized the love of God and his power to save. He still has God's thoughts in his mind and he believes that God will accept him and forgive his sin. In the end, he has realizes his errors, and predicaments and he wants to be a new creature.
Lemon (866) introduces the topic of Calvinist theology, which is based on salvation by grace. In other words, salvation is not by works but God is in control of human nature, he is aware that man lives in a sinful nature, and all are saved through Jesus Christ. He goes on to say that Faustus studied at Cambridge University but later he becomes addicted to studying. According to the Calvinist Theology, Faustus goes beyond the theological boundary (Lemon, 867). He is seen as an unfaithful and weak creature who desires the worldly pleasures to make his ends meet. The authors introduce forms of devotion; scholastic devotion and theological devotion. Faustus has a scholastic devotion and he is addicted and shows a strong commitment to studies. According to Calvinist theology, Faustus connects himself with the wrong faith and this addiction leads to damnation. It is important to note that modern classical translations perceive addiction to studies as a positive thing as it allows scholars to narrow the fields and find a pursuit. In this case, Faustus seeks knowledge to 'sound the depth’ and this is driven by his intellectual ennui (Lemon, 867). Thus, from the scholarship definition, addiction is important and the scholars should exercise free will and choose one's path the same way Faustus chooses necromancy. Seneca (philosopher) also adds that addiction is influenced by one's power whereas Marlowe refutes that devotion is influenced by predispositions that are influenced by God. According to Calvin's ideology, religion should not be connected with other fields of study but an individual should focus only on the scripture. In other words, for a man to overcome all impediments during addiction, he should be addicted to Christ (Lemon, 869). When one has Godly devotion, he follows the path of discipleship and ultimately gains redemption. On the contrary, Faustus uses free will and deals with his field of choice to gain power and worldly pleasure. According to Calvinist theology, addiction to the wrong path is dangerous. For example, Faustus says, "Tis magic, magic that hath ravish's me” (Lemon, 869). Faustus believes that the magic art will give him power and honor, and gain an invisible knowledge. He even sacrifices his soul to Lucifer but his free will and devotion to worldly things fail him.
Engberg (1) adds that the world has fallen because God has allowed the human beings to know and obey him yet they devalue him. However, God is full of mercy and so he redeems human beings through Jesus Christ. In other words, God gives the world a gift of redemption and one does not receive redemption through works but it comes only by God's grace. When one is redeemed, God expects the person to obey and worship him only and extend the love of God to others (Engberg, 2). During the reign of Elizabeth's son, there was a religious conflict between Protestant and Roman Catholic. The two groups were in disagreement concerning the way of worship since the Catholics wanted to follow their way of life whereas the Protestants wanted to eliminate some of the practices. The play 'Doctor Faustus’ takes place in Germany- a place full of Protestants. The play does not contain some religious practices such as the Sacrament of Penance, Holy Communion, amendment of life, among other important things. Doctor Faustus does not acknowledge redemption and as he reads Roman 6:23, he interprets the verse that everyone is a sinner and sin leads to death (Engberg, 5). However, he does not read verse 9, which says that God is ready to forgive if only the sinner repents. Faustus concludes that the world has fallen and ignores the redemption part. Ignorance gives him the power to mock the traditional practices of the Catholic Church.
Sudahi (586) says that the play 'Doctor Faustus' reflects on the morality where human beings abandon the divinity and focus on worldly pleasure. Faustus is a typical figure who experiences damnation for rejecting the truth and moving out to explore the works for search for power and material wealth. However, he later experiences a downfall in terms of he is unable to gain power and wealth because of misusing knowledge. Faustus is driven by passion in that he has a passion for things he cannot achieve (Sudahi, 587). Faustus experiences downfall because he focuses on imagination rather than realities, and desire to manipulate. First, Faustus does not show satisfaction with the knowledge he has but he has a great willingness to access more knowledge. He wants an individualistic standing and freedom for recreation. Even though it is important to have a passion and make sacrifices, he goes beyond the practice immorality, which in the end ruins his life.
Conclusion
The play 'Doctor Faustus’ reveals two critical terms. First is the supremacy of the individual or the desire to explore the world gain to knowledge, and Calvinist theology, which means the violation of religious beliefs. Faustus conflicts with spirituality and focuses independently on his knowledge. However, at the need, Faustus fears death and experiences a moment of repentance. He believes that all are vanity and he needs Christ to forgive him. Initially, Faustus has a strong desire for knowledge but at last, he gains self-actualization and the need for salvation. This story reveals that wisdom plays a significant role in life as it allows one to realize the deeper meaning of life. Faustus applying his knowledge to understand the knowledge and lack of wisdom ruins his life.
Works Cited
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