Renaissance Elements in Doctor Faustus

Renaissance Elements in Doctor Faustus

The word ‘Renaissance’ itself means ‘rebirth’. “The idea of rebirth originated in the belief that Europeans had discovered the superiority of Greek and Roman culture after many centuries of what they considered an intellectual and cultural decline.” Thus the question what was the renaissance about is answered as the widespread cultural revival marking the division between the so-called ‘dark ages’ and the modern world. The Renaissance was a period of fundamental change in human outlook once dominated by religious dogma and Christian theology. The age was marked by a great yearning for unlimited knowledge; by love for worldliness – supreme power, sensual pleasures of life; by love for beauty; respect for classicism; by scepticism, individualism and Machiavellian influence.
Christopher Marlowe was a product of the Renaissance. Therefore it was usual for him that his play Doctor Faustus would contain Renaissance spirit. We see in Doctor Faustus a wonderful expression of renaissance elements and the character Doctor Faustus as a renaissance man.
The most important thing in the Renaissance is craving for ‘knowledge infinite’. This characteristic has been injected in Faustus properly. He has achieved knowledge of all branches. Yet he feels unfulfilled. So he wants to practice black art and with this, he would be able to know all things: “I will have them read me strange philosophy.”
After selling his soul, he, at the very first, questions Mephistopheles to know the mystery of the universe, about the position of hell.
“First, will I question with thee about hell,
Tell me where is the place that men call hell?”
Faustus’s longing for material prosperity, for money and wealth, which is also a Renaissance element, has been expressed in the following lines where he desires to gain the lordship of Embden a great commercial city-

“Of wealth!
Why the seniority of Embden shall be mine.”
He further wants to enjoy a splendid life full of worldly pleasures. He says,
“I will have them fly to India for gold,
Ransack the ocean for orient pearl,
….
And search all the corners of the newfound world.
For pleasant fruits and princely delicates.”

Here we see another inherent thing characterized by Renaissance in Faustus i.e. love for adventure.
Faustus’s eagerness to get the most beautiful German maid to be his wife and Helen to be his paramour and to find heaven in her lips proves his love of beauty along with love for sensual pleasure which is also a Renaissance element. He says to Mephistophilis,

“For I am wanton and lascivious
And cannot live without a wife.”

Dominance of classical literature, art and culture is a prominent feature of the Renaissance. And it is frequently expressed by Faustus in his allusions, examples, references. One of such examples can be noticed in the following couple of lines where Faustus says,

“Have I not made blind Homer sing to me
 Of Alexander’s love and Oenon’s death?”

“The Renaissance was marked by an intense interest in the visible world and in the knowledge derived from concrete sensory experience.” “It turned away from the abstract speculations and interest in life after death that characterized the Middle Ages.” Faustus raises the question and gives the answer to that question in the following lines-

“That, after this life, there is any pain?
Thus, these are trifles and mere old wives tales.”

Thus Renaissance allows Scepticism and secularism.
In the Renaissance, “the unique talents and potential of the individual became significant. The concept of personal fame was much more highly developed than during the Middle Ages.” Actually, Faustus is an individualistic tragic hero. His tragedy is his own creation. He does not think like traditional heroes or men. He crosses his limit while common people do not generally cross that.
Renaissance movement is greatly influenced by Niccolo Machiavelli, his The Prince and his ideal “ends justify the means.” Similarly, Faustus also wants to reach his goal by any means, even by selling his soul to Devil –“Faustus gives to thee his soul.” Furthermore, Faustus earns money by selling a false horse to a Horse-course deceitfully. The Renaissance has made Faustus fascinated by the supreme power. Faustus says-

“A sound magician is a mighty God
Here, Faustus, tire thy brains to gain a deity.”

Finally, we must say that Faustus is a faithful embodiment of the Renaissance. He bears all the characteristics of the age. Actually, Marlowe has pictured Faustus with great care and interest of the age. George Santayana justly says in this regard – “Marlowe is a martyr to everything, power, curious knowledge, enterprise, wealth and beauty.”
Faustus as an Individualistic Tragic Hero of Renaissance
Christopher Marlowe, in his Doctor Faustus, his masterpiece, draws an excellent character before us. This character can be regarded as a strong individual, an embodiment of Renaissance and a tragic hero. Indeed, each and every man possesses two forces going on in him.one is social that abides by the setup rules of his surroundings. Another is individual that thinks things in his mind particularly from his own demand, dream and thought. In Doctor Faustus’s case, it is the second one- he has a firm individuality, that’s why he is called an individualistic hero
As an embodiment of Renaissance, Doctor Faustus, having attained knowledge, power and fame, wants more and more, unparalleled possession. He has achieved knowledge of all branches. Yet he wants to do whatever he pleases. So he would like to practice necromancy.

Shall I make spirits fetch me what I please
……….
I will have them fly to India for gold,
Ransack the ocean for orient pearl,
And search all corners of the new-found world
For pleasant fruits and princely delicates;
I’ll have them read me strange philosophy,
And tell the secrets of all foreign kings;

Thus he will compel them to build a wall of brass around Germany and to make the river Rine divert its course to flow around the lovely city of Wittenberg; will be able to supply plenty of silk garments to the public school; will drive Prince of Parma to form his country and become the supreme monarch of all the provinces; and will have wonderful and powerful weapons of war.
But before and after attaining the black art, there runs a conflict in him between the good and evil, between the good and bad which is at the beginning symbolized by the good angel and evil angel. (Act 1, Scene 1)
In order to attain his purpose, Doctor Faustus racks the name of God ………….
Faustus is an individual tragic hero. He is the maker of his own tragedy, his fate, good or bad. He falls, not by the fickleness of fortune or the decree of fate, or because he has been corrupted by Mephistopheles, the agent of Lucifer, the devil, but all things happen to him because of his own will. He commits a sin by wanting like God or to exceed God and by rejecting God and accepting Beelzebub, the devil. So he must suffer in fine.
Faustus always experiences a conflict between his consciousness and free will which is also found in great tragic heroes of Shakespeare, namely Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello.
Faustus is a tragic hero, individual in character. But through his death, he proves the loftiness of God, Almighty. O.P. Broclbent says- “Faustus’s passion for knowledge and power is in itself a virtue, but diverted from the service of God it threatens to become totally negative and self- destroying’’.
However, if we go through the depth of Faustas’s tragedy, we observe that Faustus stands not for a character, not for a single man, but for man, for every man. His tragedy is not a personal tragedy, but a tragedy that overtakes all those who dare “practise more than heavenly power permits” In this way, Faustus’s individualistic tragedy turns to a universal too.
To sum up, we must say that Doctor Faustus is an embodiment of Renaissance, a tragic hero, individual and forceful. At the same time, he represents us too. But the only difference is that we dare hardly avoid the established concepts of society, religion, but Faustus boldly went ahead to his individual demand. However in a religious point of view, he committed a great sin and suffered a lot - that is, it is a morality play too.
Renaissance ideals vs Medieval morals
Faustus’s inner turmoil gives way to the dominant meaning within the play: Medieval morals versus Renaissance ideals. Marlowe’s characterization of Faustus leads one to the predominant idea of duality in the society of his era in which Medieval values conflict with those of the Renaissance. His refusal to see what is fact and what is fiction is a result of his pompous persona. In his quest to become omnipotent, Faustus fails to see that there is life after death and that his material possessions are of no consequence. Faustus is a combatant in his own internal war of knowledge or salvation.
In the opening of the play, Marlowe uses the chorus to announce the time, place, and most importantly, to introduce Faustus. The chorus refers to the Greek myth of Icarus while characterizing Faustus –

" Till swollen with cunning, of self-conceit
 His waxen wings did mount above his reach
And melting, heavens conspired his overthrow!"(Prologue. 19-21.)." 

His waxen wings did mount above his reach" is an ironic comparison between Icarus and Faustus. It is ironic because Icarus directly disobeys his father, which ties into the idea of mortal sin. However, in Faustus' case, it is disobedient to become too learned. Also, the line: “heavens conspired his overthrow" could be a reference to Lucifer’s attempt to overpower God. Thus, the Chorus would ultimately be making reference to Faustus attempting to outwit God. This is the contrast between Medieval and Renaissance values; the medieval world shunned all that was not Christian while the Renaissance was a re-birth of learning in which people openly questioned divinity as with much more. The chorus makes it seem that Faustus is a 'bad' man because he seeks knowledge. In essence, it portrays Faustus as a "Renaissance man who pays the medieval price for being one."
Faustus’s constant struggle to explore Renaissance principles is heightened by the Good Angel and Bad Angel. The Good Angel pulls Faustus towards Medieval values. He represents Faustus’s Medieval instincts:

"O Faustus, lay that damned book aside
And gaze not on it lest it tempt thy soul
And heap God’s heavy wrath upon thy head!
Read, read the Scriptures - that is blasphemy!" ( 1.1.67-69 ). 

The Angel is eluding to Medieval ideals by saying that books are 'damned' and will bring 'God’s heavy wrath’. 'That is blasphemy' is yet another reference to books not being of God. The Good Angel is Faustus key to salvation. Again, Faustus’s inner conflict gives way to the ultimate theme of redemption and sin. While the Good Angel represents the medieval era, the Bad Angel signifies the Renaissance:

"Go forward Faustus, in that famous art
Wherein all nature’s treasury is contained.
...
Lord and commander of these elements!"( 1.1.71-74 ). 

The Bad Angel feeds Faustus’s thirst for knowledge by telling him that 'all nature’s treasure is contained' in his books. Going even further, the Angel tells Faustus to be 'Lord' and 'commander' of these elements ultimately telling Faustus that he could be God if he so chose. Both angels are ultimately signified duality within society. Where half is pulled towards the righteous Medieval morals and the others toward liberated Renaissance ideals.
Faustus embraces his Renaissance persona by acknowledging his life choices. In his never-ending quest to obtain knowledge, Faustus conjures Helen of Troy so that he may marvel at her beauty:

"Was this the face that launched a thousand ships
And burnt the topless towers of Illium?
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.
Her kiss suck forth my soul.
See where it flies!" ( 5.1.95-99 ). 

Helen is an apt person for Faustus to gawk at. She was considered to be the most beautiful women in the entire world. However, Faustus lives in a time and place of sexual repression. Thus, Helen represents sin and sexual freedom - an end to Medieval morals. The word 'immortal' implies that Helen’s kiss allows men to live forever and that Helen herself is 'immortal’. This ironical comparison demonstrates that Faustus is still in denial about death. However, with 'Her kiss suck forth my soul’, Faustus suggests that Helen has taken his life. This is ironic on many levels, most noticeably being that many men died to rescue Helen from the Trojans. In addition, Faustus is the only one responsible for his lost soul. The conjuring of Helen of Troy represents Faustus’s decision to accept what he has done with his life and follow his Renaissance persona. In calling on Helen, Faustus has yielded himself to immortal sins. First and foremost, Faustus has sinned by using black magic to call on Helen. Lastly, Faustus is openly sexual with Helen of Troy. His kissing of Helen is ultimately a symbol of accepting that which has already been done and preparing to face eternal damnation.
Faustus’s epic battle between Medieval morals and Renaissance ideals results in his eternal damnation. Faustus has many chances to repent, yet not once does he decided to put an end to seeking knowledge and practising magic. His decision is ultimately a signal for the end of Medieval beliefs in 'religion being the key' and the emergence of free-thinking. Faustus has been said to be "a Renaissance man who paid the Medieval price for being one". He was an intellectual in a society of ignorance imposed upon by the clergy of the Catholic Church.
Though Faustus is the tragic hero of the play one must really consider if, in fact, Faustus’s demise is tragic. Faustus makes his own decisions and knows where they will take him to in the end. He refuses to see that heaven and hell do exist and despite the many warnings given to him about the heinousness of hell, he still follows the path of damnation Faustus’s harrowing demise results in eternal damnation is tragic. He is a man with the charisma and courage to follow his passions in life. Faustus is told time after time that he can still repent and save himself from the wrath of God. Several times he does in fact repent, yet because of his inner conflict he 'takes it back’. Not till Faustus utters his last words is one completely sure that Faustus’s story is tragic, at best. Ultimately, he dies unhappy and still a combatant in his own internal war.
At the end, we can say that in spite of being a man of the medieval period, Faustus was a Renaissance man. And by his activities, we find the elements of the Renaissance where medieval values are buried because of the emergence of the Renaissance ideal.