Doctor Faustus

by Christopher Marlowe

Overview

The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, commonly referred to simply as Doctor Faustus, is an Elizabethan tragedy by Christopher Marlowe, based on German stories about the title character Faust. It was written sometime between 1589 and 1592, and may have been performed between 1592 and Marlowe's death in 1593. Two different versions of the play were published in the Jacobean era several years later

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781006002915
Publisher:	Blurb
Publication date:	07/23/2025
Pages:	72
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.15(d)

About the Author

Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) was born in Canterbury the year of Shakespeare’s birth. Like Shakespeare, he was of a prosperous middle-class family, but unlike Shakespeare he went to a university, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he received the bachelor’s degree in 1584 and the master’s degree in 1587. The terms of his scholarship implied that he was preparing for the clergy but he did not become a clergyman. Shortly before he received his M.A. the University seems to have wished to withhold it, apparently suspecting him of conversion to Roman Catholicism, but the Queen’s Privy Council intervened on his behalf, stating that he “had done her majesty good service” and had been employed “in matters touching the benefit of the country.” His precise service is unknown. After Cambridge, Marlowe went to London, where he apparently lived a turbulent life (he had two brushes with the law and was said to be disreputable) while pursuing a career as a dramatist. He wrote seven plays—the dates of which are uncertain—before he was yet again in legal difficulties: he was arrested in 1593, accused of atheism. He was not imprisoned, and before his case could be decided he was dead, having been stabbed in a tavern while quarreling over the bill.

Table of Contents

PREFACE, CHRONOLOGY OF MARLOWE’S LIFE AND WORKS, INTRODUCTION, Origins of the Faustus legend, The first English biography of Faustus, Extracts from the Damnable Life, Date of the play, Authorship of the play, The Renaissance, The morality plays, The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, Marlowe’s theatre, Stage-history of Doctor Faustus, Text of Doctor Faustus, THE TRAGICAL HISTORY OF THE LIFE AND DEATH OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS, NOTES, SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY

Editorial Reviews

"There is a wonderful sense that evil lurks in every corner." - Guardian

"A thing of beauty to watch." - Independent

"Faithful and clever." - Herald Scotland

"Catches well the hellish claustrophobia of our restless urges." - Telegraph

From the Publisher