Although Dr. Faustus embodies as versatile, a master of a multitude of arts, his thirst for knowledge soon overcomes his better judgment, portraying him as an overreacher, and landing him into an irreversibly tangled mess. Dr. Faustus possesses the qualities of a Renaissance man, a man who desires to gain power through knowledge. Denouncing the religion of God, Faustus declares, “’Tis magic, magic, that hath ravished me!” (Marlowe 8), exemplifying how his need for power makes him over step the boundaries of mankind.
Dr. Faustus resembles a Promethean rebel, because he denounces God and Heaven. Dr. Faustus makes a deal with the devil, turning his back on God. Similarly Prometheus disobeys Zeus, by following Athena’s orders. Athena, like the devil, gives Prometheus, in a sense, powers by “breath[ing] life into” the clay figures he makes which represent men, just like the devil gives Faustus powers to tamper with people. Zeus gave Prometheus a chance, “demand[ing] a sacrifice from Man to the Gods to show that they were obedient and worshipful”, but Prometheus ruined his chance by abusing what Athena gave him. This falls similarly into what Faustus did, by abusing the powers the devil gave him to do bad, never looking back at God, even with all the chances God gives him to redeem himself, declaring “my heart is hardened, I cannot repent. Scarce can I name salvation, faith, or heaven” (Marlowe 25). Faustus’ soul receives no mercy as it’s carried to hell, while Prometheus suffers an eternal torture, chained to rocks. Both suffer punishment from God in the end when trying to escape God.
Dr. Faustus and Dr. Frankenstein share similarities, both characteristically over reachers trying to cross God. Dr. Faustus literally crosses God, making a deal with the devil, deliberately turning his back on God and Heaven for a life of sin. Dr. Frankenstein attempts to attain the level of God by creating life, which only God possesses the ability to do. He mimics creation and life that goes against God’s universe. This disobedience leads them to losing everything in the end. Dr. Faustus loses his soul, which “must live still to be plagu'd in hell” (132). Dr. Frankenstein loses his sanity, his love, and finally his life. Ironically, he faces death in the hands of his own creation. Both stories teach that trying to cross God can only end with failure and destruction.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
When mortals interfere with the will of Zeus, the results are much more tragic. Because they are mortal, their actions have direct influence on their comrades, and their lives. Gods feel pity when they cannot save a favored mortal, but that pity cannot compare to Achilles' sorrow at the death of Patroclus.…
- 589 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Prometheus was a Titan from Greek mythology. He sided with the gods and created humans out of clay without Zeus’ approval. After Zeus discovered that Prometheus was creating humans, he decided to punish Prometheus by prohibiting him from teaching the ways of civilization to man. This made Athena chose to convince her father Zeus to teach Prometheus so that he would teach man. Zeus became furious with the actions of man and Prometheus. This made Zeus conclude that it was forbidden for the gods to give fire to man. Prometheus was upset from Zeus’ proclamation, which made him decide that he was going to bring fire to humanity. Prometheus entered Olympus cautiously to steal hot burning coals, which he placed in a fennel stalk to prevent anyone from finding out. With his success, he reached his destination of man and presented the gift of fire. Zeus angered after discovering what Prometheus did, again decided to punish Prometheus by having him chained to a rock for a great eagle to constantly eat at his liver, only for it to grow back again.…
- 1111 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Prometheus stole fire from the heavens to give to the humans to seek vengeance Zeus gave the first woman to Prometheus’s brother Epimetheus…. Other myths say that Prometheus was punished being chained to a rock for eternity with a buzzard to pick out his entrails over and over again because of Prometheus being immortal.…
- 293 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Fact 8: He was revered as protector of the weak and punisher of the wicked but his punishments could be severe. Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals. As a terrible punishment he condemned Prometheus to having his liver eaten by a giant eagle…
- 488 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
In Greek mythology there is an innumerable amount of gods, most of which have a specialized function in both the realm of gods and humans. Yet, no god is more striking, more memorable, or more powerful than Zeus, the father of the gods of Olympus. His authority is far-ranging and definite; there is no revoking his command once it has been ordained. In the same fashion, there are hundreds of Greek heroes, yet there are none braver, stronger, or more wrathful than the swift runner Achilles who commands respect from all the Greeks and yields to no man. However, despite all their strength and authority, neither Zeus nor Achilles appears capable of eschewing or defying the omnipresent power that holds more sway than them: fate. Sans doubt, once a human is dealt his hand, there is nothing that he can humanly do in order to prevent his fate. As for the gods, with all their power and independence, they are still undeniably bound by the hands of fate. Fate is a peculiar phenomenon in that it has no limitations, yet it is a fixed occurrence that does not change over time or through the progression of different events that may influence it. Powerful men and gods such as Achilles and Zeus may do as their hearts and minds desire, because there is no one who can stop or defy them. Thus, the role of fate becomes clear, since fate is without desire or mind; its existence is to curb the ridiculous and emotional wishes of powerful beings who cannot be stopped otherwise.…
- 1205 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
In Greek myths, Hermes and Prometheus were the two major tricksters that became cultural heroes. The story of Prometheus is that he was a titan that was allied with the Olympians when the Titans and Olympians were at war with each other. Prometheus and the Olympians won the war and were the most worshipped gods at that time. Later on in history, the king of gods, Zeus, soon started trying to trick humans into benefiting him and the gods only. One way that he had tried to do this is by trying to trick the humans into sacrificing the meat of an animal…
- 903 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Funder describes the Stasi as ‘innovators, story makers and Faustian bargain-haunters” How successful is she in the portrayal?…
- 1771 Words
- 5 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Victor Frankenstein, as Prometheus has gained god-like powers, and like him, will be punished sooner or later. Frankenstein creating the creature means the obliteration of himself. One of the things that makes this novel so popular today is the fact that there is a universal theme; the pursuit of god-like powers. This is why numerous scholars have used Frankenstein as a central piece in their argument against the development of cloning technology even today.…
- 650 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Prometheus began his journey as a demi-god that “sided with Zeus in the war with the Titans” and helped bring about victory (Edith Hamilton, 71). Forethought, the meaning of Prometheus’ name, gave him the ability to see things before they happened and bestowed more wisdom “than the gods” to him (Hamilton, 71). Due to his brother’s error and without Zeus’ permission, Prometheus took upon the task of creating mankind. That creation angered Zeus because he realized how much love Prometheus had for the people and not for gods. As a warning to Prometheus, Zeus created women “who are an evil to men, with a nature to do evil” which in turn brought suffrage to all men (Hamilton, 74). When Prometheus realized that his people were suffering and because he favored mankind more than anything else he stole fire from the heavens and gifted it to them. He allowed his hubris to drive him further into doing more for the humans and less for the gods. Failing to learn from his first mistake he repeatedly challenged Zeus, ultimately resulting in his downfall. Although the fire brought warmth and comfort to the people, they soon learned of its unseen dangers that they could not control.…
- 1259 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
In the stories Prometheus and Frankenstein the protagonists both tried to play God in their own way. They did this by trying to create their own being or race to worship them. In the story Prometheus, the protagonist Prometheus takes all the human beings under his wing and teaches them the beginning of civilization and changes their lives completely. "He grudged men all the gifts that Prometheus had given them and he was angry with Prometheus for granting to these wretched creatures of an hour the ability to shape their lives into something better and to rise their thoughts up to heaven itself." In the story Frankenstein, the protagonist creates a creature to worship and control. Dr. Frankenstein is trying to be a god which is why he is trying to create this new race. "I became myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter. What had been the study and desire of the wisest men since the creation of the world was now within my grasp." To hold their roles of playing Gods both characters in each story had to steal to get the creation they wanted, which is what they both did.…
- 656 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Prometheus and Christ can also be associated by both being considered healers. Christ was able to heal two blind men who approached him begging to see again, he also cured a man of being paralyzed, Christ told him to get up, pick up his mat, and go home. (Matthew 9:6). The man was no longer paralyzed. In Prometheus’ case, the sickness he cured was human kind from foreseeing doom. He gave mankind blind hope to live a happier life.…
- 944 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
And lastly, he is a icon for all humanity. Faust is continually striving, and reaching for more power, more knowledge and more experience (Mitchell, 5). While this continually leads to failure, he never quits trying to gain more . He is also versatile, becoming despondent when he can 't obtain what he desires. The reader might see these failures as Faust 's tragedy, as everything he is involved in turns out badly. But, in these failures he is representative of humanity. In the Prologue in Heaven the Lord states that "man errs as long as he will strive." (Lawall & Mack, 442)…
- 808 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Faustus, Marlowe depicts the newfound Renaissance values with the life of Faustus. The European Renaissance rebirthed interest in classical learning and incorporated a new interest in the individual in the arts. Whereas in the medieval period that came before the Renaissance, its focus was on God and theology. In the peak of the Renaissance, the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the focus turned toward the study of humankind and the natural world, incorporating ideas from some of the great scholars of that time. Dr. Faustus was a doctor in divinity and wanted to be inspired with learning again. Faustus feels that he has mastered everything from logic, medicine, law, and religion so completely that there is nothing left for him to study. He was becoming bored with the traditions of the learning that he needed something else to stimulate him. Marlowe demonstrations how the people of the Renaissance had a hunger to learn through Dr. Faustus and his experiences. Faustus wanted to obtain a new sense of knowledge so he decided to practice magic. Keep in mind, that magic was not considered a bad thing but just another form of science. Therefore, Faustus decides to sell his soul to become a powerful magician. Marlowe plays with post-religion themes when Faustus decided to sell his…
- 684 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Even though this book was only about 50 pages I had to read it over twice before I actually understood it. The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe is a play about a scholar named Dr. Faustus who sells his soul to the Devil in return for knowledge and power. After having had made the deal with the Devil there was many times were Faustus wanted to repent and pray for salvation from damnation. Throughout the play he was warned by many characters such as a good angel who told him it wasn’t too late to ask for salvation, and Mesphistophilis, one of Satan’s own demons, who warned him of the horrors of hell. Even though Faustus could have asked for forgiveness, he believed there was no chance for salvation and in the end of the play he…
- 745 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
This is the first time that I have read Greek Myths. Frankly, I am fond of this much better than the Bible. Apparently, I can understand the Greek Myths easier than Bible stories. For example, when the Bible is talking about God’s kindness, it doesn’t write clearly and specifically, which sometimes makes me confused. In addition, God invariably does evil to people who don’t believe in him, so I really don’t understand his kindness. In the contrast, when the Greek story is talking about Prometheus’ kindness, it reads concretely. For instance, he created men, and took responsibility for his men. He made an attempt to perfect them, asking Athene for instincts, supreme gift, intelligence, asking Zephyrs for better living conditions, green grass,…
- 310 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays