The Dangers and Delights of Ambition: Comparing Ambition in Marlowe's Dr Faustus and Milton's Paradise Lost
Ambition can consume and overwhelm the initial drive of achieving one's goals, and morph into a manipulative, devastating obsession. However it can also be seen as an empowering trait that liberates one from the status and conformation that they are subjected to. However it can be seen that if left unguarded this consuming desire can catch men, such as Faustus in Christopher Marlowe's Dr Faustus and Satan, in John Milton's Paradise Lost, in its throes, resulting in their ultimate destruction. This corrupting ambition so prevalent in powerful men, overtakes the rational senses and can become the reason for eternal damnation.
It can be said that Faustus is not portrayed entirely as a villain; he is a tragic hero, a protagonist whose character flaws lead to his downfall. The traditional meaning of 'Hamartia' can be applied here as it implies that due to mistake of an individual, it causes their downfall. Faustus' mistake was clearly presumption, pride and love of vain, earthly, moral pleasures. Marlowe fills him with tragic grandeur in the early scenes of the play and his ability to make "spirits fetch what (he) please". The logic he uses to reject religion may be flawed, but there is something impressive in the breadth of his ambition, that "stetcheth" as far as man's imagination, even if he pursues it through blasphemous means. In Faustus’s soliloquy after the two angels have whispered in his ears, his rhetoric outlines the modern quest for control over nature, in this case through magic rather than through science, in glowing, inspiring language. He offers a long list of impressive goals, including the acquirement of "strange philosophy", "for orient pearl" and "gold", that he believes he will achieve once he has mastered the dark arts. While the audience is not expected to approve of his quest, his ambitions are impressive. Later, the actual uses to which he puts his magical powers are trivial, however, at this point in the play, Faustus’s dreams are admirable.
It can be said that Faustus is not portrayed entirely as a villain; he is a tragic hero, a protagonist whose character flaws lead to his downfall. The traditional meaning of 'Hamartia' can be applied here as it implies that due to mistake of an individual, it causes their downfall. Faustus' mistake was clearly presumption, pride and love of vain, earthly, moral pleasures. Marlowe fills him with tragic grandeur in the early scenes of the play and his ability to make "spirits fetch what (he) please". The logic he uses to reject religion may be flawed, but there is something impressive in the breadth of his ambition, that "stetcheth" as far as man's imagination, even if he pursues it through blasphemous means. In Faustus’s soliloquy after the two angels have whispered in his ears, his rhetoric outlines the modern quest for control over nature, in this case through magic rather than through science, in glowing, inspiring language. He offers a long list of impressive goals, including the acquirement of "strange philosophy", "for orient pearl" and "gold", that he believes he will achieve once he has mastered the dark arts. While the audience is not expected to approve of his quest, his ambitions are impressive. Later, the actual uses to which he puts his magical powers are trivial, however, at this point in the play, Faustus’s dreams are admirable.