You are here

FAU Collections » FAU Research Repository » FAU Theses and Dissertations

study of the significance of Marlowe's use of the unforgivable sin as a plot device in "Dr. Faustus"

Download pdf | Full Screen View

Date Issued:
1992
Summary:
A crucial turning point in Christopher Marlowe's play Dr. Faustus occurs within the Latin chant in the conjuring scene. It is Faustus's commission of what is within the Christian universe the only unforgivable sin: the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. This blasphemy is noted by Mephostophilis and is a deliberate device used by the playwright to make the work an irreversible tragedy. This ominously important act gives the play a certain dread impetus as events build to a sadly predictable conclusion. After Faustus's unforgivable words redemption from death and hell is impossible within the Christian cosmology in which the play is set. The irrevocable demise of the protagonist due to this own regrettable hubris parallels the similar demise of protagonists in Greek tragedies. Through this one unforgivable deed Faustus is unsavable, unsalvageable, unforgivable, and unable to ascend with the help of grace above the reach of Satanic power, which he chose, and into the paradise promised by the doctrine of divinity, which he has despised (I.i.102-104).
Title: A study of the significance of Marlowe's use of the unforgivable sin as a plot device in "Dr. Faustus".
545 views
253 downloads
Name(s): Rudasill, Michael Carlton.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Nathan, Norman, Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1992
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 62 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: A crucial turning point in Christopher Marlowe's play Dr. Faustus occurs within the Latin chant in the conjuring scene. It is Faustus's commission of what is within the Christian universe the only unforgivable sin: the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. This blasphemy is noted by Mephostophilis and is a deliberate device used by the playwright to make the work an irreversible tragedy. This ominously important act gives the play a certain dread impetus as events build to a sadly predictable conclusion. After Faustus's unforgivable words redemption from death and hell is impossible within the Christian cosmology in which the play is set. The irrevocable demise of the protagonist due to this own regrettable hubris parallels the similar demise of protagonists in Greek tragedies. Through this one unforgivable deed Faustus is unsavable, unsalvageable, unforgivable, and unable to ascend with the help of grace above the reach of Satanic power, which he chose, and into the paradise promised by the doctrine of divinity, which he has despised (I.i.102-104).
Identifier: 14843 (digitool), FADT14843 (IID), fau:11631 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1992.
Subject(s): Marlowe, Christopher,--1564-1593--Doctor Faustus
Marlowe, Christopher,--1564-1593--Criticism and interpretation
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/14843
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.