Topic > Critical Criticism by Faustus - 1645

In the history of the formation of the world, man was instilled with the ability to discern between right and wrong from his innate being. As every man has a fraction of imperfection instilled in his ingenuity, this yet-to-be-named man fabricated his own downfall not by evil fate, accident, or preordained catastrophe, but through his own introspection into the sphere of free will. In his search for higher knowledge and power, he lost the ability to discern and judge in knowing what is true, right, and lasting. He apparently became blind to the deeper applicability of his extraordinary knowledge to his decision-making and larger scheme of life. It is the story of a scholar who traded. This marks the beginning of his struggle with the limits of human knowledge and will lead him to make the fatalistic decision to choose necromancy as his culminating discipline. It shows his lack of wisdom, the essence of all his impressive knowledge. He is a fallible, vain man with a forbidden ambition and has lost his ability to reason by choosing a path to darkness. Furthermore, he sets himself a difficult task: “Here is Fausto, test your brains to conquer a divinity”. (1.3). He aspires to become a god and this, he believes, will break his limitations of knowledge and grant him great political power and wealth. Despite his extraordinary knowledge, as Marlowe attested, he still chooses to walk the path where every man has failed; to be achievedOnly after signing the pact, he learns the limits of the agreement: he cannot marry a wife, he is forbidden to pray or talk about "heavenly things". He vows to meet the contract deadline after enjoying the entertainment of the seven deadly sins. He is taught astronomy and allowed a view of hell. He undertakes relatively short and humiliating adventures: from slapping the Pope in Rome and confusing a host of Ecclesiastes to summoning "but shadow, not substantial" figures of Alexander the Great and King Darius, to the Emperor's delight. If anything, his soul isn't worth sacrificing. Faustus's downward drift continues from fetching out-of-season grapes for a bored, pregnant duchess, to freeing Bruno, a convict. He also beats Benvolio and his friends and makes fun of a drunk who bought him a horse. He has clearly gone from greatness to total self-inflicted mediocrity. The goal of reshaping the geography of Europe and becoming a god no longer has substance. The gap between his early ambitions and his current state is staggering, but he doesn't seem to care. Faustus displays blindness and lack of wisdom and this is one of his defining characteristics throughout his journey. His blind spot allows him to see the world as he would like it to be rather than as it actually is. He avoids reality but prefers to dwell on his own