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 a scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for magical power. Written in the late 16th century and first performed around 1594, the play follows Faustus’ rise as a magician through his pact with Lucifer—facilitated by the demon Mephistopheles—and his ultimate downfall as he fails to repent before his damnation.
The play survives in two major versions: the shorter 1604 "A" text and the expanded 1616 "B" text, which includes additional scenes and material of debated authorship. Though once considered less authoritative, the "B" text has gained renewed scholarly interest, especially regarding its comic elements and their thematic significance.
Doctor Faustus blends classical tragedy with Elizabethan drama, employing a five-act structure and a chorus. Thematically, it explores ambition, the limits of knowledge, Christian theology, and Renaissance humanism. Critics have long debated its stance on Calvinist predestination and its reflection of Reformation-era anxieties.
The play has had a lasting influence, inspiring adaptations across stage, film, and other media. Performances have been associated with supernatural legends since the 17th century, and the characters of Faustus and Mephistopheles remain iconic figures in Western literature.
Performance The Admiral's Men performed the play 23 times between September 1594 and October 1597. On 22 November 1602, the diary of Philip Henslowe recorded a £4 payment to Samuel Rowley and William Bird for additions to the play, which suggests a revival soon after that date.
The powerful effect of the early productions is indicated by the legends that quickly accrued around them. In Histriomastix, his 1632 polemic against the drama, William Prynne records the tale that actual devils once appeared on the stage during a performance of Faustus, "to the great amazement of both the actors and spectators". Some people were allegedly driven mad, "distracted with that fearful sight." John Aubrey recorded a related legend, that Edward Alleyn, lead actor of The Admiral's Men, devoted his later years to charitable endeavours, like the founding of Alleyn's College, in direct response to this incident.Chambers, Vol. 3, pp. 423–4.
Text Given its source in the Historia von D. Johann Fausten, published as a chapbook in Germany in 1587, and the fact that the earliest known translation of the latter work into English was in 1592, the play was probably written in 1592 or 1593. It may have been entered into the Stationers' Register on 18 December 1592, though the records are confused and appear to indicate a conflict over the rights to the play. A subsequent Stationers' Register entry, dated 7 January 1601, assigns the play to the bookseller Thomas Bushell (variant written forms: Busshell or Bushnell), the publisher of the 1604 first edition. Bushell transferred his rights to the play to John Wright on 13 September 1610.Chambers, Vol. 3, p. 422.
Text A and Text B Two versions of the play exist: The 1604 quarto, printed by Valentine Simmes for Thomas Bushell is usually called the A text. The title page attributes the play to "Ch. Marl.". A second edition (A2) of the A text was printed by George Eld for John Wright in 1609. It is merely a direct reprint of the 1604 text. The text is short for an English Renaissance play, only 1485 lines long. The 1616 quarto, published by John Wright, enlarged and altered the text and is usually called the B text. This second text was reprinted in 1619, 1620, 1624, 1631, and as late as 1663. The B text includes additions and revisions attributed to the minor playwright and actor Samuel Rowley and William Borne (or Birde), with possible contributions from Marlowe himself.Bevington and Rasmussen 72–73.
The 1604 version was once believed to be closer to the play as originally performed in Marlowe's lifetime, simply because it was older. By the 1940s, after influential studies by Leo Kirschbaum and W. W. Greg, the 1604 version came to be regarded as an abbreviation, and the 1616 version as Marlowe's original fuller version. Kirschbaum and Greg considered the A-text a "bad quarto", and thought that the B-text was linked to Marlowe himself. Since then scholarship has swung the other way, most scholars now considering the A-text more authoritative, even if "abbreviated and corrupt", according to Charles Nicholl.
The 1616 version omits 36 lines but adds 676 new lines, making it roughly one third longer than the 1604 version. Some of the shared lines differ in wording; for example, "Never too late, if Faustus can repent" in the 1604 text becomes "Never too late, if Faustus will repent" in the 1616 text, a change that offers a very different possibility for Faustus's hope and repentance.
The B texts contains many exchanges that the A text does not. One of the most pivotal is the exchange between Dr. Faustus and Mephistopheles. In the B text, Mephistopheles takes credit for Dr. Faustus' damnation. This changes the trajectory of the story because it makes Dr. Faustus seem less culpable. He is more a victim of evil forces and less a man who damns himself through rash actions.
Another difference between texts A and B is the name of the devil summoned by Faustus. Text A states the name is generally "Mephistopheles", while the version of text B commonly states "Mephostophilis".Bevington and Rasmussen xi. The name of the devil is in each case a reference to Mephistopheles in Faustbuch, the source work, which appeared in English translation in about 1588.
The relationship between the texts is uncertain and many modern editions print both. As an Elizabethan playwright, Marlowe had nothing to do with the publication and had no control over the play in performance, so it was possible for scenes to be dropped or shortened, or for new scenes to be added, so that the resulting publications may be modified versions of the original script.
Characters
Doctor Faustus Doctor Faustus is the protagonist. He is a scholar from Wittenberg University. In addition he is a Doctor of Theology. He is the man who considers himself as a scholar of almost every discipline including Law, Medicine, Philosophy etc. Now he wants to master Necromancy which pulls him a blind obsession that costs him his soul. He is an intelligent man whose curiosity and ambition lead him to sell his soul for power. Throughout the play, he goes back and forth between reveling in his newfound power and trying to repent to God. Pensky theorizes that while in the presence of real devils, Faustus still does not truly believe/understand the consequence of selling his soul is going to hell until the end of the play.
Mephistopheles Mephistopheles is a demon who accompanies Doctor Faustus throughout the play. He is first introduced in Act 1, Scene 3, when Doctor Faustus attempts to conjure a demon from the underworld. He tries to warn Faustus about the consequences of abjuring God and Heaven. Mephistopheles gives Faustus a description of Hell and the continuous horrors it possesses; he wants Faustus to know what he is getting himself into before going through with the bargain:
Think'st thou that I who saw the face of God And tasted the eternal joy of heaven Am not tormented with ten thousand hells In being deprived of everlasting bliss? O Faustus, leave these frivolous demands Which strikes a terror to my fainting soul!(Marlowe 14)
Mephistopheles offers twenty-four years of worldly power in exchange for his soul, a temptation that leads Faustus to a path of damnation. Despite this, he believes that supernatural powers are worth a lifetime in Hell:
Say he [Faustus] surrender up to him [Lucifer] his soul So he will spare him four and twenty years, Letting him live in all voluptuousness Having thee [Mephistophilis] ever to attend on me(Marlowe 15)
Mephistopheles's description of Hell suggests the kind of pain Faustus will endure when his contract is up and his soul is finally taken. Mephistopheles is not so grave all the time though, he also participates and plays along with the petty pranks that Faustus pulls on others.
Wagner Wagner is Doctor Faustus's assistant who is first introduced in Act 1, Scene 1. Scott observes that although Wagner has a moral responsibility to dissuade Faustus from magic, he instead follows his commands and imitates him. Wagner shares in some of Doctor Faustus's magic powers, but his uses of magic are more for his entertainment. Such as in Act 1, Scene 4, when he conjures up demons to terrify the clown, Robin, into working for him. Walker argues that Wagner is Doctor Faustus's comedic foil in the play; subverting Doctor Faustus's ability and intelligence by showing that acquiring demonic magic takes no real skill.
Good Angel and Bad Angel The Good Angel and the Bad Angel are two characters who appear at multiple points in the play when Faustus is at a crossroads of what to do. The Good Angel tries to persuade Faustus to repent and turn back to God, while the Bad Angel tries to convince Faustus that he is past the point of forgiveness from God.
Lucifer Lucifer is the ultimate authority in hell. Mephistopheles tells Faustus that he can't do anything without Lucifer's say-so and that Lucifer allows people to sell their souls to him because he wants more people in hell. He appears to Faustus twice in the play, once to keep Faustus from repenting by showing him the Seven Deadly Sins and once to collect his soul at the end of the play. In Act 5, Scene 2 of the B-text, there is an added conversation between Lucifer, Mephistopheles, and Beelzebub about how Faustus is soon to suffer in hell.
Robin and Rafe Robin and Rafe are the main comedic characters of the play, although Rafe is renamed "Dick" in the B-text. Robin steals one of Doctor Faustus's conjuring books to play petty tricks on people with Rafe. Along with Wagner, Robin and Rafe show that anybody could use demonic magic and that Doctor Faustus's skills are not special.
Old man A mysterious and devoutly religious figure who appears in the final act, the Old Man serves as a personification of Christian faith and redemption. He represents a final opportunity for Faustus to repent and turn back to God, urging him to seek mercy even after the demonic pact. Unmoved by Mephistopheles’s threats, the Old Man remains steadfast in his belief that divine grace is still within Faustus's reach. His presence underscores the play's central theme of salvation versus damnation and heightens the tragedy of Faustus’s ultimate refusal to repent
Sources Doctor Faustus is based on an older tale; it is believed to be the first dramatization of the Faust legend. Leo RuickbieLeo Ruickbie, Faustus: The Life and Times of a Renaissance Magician (The History Press, 2009), p. 15 believes that Marlowe developed the story from a popular 1592 translation, commonly called The English Faust Book.The History of the damnable life, and deserved death of Doctor Iohn Faustus by P.F., Gent, This was based on the 1587 German language Historia von D. Johann Fausten, which itself may have been influenced by even earlier and ill-preserved pamphlets in Latin (such as those that likely inspired Jacob Bidermann's treatment of the damnation of the doctor of Paris, Cenodoxus (1602)).
Several soothsayers or necromancers of the late fifteenth century adopted the name Faustus, a reference to the Latin for "favoured" or "auspicious"; typical was Georgius Faustus Helmstetensis, calling himself astrologer and chiromancer, who was expelled from the town of Ingolstadt for such practices. Subsequent commentators have identified this individual as the prototypical Faustus of the legend.