Dr. Faustus

Dramatist, son of a shoemaker at Canterbury, where he was born, was educated at the King's School there, and in 1581 went to Benet's (now Corpus Christi) College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. 1583, and M.A. in 1587. Marlowe shunned a life as a clergyman which university wits like himself were expected to follow, and moved to London to pursue the insecure craft of a playwright. Among his early plays were 'Tamburlaine the Great' and 'The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Jew of Malta', all well-received by Elizabethan audiences and displaying an impressive poetic talent that was bold enough to use high-quality blank verse for the first time in English theatre. He collaborated with friend and literary colleague, William Shakespeare, on 'Henry VI' and 'Titus Andronicus' and his influence on Shakespeare is seen in the latter's restrained use of rhyme in 'Richard III'. Traditional rhyme was eschewed by Marlowe in preference for blank verse, over which he acquired a constantly increasing mastery.

"The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus", more commonly referred to as "Dr. Faustus", is Christopher Marlowe's version of the famous legend of a doctor who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. Based on the German legend of Johann Georg Faust, a magician of the German Renaissance who reportedly gained his mystical powers by selling his immortal soul to the devil, the Faustian legend has forever come to symbolize the inherent peril in dealing with unscrupulous characters and supernatural forces. Marlowe's "Dr. Faustus" is based primarily upon an anonymous late 16th century work concerning the history of the real life Faust. The influence of the Faustian legend upon literature cannot be overstated. It has quite literally inspired dozens of versions ever since that first 16th century anonymous work, most notably of which is Goethe's early 19th century version. Marlowe's work, which is rivaled only by Goethe's version of the legend, is presented here in this volume in both its 1604 and 1616 versions. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.