Use of Allegory and Symbolism in

Doctor Faustus.

Assignment Made by Group no. 1.Group Members:

Leader: Aleena Farooq – Roll no. 07.Samia Azhar – Roll no. 17.

Hira Asim – Roll no. 22.Laraib Nadeem – Roll no. 30.

Sadaf Jamal – Roll no. 36.Zulaikha Hameed – Roll no. 39.

Faiza Gill – Roll no. 46.

Aleena Farooq.

Roll No. 07.

• Brief Introduction:-• The Tragical History of Doctor

Faustus, is a play by Christopher Marlowe, in which Dr. Faustus sells his soul to the devil for power, experience, pleasure and knowledge.

• Doctor Faustus was first published in 1604, eleven years after Marlowe's death and at least 10 years after the first performance of the play.

What is an allegory?In Greek, ‘Allegoria’ means to imply something else. Allegory is just a form of art presenting a second meaning beneath the surface meaning.

It is: Form of extended metaphor. Characters having symbolic

meaning as well as literal meaning.

Personification of abstract qualities.

Hence, the reader of an allegory is expected to get not only the apparent or surface meaning of the story, but also the hidden truth lurking behind it.

Why do authors use allegory? To teach moral lessons. To explain universal truths.All Morality plays in English literature are more or less allegorical. We also get allegories in the form of prose, poetry or drama.Spenser’s ‘Fairie Queene’, Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’ and Swift’s ‘Tale of a Tub’ are outstanding works in this form of art.

Moral Allegory in Dr. Faustus:

A close and critical study of Doctor Faustus enables us to go deeper and get the hidden truth or moral allegory of the play that relates “the form of Faustus’ fortunes good or bad.”It has a moral allegory of universal significance.

The mournful monody of the Chorus makes the moral

allegory of the play crystal clear:

“Faustus is gone; regard his hellish fall,Whose fiendful fortune may exhort the

wise,Only to wonder at unlawful things,Whose deepness doth entice such

forward wits,To practise more than heavenly power

permits.”

MORALITY IN THE PLAY:Brief description of the elements of morality in the play is:The battle over the spirit, waged by a Good Angel and a Bad Angel.The parade of the Seven Deadly Sins. The potential for salvation, which exists until Faustus finally surrenders to despair and gives up all hope of being able to repent.

Description in detail:The introduction of the

devices of the Miracle and Morality plays, such as:

The Good and Bad Angels, the Devils, the Old Man, The Seven Deadly Sins etc., clearly points out the

moral and allegorical aspect of the play.

Samia Azhar.Roll No. 17.

(i) Significance of the Good and the Evil Angel (Two

Angels and a Tragic Conflict):

It should be noted that there is hardly any external action in the

play. We find that the real action presented in the play is the

spiritual conflict within the soul of the hero—a conflict between law

and desire, religion and skepticism, or between curiosity

and conscience.

The Good and Evil Angels also appear in the play with their own symbolic significance personifying the two

aspects of Faustus’ character. The former stands for order, virtue or goodness and the latter represents the baser spirit of Faustus, his indomitable

passions and desires. One stands for his conscience and the

other, his curiosity for ‘unlawful things.”

It may be noted that Marlowe is quite original in the use of his angels and they differ a lot from those abstract

figures in the Morality plays.

Hira Asim.Roll No. 22.

(ii) Significance of Helen and the Old Man:

Faustus’ fascination for Helen reveals the Renaissance characteristic of love and adoration of classical art and beauty, Helen epitomizes the charms of classical art, learning and beauty.

And her shade or spirit may also be the symbol of sensual pleasures of life which are but transitory, and lead to despair and damnation.

The Old Man represents Christian faith with its obedience to laws of God and its need for prayer and penitence that can assure eternal joy and bliss.The Old Man also represents another moral aspect; that is one who has firm faith in God can boldly face the temptations and tortures presented by the forces of Evil and‘can ascend to heaven while the fiends sink back into hell.’

Sadaf JamalRoll No. 36.

(iii) Significance of the Show of the Seven Deadly Sins:

We have this display of Seven Deadly Sins in the second scene of Act II.

This spectacle also shows that Marlowe in his Doctor Faustus adopted some of the pacts of the old Morality plays.

So, the Seven Deadly Sins—Pride, Covetousness, Wrath, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth and Lechery—of good old Morality plays are also very much here in this play in a grand spectacle to cheer up the wavering and dejected soul of Doctor Faustus.

Symbolically, it means Faustus’ horrible surrender to these deadly sins who lead to the path of hell.In fact the sins are already there in his soul and the show of the sins simply symbolizes or externalizes them.Another point to note is that Pride leads the parade.In fact Pride deserves this, as Pride is the worst vice that brings about the downfall.And Faustus was puffed up with pride to fly too near the Sun with ‘waxen wings’ to bring about his own ultimate doom and damnation.

The show is not meant for any comic relief but is really meant for bringing back Faustus to the path of hell when he was much irritated by Mephistophilis for not giving right answers to some of his questions related to the creation of this universe.

And we find Lucifer, Belzebub along with Mephistophilis appearing on the stage, the moment, Faustus, to a great extent disillusioned, utters the name of Christ with an ardent appeal to save his soul:

“Ah, Christ, my saviour,Seek to save distressed Faustus’ Soul!”

They put up the show to cheer up his mind and lure him back to the path of hell; and they succeed mightily when Faustus expresses his delight after the show:

“Oh, this feeds my soul!”

Faiza GillRoll No. 46.

(iv) Significance of the Character of

Mephistophilis:If in Doctor Faustus there is any other character other than Faustus that deserves some consideration, it is Mephistophilis.He is with Faustus from the very beginning of his proud career till his tragic downfall.He is also called Lucifer’s vice-regent. He is nothing but a projection of the self of Faustus.

The evil is actually present in his soul and Mephistophilis is the symbolic representation of it.Some critics say that ‘he symbolizes power without conscience, the danger of which is the motif of the play.’And this power without conscience ultimately brings about the downfall and eternal damnation of Doctor Faustus.Mephistophilis sometimes warns him against the evils of practicing the black art of magic, that is, the brighter aspect of Faustus’s mind, an acute struggle between the good and the evil that rages in his soul.

We may also treat Mephistophilis as the symbol of dramatic irony in the play.Having bitter experiences of hell as a fallen angel, Mephistophilis warns Faustus of the evils of necromancy and the suffering in hell.But Faustus with his pride and ambition turns a deaf ear to all this, shuns the path of virtue and dreams of becoming ‘as great as Lucifer’ or to be as powerful.And thus Mephistophilis is made the symbol of dramatic irony that intensifies the tragic appeal of this great drama.

Zulaikha Hameed.

Roll No. 39.

SYMBOLISM:Symbolism in general means the presentation of objects, moods and ideas through the medium of symbols.Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.For instance, a lion symbolizes courage, the moon symbolizes a lovely face and the cross symbolizes Christianity.So symbols are words that mean much more than their simple literal meaning.

Following are the Symbols used in Marlowe’s ‘Doctor Faustus’:

The Good Angel and the Evil Angel:

The angels appear at Faustus’ shoulder early on in the play—the good angel urging him to repent and serve God, the evil angel urging him to follow his lust for power and serve Lucifer.The two symbolize his divided will, part of which wants to do good and part of which is sunk in sin.

Laraib Nadeem.

Roll No. 30.

Blood:Blood plays multiple symbolic roles in the play. When Faustus signs away his soul, he signs in blood, symbolizing the permanent and supernatural nature of this pact.His blood solidifies on the page; however, symbolizing his own body’s revolt against what he intends to do.Meanwhile, Christ’s blood, which Faustus says he sees running across the sky during his terrible last night, symbolizes the sacrifice that Jesus, according to Christian belief, made on the cross; this sacrifice opened the way for humankind to repent its sins and be saved.

Faustus’ Rejection of the Ancient Authorities:

In scene I, Faustus goes through a list of the major fields of human knowledge—logic, medicine, law, and theology—and

cites for each an ancient authority (Aristotle, Galen, Justinian, and Jerome’s

Bible, respectively).He then rejects all of these figures in favor

of magic.This rejection symbolizes Faustus’ break

with the medieval world in favor of a more modern spirit of free inquiry, in which

experimentation and innovation trump the assertions of Greek philosophers and the

Bible.

Conclusion:

Marlowe’s use of Allegories and Symbols in Dr. Faustus is perfect. He externalizes the inner desires of Faustus that eventually lead towards his eternal damnation.The good and evil angels, the

seven deadly sins, Mephistophilis, etc., all are presented brilliantly

which altogether make Dr. Faustus a great Morality play.

Thank you!