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Doctor Faustus as a Morality Play
Morality Play (dramatic genre):
“A morality play is a type of dramatic allegory, performed in a theater, in which
characters personify moral qualities (such as Charity or vice) or abstractions (as
death or youth) and in which moral lessons are taught.”
► It was developed in fourteenth century and gained much popularity in 15th and
16th century in Europe. The morality play is a fusion of medieval allegory &
religious drama of the miracle plays. Morality plays were originally quite serious in
tone and style, due to their roots in religious drama.
► The general theme of the Moralities was theological and main one was the
struggle between god and evil powers of capturing man’s soul and the aim was to
teach ethics and doctrines of Christianity.
Characteristics of Morality Plays
Some common features of morality plays are given below:
1- A morality play is essentially an allegory.
2- Most morality plays have a protagonist who represents either humanity as
a whole or an entire social class. Antagonist and other supporting
characters are mere the personifications of abstract virtues or vices,
especially the seven deadly sins.
3- A morality play was a dramatization of the battle between forces of good
and evil in human soul.
4- Morality plays were typically written in a vernacular, so as to be more
accessible to the common people.
5- Morality plays were structured simply, so that they could be performed in
almost any open public space.
6- The writing in the plays is often uneven, the characterization is crude.
7- Morality plays were essentially religious or ethical & didactic.
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Doctor Faustus: A Morality Play
Doctor Faustus marks the culmination of the English morality tradition. As a
morality, it vindicates (proves) humility, faith and obedience to the law of God.
Indeed, an eminent critic has described this play as the most obvious Christian
document in all Elizabethan drama. This play is wholly conventional in its Christian
values, and it enforces and illuminates the very basic tenets of Christianity.
It preaches the basic Christian values and should therefore be regarded as
morality play.
Characteristics of the Morality Play in “DOCTOR FAUSTUS”:
These characteristics are discussed in the following paragraphs:
1- Doctor Faustus is a play of medieval theology.
2- Struggle between Good & Evil for the Soul of Faustus
3- Faustus is not a superman but an Everyman prone to sin.
4- Free Will & Free Choice: Another Aspect of Christian Theology
5- Repentance and Non- repentance: Struggle in Faustus’s mind
6- The “Moral”
( Explanation from book )
Moral Sermon OR Didactic:
The chief aim of a morality play was didactic. It was a dramatized guide to
Christian living & Christian dying. Faustus, the hero, discards the path of virtue
and adjures the faith in God and Christ. This is also the message of Marlow’s
Doctor Faustus. And it has found the most touching expression in the mournful
song of Chorus in the closing eyes.
My God, my God, look not so fierce on me!
Alders and serpents let me breathe a while!
Ugly hell, gape not: come not Lucifer:
I’ll burn my books: Ah Mephistophilis
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Personified Abstractions:
In morality plays, the characters are personified abstractions of vice or virtues.
So in Doctor Faustus, we find the Good angel and Evil angel the former stands
for the path of virtue and the latter for sin and damnation. Then we have the
Old Man, symbolizing the forces of righteousness and morality. Hellen stands
for serpent beauty.
Comic Scenes:
The comic scenes of Doctor Faustus also belong to the tradition of old miracle
and to Morality Plays, especially the scene of the third act where Faustus is
found playing tricks on the Pop and the scene IV of act IV where the horse-
courser is totally outwitted and befooled by Faustus.
Lose Plot:
Doctor Faustus like earlier morality plays suffer from looseness of
construction. It is merely a collection of eighteen heterogeneous scenes which
can be easily transported and shifted. They don’t follow logically. This is more
specifically the case with the middle part.
Conclusion:
► These are the characteristics, which are taken to prove that “Doctor
Faustus” is a morality play. It has a struggle between good and evil, and
ultimate success of evil. In the end, a moral of obedience to the law of
God is given.
► Last of all we can say that, the basic beliefs of Christianity are found
in every line of Doctor Faustus. Marlowe has also added medieval
morality and renaissance temper in the play. So, it has been an icon of
the renaissance morality play.
