Critical readings of 'Dr Faustus'

Question	Answer
Una Ellis-Fermor (1927)	"[Doctor Faustus is] perhaps the most notable satanic play in literature"
George Bernard Shaw (1896)	"[Marlowe] becomes childish in thought, vulgar and wooden in humour, and stupid in his attempts at invention"
Roger Sales (1991)	"The comic scenes form an integral part of the play because they question Faustus' actions"
Helen Gardner (1948)	"The practical jokes probably represent a debasing rather than an alteration of Marlowe's intention"
Derek Russell Davis (1997)	"He overreaches himself, his ambition for rich rewards and power driving him into wild, dangerous and ultimately tragic actions"
Robert Ornstein (1955)	"The measure of his tragic fall is the increasing disparity between his aspirations and his achievements"
Francis Jeffrey	"Faustus is a vulgar sorcerer, tempted to sell his soul to the devil, for the ordinary piece of sensual pleasure, and earthly power and glory"
Andrew Duxfield (2007)	"This atmosphere of ambiguity and incompatibility in the play is reflective of the social climate during the long 1590s"

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	Created by aleex_1995 over 10 years ago