Can Plays Improve Morality in Modern Age? Do you agree?

By JH Sayyar

Marlowe’s famous play Dr. Faustus is a documentary record of the Renaissance period. It shows various trends of the Renaissance period for knowledge, lust for wealth, lust for limitless power and lust for beauty. Renaissance means; the revival of learning on art, sculptor, architecture, and literature in Europe. Actually Renaissance entered from Italy into England by some scholars in Europe. After this it came in England. All the Renaissance writers were humanists.

One of the greatest humanists was Marlowe who wrote his famous play Dr. Faustus to show various prevailing trend among the people of the Renaissance period just to reform them with his mighty pen like priest. That is why moat of the critics call it a morality play because in which the damnation Of Dr. Faustus is shown. Critics define that morality plays were dramatized allegories of the life of a man: temptation, his committing sins and his quest for salvation is in vain after committing the sin of blasphemy as Marlowe has done. At the end its result appears in the shape of horrible death. The hero represents humankind or every man but other characters are the personification of vice and virtues. He crawls to death due to chasing beauty.

Before Marlowe the best morality play was Everyman and The Castle of Perseverance. Actually Dr, Faustus is mixture of morality and mystery plays. But morality dominates the play as a whole because moralities play religious and didactic and also ethical in its theme. In Dr. Faustus Marlowe introduces the scholar Renaissance period who having got all types of degrees he thinks himself just a poor scholar and think to be rich and to get limitless power like God on the whole earth. Now Faustus turns to black magic in this helpless situation just to get limitless power to control the world at his single command. Therefore Faustus says his intention in these words:

“Divinity adieu

These metaphors of magicians

And necromantic books are heavenly.”

Declaring his decision in favor of black magic he sells his soul to Mephistopheles for twenty-four years to get control over the world; in addition, he could enjoy the worldly pleasures according to will and wishes, especially sexual pleasures with cute women of the world alive or dead. For this purpose he writes a bond with his own blood- ink and talks himself in these words:

“ O! What a world of profit and delight

Of power, of honour, of omnipotence

Is promised to studies artisan

All things that move between the quite poles

Shall be at my command, emperor or kings.”

As the text shows that he is great scholar of theology in spite of this he commits the sin of blasphemy and it is a great sin against God in the Bible. Along with it he neglects the spiritual values of Christianity. He condemns all branches of knowledge in these words:

“Philosophy is odious and obscure

Both law and physics and petty thing

Divinity is the best of the three

Unpleasant, harsh, contemptible and vile”

But magic fascinates hi heart. Therefore James Christopher says.” Faustus was not atheist but a big blasphemer who knowing commits sin against God.”

No doubt blasphemy is a serious sin after pride. As we in the present plat intellectual pride the first cause of his downfall and damnation. In this respect his damnation starts with the beginning when he neglects all branches of knowledge considering them useless. In the meanwhile, good angle and bad angle appear before him. First bad angle says to Faustus words:

“Go forward Faustus in this famous art

Where in all nature’s treasure is contained

But thou on the earth as Jove in the sky

Lords and commanders of all elements”

Hearing words of bad angle at the same time appears a good angle and sys to Faustus in these words:

“O Faustus, lay that damned books aside

And gaze not on It, lest it tempts thy soul

And heap God’s heavy wrath upon thy head

Read, read scripture that blasphemy.”

Actually good angle and bad are two sides of Faustus’ mind that warn him against the committing crime. The positive side forbids him to do wrong thing but the negative side forces him to make evils for pleasures of life. Her R. K. Root says, “ Faustus’ damnation is due to rejecting heavenly books and distrust in the Lord.” Making sin of blasphemy has degraded him spiritually, mentally and morally.

At the end we see he tries to repent but the devils threaten him doing so. Otherwise he will be tore into pieces at once. Hearing this he becomes more upset mentally and spiritually. Now he seeks the help of Christ to save his soul but Lucifer warns him in these words:

“Christ save thee not, thy soul for he is just

There is non but I have interested in the same”

The circumstance in which the Helen of Troy is introduced is also the major cause of

his damnation. He must repent here of his sins but he makes the greatest sin against God at the end. At last cruel death is imposed on Dr, Faustus forever by Lucifer. Now Faustus exclaims in these words:

“O soul, be changed into a little water drop.

And fall into the ocean, never be found.

My God, my God look not so fierce on me

Adders and serpents let me breathe a while!

Ugly hell, gape not, come not, Lucifer

I shall burn my books!- Ah, Mephistopheles.”

To sum up, keeping in mind all the text- quotations mentioned above we can say that Dr, Faustus is a pure morality play which show all the prevailing trends in the Renaissance period.  Dr. Faustus represents the whole people of the Renaissance period. On the other side, Faustus presents the microcosmic thinking. Here Joe Sender says that Faustus is the symbol of warning for the whole world people, be careful doing something against God otherwise will be punished like Faustus on the earth. Always trust in the Lord and obey his commands in every day matters to get Heaven and a peace of mind on earth.