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Name Institution Course Date Argumentative Essay Characterizing Faustus “The Tragic History of Doctor Faustus” is the work of Christopher Marlowe. Faustus was a doctor involved in the study of law, theology, logic, and medicine. However, he became dissatisfied with his career forcing him to look for alternatives in dangerous practices of magic or necromancy. In the new line of business, he was assisted by two magic experts from Germany, Cornelius and Wagner Valdes. The role of this essay is to explore the critical debate surrounding the discussion by Marlowe. My stand is that the play holds “Faustus as an example of damning folly.’ Similarly, there are explanations of Faustus being equated to ‘a romantic rebel,’ facts which are further attributed to the 'damning folly' as illustrated by Faustus. The aspect of romanticism is expressed by the excerpt which states “When Mephistopheles shall stand by me, What God can hurt thee, Faustus? Thou art safe;” (Marlowe and Bevington, 151). The illustration portrays Faustus denying his knowledge of God with the claim that he is untouchable. For this reason, Faustus is described as a romantic rebel who defies God’s glory. He goes ahead and damns himself further by stating that “I cut my arm, and with my proper blood Assure my soul to be great Lucifer's," (Marlowe and Bevington, 151). The passage illustrates Faustus cutting his arm to enable him to place his name on blood as a sign of giving his entire soul to the Lucifer. All these are a direct illustration of Faustus acting as a damning folly who later puts his life in jeopardy. Faustus can be said to be a classic example of ‘a damning folly.’
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