At the start of Doctor Faustus there is a long
soliloquy where he tries to identify what vocation would be most suitable for
him. With each different vocation he decides he is much too clever, ‘Divinity,
adieu!’. This can be identified as over-reaching as they are subjects that
require intelligence, whilst also he is still able to achieve plenty by
becoming accomplished in the vocations. Finally he decides that he would be
most suited to magic as it would make him untouchable and Godly, ‘Here,
Faustus, try thy brains to gain a deity.’ This is also over-reaching as no-one
but God can possess God’s power. This is also a reference to Lucifer who became
the devil after attempting to possess the powers of God and falling from his
right shoulder.
Marlowe uses the Good and Bad Angel on stage as
forewarning to the fate that could behold Faustus if he decides that he will or
will not practice magic. The Good Angel wants to warn that if magic is used
then Faustus will have a swift demise, ‘...lay that damned book aside And gaze
not on it, lest it tempt thy soul And heap God’s heavy wrath upon thy head!’;
whereas the Bad Angel uses the rewards from magic as temptation, ‘Be thou on
Earth as Jove is in the sky, Lord and commander of these elements.’. This
forewarning from two angels is important as it shows that there is a God
watching Faustus’ actions and deciding on his fate. Also they act as mythical
representations of Faustus’ real and fake friends that will also attempt to
tempt him.
Although Faustus is sure that he could be an
accomplished Magician, he is unsure that possessing so much power would be wise.
These insecurities are abandoned after the gentle cooing of Valdes and
Cornelius. ‘Then doubt not, Faustus, but to be renowned And more frequented for
this mystery Than heretofore the Delphian oracle.’
Once again Faustus overreaches as he believes that
he has conjured Mephistopheles and is able to have control of the devil with
his wit and powers. ‘I charge thee to return and change thy shape. Thou art too
ugly to attend me.’ And ‘How pliant is this Mephistopheles, Full of obedience
and humility!’ Faustus has illusions of grandeur. He is confident in his
abilities, but does not truly understand the situation of necromancy, heaven
and hell. ‘Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it.’
From these ideas there is ample evidence of Faustus’
overreaching ambition. He does not understand what he is heading towards, even
though there is forewarning. It is true that Faustus has surplus intelligence
that would allow him to become successful in the dark arts but the challenge
set by higher beings is keeping to a moral life. Finally Faustus’ presumption
is that there is only hell, and that he will have total control, rather than
truly contemplating a heaven. To Faustus, how can there be a hell if there is
no heaven?
