‘DOCTOR ‘DOCT OR FAUSTUS’ FAUS TUS’,, A MORALITY MORALI TY PLAY Morality Plays The morality play is a fusion of the medieval allegory and the religious drama of the miracle plays. It developed at the end of the fourteenth century and gained much popularity in the fifteenth century. In these plays the characters were generally personified abstractions of vice or virtues such as Good Deeds, Faith, Mercy, Anger etc. The general theme of the Moralities was theological and the main one was the struggle between good and evil powers for capturing mans soul and the !ourney of life with its choice of eternal destination and the aim is to teach ethics and doctrines of "hristianity.
Doctor Faustus Doctor Faustus may be called a morality play to a very great e#tent. $y selling his soul to the Devil, Faustus lives a very blasphemous life full of vain and sensual pleasures !ust for twenty four years. %e does not shir& from insulting and even assaulting the 'ope with the %oly Fathers at (ome. )f course, there is a fierce struggle in his soul between his over*weening ambition and conscience, between the Good Angel and the +vil Angel that e#ternalie this internal conflict. $ut Faustus ultimately surrenders to the allurements of +vil Angel, thereby paving the way for eternal damnation. -hen final hour approaches, Faustus, to his utmost pain and horror, realies that his sins are unpardonable and nothing can save him from eternal damnation. And before the devils snatch away his soul to burning hell, the e#creting pangs of a deeply agonied soul finds the most poignant e#pression in Faustus final solilouy. 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: Ill burn my books: Ah Mephistophilis!
Moral Sermon Or Didactic Aim The chief aim of a morality play was didactic*** it was a dramatied guide to "hristian living and "hristian dying. -hoever discards the path of virtue and ab!ures faith in God and "hrist is destined to despair and eternal damnation*** this is also the message of Marlows Doctor Faustus. And it has found the most touching e#pression in the mournful monody of the chorus in the closing lines. austus is gone, regard his hellish fall, "hose fiendful fortune may e#hort the wise, $nly to wonder at unlawful things, "hose deepness doth entice such forward wits, %o practice more than hea&enly power permits'
Personified Abstractions In morality plays the characters were personified abstractions abstractions of vice or virtues. /o in Doctor Faustus also we find the G ood Angel and +vil Angel, the former stands for the path of virtue and the latter for sin and damnation. Then we have the )ld Man, symboliing the forces of righteousness and morality. The comic scenes of Doctor Faustus also belong to the tradition of old Miracle and Morality plays, especially the scene I of the third act where Faustus is found playing vile tric&s on the 'ope and the scene I0 of act I0 where the horse*courser is totally outwitted and befooled by Faustus. These are the characteristics, which are ta&en to prove that Doctor Faustus is a morality play with its vindication of humility, faith and obedience to the law of God. shuaib1232.blogspot.com shuaib1232.wordpress.com
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