Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus

Introduction

This course is on Christopher Marlowe's famous play Doctor Faustus. It considers the play in relation to Marlowe's own reputation as a rule-breaker and outsider and asks whether the play criticises or seeks to arouse audience sympathy for its protagonist, who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for 24 years of power and pleasure. Is this pioneering drama a medieval morality play or a tragedy?

This OpenLearn course provides a sample of level 1 study in the Arts. You might be interested in a more recent Open University course, A111 Discovering the arts and humanities .