Christopher Marlowe’s Faustus as a Supreme Archetype of Renaissance Man

Abstract

The paper assumes that the character of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus represents most of the characteristics of the Renaissance. After a short introduction, the paper starts reviewing some features of the Renaissance which are applicable to the character of Doctor Faustus, just like the revolt against religion and medieval standards; then, the researcher shifts to other essential features of Renaissance which are: spirit of adventure, geographical exploration and colonialism. Later, he continues exploring other properties of the Renaissance man which can be applied to the character of Faustus such as the lust for knowledge, the interest of Classic culture and the appearance of the earlier thoughts of nationalism and individualism.