Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe | Motifs

Course Hero Literature Instructor Russell Jaffe explains the motifs in Christopher Marlowe's play Doctor Faustus.


Christopher Marlowe's play Doctor Faustus delves into the consequences of making a deal with the devil.

The titular protagonist, stymied by a life in academia, turns to the dark arts to slake his thirst for power and knowledge. After striking a deal with Lucifer's servant Mephastophilis, he proceeds to enact a series of petty terrors on people ranging from common merchants to the pope himself.

Having squandered his magical abilities, Faustus must face the consequences of his bargain. The chilling climax testifies to the schism between believers in pre-destination and freewill that epitomized the sociopolitical climate of Marlowe's day.

Renaissance English playwright Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus was first published in 1604. Even though his literary career was cut short by his untimely death at the age of 29, Marlowe's skillful use of blank verse transformed English poetry and brought a new level of maturity to Elizabethan theater. As a contest between desire and conscience, rebellion and remorse, Doctor Faustus remains relevant today.

The play contains many powerful themes, such as soaring ambition and a hellish fall represented by Doctor Faustus selling his soul for knowledge without realizing the price he must pay. Other themes include damnation vs. salvation, good vs. evil, pride, and ambition.


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