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Renaissance Elements in DR Faustus
Renaissance Elements in DR Faustus
Dr. Faustus
Or
Dr. Faustus as a Renaissance man
The word ‘Renaissance’ itself means ‘rebirth’. “The idea of rebirth
originated in the belief that Europeans had discovered the superiority of
Greek and Roman culture after many centuries of what they considered
intellectual and culture decline.” Thus the question what was the
renaissance about is answered as the widespread cultural revival marking
the division between the so called ‘dark ages’ and the modern world. The
Renaissance was a period of fundamental change in human outlook once
dominated by religious dogma and Christian theology. The age was marked
by a great yearning for unlimited knowledge; by love for worldliness –
supreme power, sensual pleasures of life; by love for beauty; respect for
classicism; by skepticism, individualism and Machiavellian influence.
Christopher Marlowe was a product of the Renaissance. Therefore it
was usual for him that his play Doctor Faustus would contain Renaissance
spirit. We see in Dr. Faustus a wonderful expression of renaissance
elements and the character Dr. Faustus as a renaissance man.