John Milton’s “Paradise Lost” and Christopher Marlow’s “Dr. Faustus”: Comparative Analysis

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Outline

The introductory part discusses the renaissance literature and the body part analyses the literature by comparing the two great works, namely, ‘Paradise Lost’ and ‘The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus’ and the notion of hell portrayed in the two works.

Introduction

Renaissance Literature is referred to as the literature written during the Renaissance in the15^th century in Europe. At this era, most of the people in Europe, mainly the orthodox, believed in rebirth and the people liked to know more about renaissance and this made the writers at that time write about renaissance rather than other subjects in order to give more ideas and information to the people. So, the writers published a lot of books than ever before and as the demand for books increased, books were provided at lower prices. Renaissance literature is different from the past literature which specifies innovative concepts like culture, beliefs, politics etc. The renaissance literatures consist of not only literature but also art, architecture, and poems. However, the people did not give much importance to renaissance poems except some poems written by famous poets of that period, when compared to literature. There were also the dramas performed on the basis of the renaissance literature. The renaissance literatures mainly related to the cultural and social activities in Europe. The idea about renaissance was received from Italy where the renaissance developed before Europe and this renaissance literature changed from English literature to modern Elizabethan literature which is referred to as golden age in the English literature. “A brief survey of significant historical and social events in this period suggests that the flowering of English literature was part of a larger whole. The development of the printing press led to a communication revolution and increased literacy.” (Renaissance English Literature).

The renaissance literature was written in a very simple, natural and nice way and while reading we will feel real affection or attachment to the characters in the story.

John Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’

John Milton is regarded as the last renaissance poet and his ‘Paradise Lost’ is the greatest and the noblest achievement. Milton shared the renaissance of humanism as it is seen in his work ‘The Paradise Lost’. The main feature of the renaissance period was that people were concerned more for knowledge, power, questioning everything, and freedom. This can be seen in Milton’s works as he put forward some questions such as “If the world was created by a good, just, and loving God, why is there little evidence of goodness and justice in the world? What does it mean for humankind to be created in the image of that God, and how does humanity endure in a fallen world?” (Milton). Thus, the major theme of the poem is the first disobedience of man to God and God’s Way to man. As he had the power of invention, deep knowledge of mankind and human nature and imagination, he knew the fine distinction of human character, such as vice and virtue. In the Garden of Eden, both Adam and Eve were free and independent and a change occurred to them only after the temptation by Satan which resulted in their disobedience to God and finally led to their fall from heaven. “Who first seduced them to that foul revolt? The infernal serpent, he it was, whose guile stirred up with envy and revenge.” (Milton, 726, 35 lines).

According to Christian belief, hell is a place from where the souls of the offenders suffer the outcome of their sin and it came from the teachings of the New Testament. Hell was considered as a place in which the person who discards Jesus will suffer greatly and this thought can be seen in most of the classical works as the dwelling of Satan and Lucifer. In Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’, the image of hell is clearly visible during the depiction of Satan’s fall and also Adam and Eve’s fall and the epic concerns the Judo-Christian legend of the fall of men; Satan’s temptation towards Adam and eve and their exclusion from the Eden garden. This is clearly illustrated in the epic as the very first line says “Of man’s first disobedience and the fruit of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste brought death in to the world.” (Milton, 726).

The image of hell can be seen in the Epic in the beginning itself. Through the depiction of Satan, one can easily identify the fact how Milton treats the concept of hell in his work. Satan is described as the protagonist who is very ambitious, proud and he even denies the omnipotent God, and as a result he was expelled from heaven to the most dreadful hell. Here, one can see the Christian perception that those who disobey God will surely reach hell and have to suffer greatly the consequences of their sins. In ’Paradise lost’, Satan fell into hell and he suffered deeply from the bitter experience from hell. It is clearly illustrated in the epic in the opening section itself. It reveals the pathetic condition of Satan in hell as he was portrayed as lying on a lagoon of fire. The piteous condition of hell is obviously described in the epic, but Milton’s concept of human value can be seen through the words of Satan. Lying on the fire, Satan proudly declares that it is better to reign in hell than serve in heaven through these lines “hell doomed, and breath’s defiance here and scorn, where I reign king and to enrage thee more, thy king and lord.” (Milton, Line.695). Through him, Milton presents the view that mind will decide fate and one can make even the hell of heaven and a heaven of hell and also human life has its own virtue as it is not a painful preparation of life after death. This idea is clearly visible through the actions of Satan as he prepares to fight against God even after the bitter experience in hell. Satan, disguised as a serpent, enters the heaven and tries his best to make both Adam and Eve to disobey God so as to revenge the Almighty.

Adam and Eve – God’s first creation of man – had their own dignity and delight as they were very innocent and obedient to everything. Milton shows the delight they got from Eden through this line “moved our grant parents in that happy state.” (Paradise Lost, 726). Thus, they were the true innocent symbol of human nature and this way they attained perfection, dignity and delight. They were made to believe Satan’s persuasion that the forbidden fruit gave knowledge and it will help them to attain perfection. Satan chose Eve to pursue and attain his goal very easily as Eve was very timid to bend. Satan flattered Eve by praising her amazing beauty and this had a great effect as she fell blindly in the trap. Thus, the first time of disobedience to God happened which resulted in their ultimate fall from the dream land Eden. Soon, Satan returned with great success to hell and there again he could see the image of hell soon after the fall of Adam and Eve. They reached “such a place eternal justice had prepared for those rebellious.” (Milton, 726, line.78). The place they reached after their fall is similar to hell as there is no hope, dream and dignity in that place.

The next theme – God’s ways to man – is also portrayed in a better way as one may think Satan said the truth. Milton says “I may assert eternal Providence and justify the ways of God to men.” (Milton, 726). Both Adam and Eve obtained some awareness about their life soon after eating the fruit and thus, one can assume that the forbidden fruit was actually a knowledge giving fruit. The expulsion of both Adam and Eve and the curse of God indicate the Christian notion that those who deny God will be thrown out to hell and will receive bitter punishment from there. The awfulness of the curse and their present condition can be seen through these lines “Regions of sorrow, doleful shades where peace and rest can never dwell, hope never comes.” (Milton, 726). Milton rightly portrayed the sufferings of disobedience through Satan, Adam and Eve in ‘ Paradise Lost’ and also expressed the idea of hell and how their followers suffer because of their deeds through these lines ” there the companions of his fall, overwhelmed with floods whirlwinds of tempestuous fire” (Milton, 726 seventy-fifth line) Thus, “Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ has more characteristics of the Renaissance because it shows more Renaissance features, namely, a use of classical models, a use of an exalted literary style and a use of classical allusions.” (The Renaissance Period).

Christopher Marlow’s “Dr. Faustus”

Renaissance does not simply mean the revival of learning, but it also stands for the reawakening of the mind. ‘Dr. Faustus’ is a melodious combination of Renaissance and Reformation. To the students of English literature, Marlow is unquestionably one of the greatest dramatists of the Elizabethan era. “Like the earlier play, Tamburlaine, Doctor Faustus is a play of deep questions concerning morality, religion, and man’s relationship to both.” (Marlowe). One can see in this drama that Dr. Faustus, because of his thirst for knowledge, leaves his morality, his belief towards god and went with Mephistopheles. The hero suffers and dies, but his suffering or death is effectively forced from outside. Marlow’s protagonists also suffer and die but the most important part of the drama lies in the courageous struggle of the hero against the forces which eventually prove severe to them. In Marlowe’s ‘Dr. Faustus’, Faustus’s desire for sublunary bliss, his delight of beauty, his unquenchable curiosity, and his passion for unlimited knowledge make Dr Faustus a typical product of the Renaissance. “A sound magician is a mighty god, here Faustus, tries thy brains to gain a deity.” (Marlow, 463, Line 62-63). All those who move away from the celestial customs and follow the devilish path will suffer the torment of hell. Men will suffer eternal damnation if they discard the God and religion and turn to super human knowledge. One of the preaching of the Reformation is that one should have unshakeable faith in God and should turn away from the trap laid around him by the devil. Marlow links the quest of the Renaissance for beauty and power, with a lack of regard for moral and religious principles. Faustus’s story is a story of damnation. “THE TRAGICAL HISTORY OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS was based on the medieval legend of the bargain with the Devil.” (Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)). Faustus goes to do magic tricks alone, and alone he concludes his deal with devil. Once the deal is signed, all that happens to Faustus is the devil’s vocation. Faustus’s dishonesty is not an involuntary one with the devil’s agreement. In spite of his earnest desire to know the truth, the seeds of decay are in his character from the beginning. Faustus says to Mephistopheles that, “Lo Mephistopheles, for love of thee, I cut my arm, and with my proper blood assure my soul to be great Lucifer’s, chief lord and regent of perpetual night.” (Marlow, 472, line.53). Necromancy attracts him, not because of its promise of power and knowledge, but because it is forbidden. He worships Lucifer to gain terrestrial delight, and illegal knowledge. He is aware of the existence of god, but he chooses Lucifer because he is easily acquiescent. The result is the intellectual clash between his principles and requirements. The conflict is embodied by the Good Angel which represents virtue and moral principles and Mephistopheles which signifies sin and damnation. Good Angel argues that, “Faustus, repent, yet God will pity thee’. (Marlow, 475, line 188). The conflict in the mind of Faustus is the clash between hopelessness and revolt, good and evil. What provides Faustus with tragic status is his consciousness of evil and good. Faustus is aware of the after-effect of his contract with Lucifer. One can say that Faustus is a pathetic figure who reflects the never-ending predicament in man, namely the steady clash between the wishes of the spirit and wishes of the flesh. In presenting the fall and slow moral collapse of an enthusiast, Marlow has depicted Faustus’s spiritual sin of exchanging his soul to the powers of evil.

In the beginning itself, Marlow gives a description about the real supremacy of God and the main idea that the writer gives through this drama is that God will forgive an offender if he apologizes for his sin. When Dr. Faustus, by disobeying God, went with Lucifer and Mephistopheles, good angel and bad angel warned him and asked him to go back to heaven, but the evil force influenced him to remain there in hell itself. When Faustus thinks to go back to God, Lucifer with the Seven Deadly Sin enters and redirects him from going back to Heaven. First, Faustus tried to repent for his mistake, but by the interference of bad angel his wish to go back came to an end. Even after he signed the agreement that he will exchange his soul to Lucifer, he got an opportunity to repent for his mistake and go back to heaven, but he himself makes a way for his own damnation. Faustus has no idea about the place hell at first, and he asks Mephistopheles and even though Mephistopheles gives him a description about hell, for Faustus it remains a fable. Mephistopheles says that he will show him the hell.

In the drama “Dr. Faustus”, Marlow discusses the divine concept of hell. When Faustus asks Mephistopheles how he reached away from hell, he says that he will make the place wherever he reached as a hell. Mephistopheles had been in heaven once, and as he committed a sin by disobeying the almighty, he too came to hell. The great mistake which Faustus did is that he wished to become a God by achieving all powers and for that he exchanged his soul to the devil. Even though Mephistopheles warned him for his pride, he didn’t give much consideration to it. At last, he understood his misdeed and realized that he can’t escape from it and he requested for giving back his soul. At last, Faustus says by himself,” Let Faustus live in hell a thousand years, A hundred thousand, and at last be saved.” (Marlow, 492, line.92-93).

The comparative analysis of the two works reveals that the renaissance literature aims to portray the freedom of the human race and also points out the value and virtue of life. The Christian notion of hell and sin can be clearly seen in the two works. One can conclude the analysis with the idea that both the writers are highly aware of the human nature about sin, death and the sufferings of the soul in hell as they depicted in their works. The outcome of the renaissance was that men cared more for the terrestrial world than the celestial world. “Renaissance writers were fascinated by the thought of going beyond boundaries set by the chain of being. A major example was the title character of Christopher Marlowe’s play Doctor Faustus” (Renaissance). People in the Renaissance possessed the vaulting thirst for knowledge and power without caring the obstacles in the way. These can be seen in the two works especially in the nature of Dr.Faustus and Satan.

Works Cited

Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593). Books and Writers. 2008.
Marlow, Christopher. The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. Scene 5. 475.
Marlowe, Christopher. Doctor Faustus (Marlowe) Study Guide: About Doctor Faustus(Marlowe). Grade Saver. 2009. Web.
Milton, John. (1674). Paradise lost. 2^nded.
Milton, John. Paradise Lost Study Guide. Book Rags. 2009. Web.
Renaissance English Literature: Influences. Tiscali. 2009.
Renaissance: The Great Chain of Being. 2009. Web.
The Renaissance Period. Mega Essays.com. 2009. Web.

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John Milton’s “Paradise Lost” and Christopher Marlow’s “Dr. Faustus”: Comparative Analysis

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