Clashes Of Life

Faustus was the tragical hero in the Renaissance time.His tragedy was the tragedy typical of a humanist at that age.His spirit embodied Renaissance man's pursuit of new knowledge,worldly power and wealth,and the resistance of medieval religious theology. The myths of Faustus' quest for knowledge and his humanist spirit as well had been given corresponding interpretations.There were also thematic studies concerning his fall and redemption from the perspectives of archetypal theory and Christian humanism.But less attention had been paid to the nature of his tragedy.This paper argues that the interpretation of the nature of his tragedy is the premise for the understanding of Marlowe's plays.The explanation of the tragedy needs to be placed in the context of British society in the Renaissance time.The root of Faustus' tragedy lies in the clashes between his pursuits and the Elizabethan concept of order,between his sinful earthly life and the ideal humanist life,and the inharmoniousness between his passion and reason.Faustus was dissatisfied with traditional knowledge.In order to pursue new knowledge,wealth and power he sold his soul to the devil,dreaming to become omnipotent,which embodied Renaissance man's worldly desire,that's the pursuit of individual liberation and going beyond the limit.But these were in conflict with the Elizabethan conception of harmony.Hierarchy,order and harmony were advocated in this period of British society.According to traditional cosmology,the world was hierarchical and harmonious.The Universe was ordered in a linear sequence,starting from the inanimate world of rocks.Plants came next,then animals,men,angels and,finally,God. Everything had been put in its proper place by God and each should be content to remain there.So it was dangerous for a man to attempt to rise above the station assigned to him. Ambition to go beyond one's natural place in the hierarchy was considered as a sin. Faustus flouted the authority of God and made himself half-God.In that way he became the over-reacher.So his life was bound to be a tragedy.In order to "spare himself four and twenty years,letting him live in all voluptuousness," Faustus sold his eternal soul over to Lucifer.But once he obtained these powers,however,he seemed only to waste them, performing little tricks and never succeeded in doing anything nearly as grand as he had initially imagined.This was against the virtues of humanism and the Protestant ethics.At the same time Faustus indulged in the worldly desires,losing the balance between passion and reason.The main body of the present study is divided into the following three parts:The first part analyses the clashes between Faustus' pursuits and the Elizabethan view of order.The Great Chain of Being was one of the most important continuities with the classical period in Elizabethan England.One example was the pursuit of authority,order, hierarchy and harmony.As the development of man's self-awareness in that period,there was a constant affirmation of the interests and desires of the earthly life.Faustus exemplified an over-reacher.As the expansion of his desire,he even dreamed to become "half-God",which was against the view of order in Elizabethan England.The second part analyses the clashes between Faustus' sinful life and the virtuous life. Humanist pursued "active life" and opposed to the "contemplative life".They affirmed worldly glory and wealth and insisted that man can better their lives through the pursuit of knowledge.With the development of the British national consciousness,the humanist strived to cultivate an awareness of social service.According to the Protestant Ethics, vocational works was the calling that God bestowed to everyone.Man should not shirk this obligation and responsibility.Good works was a good way of glorifying God and was the proof of one's salvation.Diligence,frugality,and dedication were regarded as charity, while laziness,indulgence and selfishness were regarded as evil.Although Faustus opposed to the four traditional subjects,hoping to gain wealth,glory and authority through necromantic,he lived out his twenty-four years doing nothing great as he had promised at the beginning.Instead he indulged in his dissipated life,which was against humanist virtues.The third part discusses the inharmoniousness between Faustus' passion and reason. Man was in the central position in the Great chain of being,possessing body and soul, passion and reason.And man was the node of mortal and immortal.Man could ascend to heaven when his action was under reason;on the contrary he may go to hell.Man was compared to a microcosm which reflected the harmony as presented in the macrocosm. Faustus was in the clashes of passion and reason,which were embodied by the Good Angle and Bad Angle.But he was lured by the bad one,and became inharmonious.The conclusion part gives a summary of the study,pointing out that the study of Faustus' tragedy should be put within the social context of Renaissance.This paper analyses Faustus' tragedy from the view of Elizabethan order,humanist ideals,Protestant ethics and the harmony of man.Grasping the nature of Faustus' tragedy can help one deepen the understanding of Marlowe's plays.