The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus

Christopher Marlowe

Dec 2012 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, commonly referred to simply as Doctor Faustus, is a play by Christopher Marlowe, based on the Faust story, in which a man sells his soul to the devil for power and knowledge. Doctor Faustus was first published in 1604, eleven years after Marlowe's death and at least twelve years after the first performance of the play.

About the author

Christopher Marlowe was born in Canterbury, England on February 6, 1564. He received a B.A. in 1584 and an M.A. in 1587 from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. His original plans for a religious career were put aside when he decided to become a poet and playwright. His earliest work was translating Lucan and Ovid from Latin into English. He translated Vergil's Aeneid as a play. His plays included Tamburlaine the Great, Faustus, The Jew of Malta, and Dido, Queen of Carthage. His unfinished poem Hero and Leander was published in 1598. In 1589, he and a friend killed a man, but were acquitted on a plea of self-defense. His political views were unorthodox, and he was thought to be a government secret agent. He was arrested in May 1593 on a charge of atheism. He was killed in a brawl in a Deptford tavern on May 30, 1593.