King Lear and Dr. Faustus as Tragedy - Essay Example

King Lear and Dr. Faustus as Tragedy The tragic drama genre is ically defined as “a literary composition written to be performed by actors in which a central character called a tragic protagonist or hero suffers some serious misfortune which is not accidental and therefore meaningless, but is significant in that the misfortune is logically connected with the hero’s actions” (“Introduction to Greek Tragedy”, 2000). Using this definition, both Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus and William Shakespeare’s King Lear can be categorized as tragic dramas. Dr. Faustus determines that he must have more knowledge and makes a deal with the devil to attain it, heedless of the warnings he’s given or the feelings of misgivings he experiences. His ascent to power blinds him to the dangers and he realizes too late how his actions have led to his own doom. King Lear chronicles the story of a king in advanced age who chooses to divide his kingdom among his three daughters based upon how well each one expresses her love for him in speech. When his youngest and favorite daughter refuses to participate because she feels such practice would cheapen her feelings for him, she is banished and disinherited. However, the two older daughters prove unfaithful to their father and he slowly sinks further and further into madness. The youngest daughter returns with an army while other friends return to the kingdom in disguise in attempts to help the insane king, but all falls to pieces in the end with most of the principle characters dead. In each play, therefore, a tragic flaw in the principle character, as well as deliberate actions on his part, can be seen to bring about the disastrous events that occur. At its opening, Dr. Faustus, the main character in Dr. Faustus, is introduced as a scholar who is famed the world over for his extensive knowledge, who feels he has reached the limits of knowledge yet still hungers for power. Tempted by the allure of magic, he trades his soul to the devil in exchange for 24 years of having everything he wants. Rather than using his new powers to free his country or help the poor, Faustus chooses to waste the opportunity he has to fulfill his desire for more knowledge by practicing the most base parlor tricks for the Emperor as well as several pranks on others such as the tricks he performs on the Pope at a special banquet in Act III, Scene 1. As the Pope crosses himself following an invisible Faustus grabbing his dishes out of the air, Faustus tells him “Well, there’s the second time. Aware the third; / I give you fair warning. / [The POPE crosses himself again, and FAUSTUS hits him a box / of the ear; and they all run away.]” (Marlowe, 1996). Although Mephastophilis, the devil’s servant, tells Faustus nothing but the truth, including the horrors he suffers wherever he goes as the result of his own choice for magic, Faustus focuses on those who would deceive him such as Cornelius and the evil devil. Trying to make the study of magic seem like the best thing that ever happened to him, Cornelius tells Faustus “the miracles that magic will perform / will make thee vow to study nothing else” (Marlowe, 1996: Act 1, Scene 1) while the evil angel distracts Faustus from thoughts of repentance to “think of honour and of wealth” (Marlowe, 1996: Act 1, Scene 5) instead. Faustus continues to deceive himself that he’s doing the right thing for his own well-being despite repeated feelings of trepidation and warnings from others such as the good angel and the old man – “I might prevail / To guide thy steps unto the way of life, / By which sweet path thou mayst attain the goal / That shall conduct thee to celestial rest!” (Marlowe, 1996: Act III, Scene III). Dr. Faustus is provided the truth from the beginning and suffers eternally for his complete deceit of himself. In King Lear, the title character can be seen to make a large transition from an apparently sane man at the beginning of the play, through the darkest depths of madness during the course of the play, only to ‘wake up’ when it is almost too late to recognize the part he played in the destruction of what he worked his lifetime to protect. King Lear, as can be judged from the loyalty and love of the good people around him, has been a good and just king throughout much of his reign. While it may not be initially conceived of as madness to hand an entire kingdom into the hands of one’s daughters, King Lear’s decision to base his rewards upon the quick words of false flattery can be seen to be the act that both encourages his own madness as well as brings destruction on the kingdom. As his madness increases, so does the physical conditions around him deteriorate eventually reaching a point at which madness supercedes all else and he begins to rail at a fierce storm on the heath in impotent rage over what his daughters have done: “Rumble thy bellyfull! Spit, fire! Spout, rain! \ Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire are my daughters. \ I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness. \ I never gave you kingdom, called you children” (III, ii,14-17). Although he regains his reason with his return to people who truly care about him, recognizing both Cordelia and Kent for true daughter and loyal subject, it is not in time to save any of them. In both plays, the title character makes conscious decisions regarding their lives that ultimately bring about their own destruction, leaving nothing behind to speak of their earlier accomplishments. Dr. Faustus had been a man held in high regard for his extensive knowledge and abilities while King Lear had been well-loved and venerated because of his long and prosperous reign. In each case, the character was presented throughout the play with warnings about what might happen as well as opportunities to turn the tide of events before they came to the final crushing blow. However, neither character was able to overcome their own pride to admit they had been wrong until they were almost beyond any hope of redemption. Even then, it was only as they were facing immediate death that either came to a full realization of where they had gone wrong. However, while Dr. Faustus can be seen to continuously receive warnings regarding the path he’s taking, it is arguable whether King Lear actually understood the warnings he’d been given. While he was continuously presented with faces and names he should recognize as being those individuals who loved him, he was also presented as a man well into his eighties in a time when most people didn’t live that long. The possibility of senility or dementia reduces his culpability in later acts of the play, although it does not excuse him for the initial decision to send away from him all those individuals who had long demonstrated, if not properly voiced, their devotion to him. While Faustus can be said to have gone mad with power and abilities, he remained conscious of his actions throughout the entire play, willingly and knowingly refusing all attempts to help him overcome the evil that he himself had invited into his life. Although there are some significant differences between the two plays, both Dr. Faustus and King Lear can be accurately described as tragic dramas under the classical definition of the term. While madness might describe some of their actions and decisions, it is not sufficient to explain all, especially not the initial decision that brought about all subsequent events. While each man had once been great, their decisions toward the end of their lives brought about such destruction that even their previous actions were superceded by these final misplaced judgments. Works Cited Marlowe, C. (1616; reprint 1996). “Dr. Faustus”. Masterplots. Ed. S. Flecher. Salem Press, Inc. Shakespeare. “King Lear.” William Shakespeare: The Complete Works. Alfred Harbage (Ed.). New York: Viking Books, 1969, pp. 1060-1106. Read More