Doctor Faustus

In the play Doctor Faustus, an ambitious scholar sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. Written by Christopher Marlowe, the work was first produced in 1592 in London, where it caused a sensation, influenced Shakespeare’s plays, and launched a cottage industry in books, music, and other arts about the man who risked eternal damnation for the chance to control reality.

Christopher Marlowe was born in Canterbury, England, in 1564 and died in a London brawl in 1593. Within that short lifespan, he attained multiple academic degrees from Cambridge University, served Queen Elizabeth I as a spy, was indicted on multiple occasions for criminal behavior, and penned several of the greatest plays of the age. Much of Marlowe’s life is shrouded in mystery; rumors swirled that he was a religious renegade and lived a debauched life. His death at 29 at the hands of fellow spies—who claimed the killing was an accident stemming from an argument over a debt—remains controversial.

Marlowe’s other works, including Tamburlaine, Edward II, The Jew of Malta, and The Massacre at Paris, influenced Shakespeare and other playwrights, but Doctor Faustus remains his best-known work. A tale of unbridled ambition and the folly of intellectual greed, the play is still produced on stages around the world and enthralls audiences to this day.