Marlowe's "Dr. Faustus" and the Renaissance

<Tab/>The central theme in Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus is the clash between the medieval world and the world of the emerging Renaissance. The Renaissance was a movement that began in Italy in the 15th century and spread throughout Europe, carrying with it a new emphasis on the individual, on classical learning, and on scientific inquiry into the nature of the world. In the medieval academy, theology was the penultimate science, …

…seems to come down squarely on the side of Christianity. Yet Marlowe, himself notoriously accused of atheism and various other crimes, may have had other ideas. Faustus is made sympathetic, if not necessarily admirable. While his play shows how the untrammeled pursuit of knowledge and power can be corrupting, it also shows the grandeur of such a quest. Faustus is damned, but the gates that he opens remain standing wide, waiting for others to follow.