7 deadly sins in Dr. Faustus

1. Umm-e-RoomanYaqoob(Roll # 3)
Dr. Faustus Seven Deadly Sins
ChristopherMarlow
ChristopherMarlowe (26February1564 – 30 May 1593) wasan Englishplaywright,poetandtranslator
of the Elizabethanera.Marlowe wasthe foremostElizabethantragedianof hisday. He greatly
influencedWilliamShakespeare,whowasborninthe same yearas Marlowe and whorose to become
the pre-eminentElizabethanplaywrightafterMarlowe'smysteriousearlydeath.Marlowe'splaysare
knownforthe use of blankverse andtheiroverreachingprotagonists.
Dr. Faustus
The Tragical Historyof the Life andDeathof Doctor Faustus,commonlyreferredtosimplyasDoctor
Faustus,isa playby ChristopherMarlowe,basedonthe GermanstoryFaust,inwhicha mansellshis
soul to the devil forpower,experience,pleasure andknowledge.DoctorFaustuswasfirstpublishedin
1604, elevenyearsafterMarlowe'sdeathandatleast10 yearsafterthe firstperformance of the play.It
isthe mostcontroversial Elizabethanplayoutside of Shakespeare,withfew criticscomingtoany
agreementasto the date or the nature of the text.
SevenDeadlySins
The SevenDeadlySins,whenmentioned,conjure upancienttalesof darkdeedsanddarkcharacters,
like FaustusandMephistopheles.Dr.Faustussupposedlysoldhissoul tothe devil,the evil
Mephistophelesand,insodoing,made himself preytoall typesof corruptionanddegradation.Inhis
descentintowickedness,the ruinedFaustuscommittedall of these deadlysins: pride,envy,gluttony,
lechery, anger,covetousness,and sloth. These sinswere considereddeadlybecause theyledFaustus,or
any manor womanwhowouldcommitthemontoa path fromwhichthere wasno return.
Pride
The firstdeadlysinwasthat of pride.Pride,the motherof all sins:believingtoomuchinour own
abilitiesinterfereswithusrecognizingthe grace of God. Pride wasconsideredtobe the mostseriousof
the sins.It isidentifiedasexcessive self-esteem, especiallywhenthe proudpersondoesnotaccept
his/herproperpositioninthe GreatChainof Being.LuciferwasthrownfromHeavenbecause he would
not acceptthe Sonof God beingplacedatGod’sright hand,whichhe believedtobe hisownrightful
place.Those guiltyof pride were destinedtobe brokenonthe wheel inHell.Inthe pageantinDoctor
Faustus,Pride istooarrogant to accept the positionintowhichhe hasbeenborn,andhe has an inflated
sense of hisself-worth.
In almosteverylist, pride isconsideredthe original andmostseriousof the sevendeadly sins,andthe
source of the others.Dr. Faustussawhimself asincomparisontoothersina competitive nature;he sits
there andtellsthe audience of hisaccomplishmentsandwishesformore glory.Faustuscastsaside the
doctrinesavailabletohim,scorningthemforbeingtooeasyor simplisticforhim.He therefore is
unsatisfiedwithbeingmortal,i.e.,subjecttothe lawsof nature andGod. He believesGodwill notgive
himthe answershe deserveswhile he isonearth,soturns to Luciferinstead.
Umm-e-Rooman Yaqoob

2. Covetousness
The secondis covetousness.Covetousness orgreed is,like lustandgluttony,asinof excess.However, it
isappliedtoa veryexcessive orrapaciousdesireandpursuitof material possessions.ThomasAquinas
wrote,"Greedisa sinagainstGod, justas all mortal sins,inas muchas man condemnsthingseternal for
the sake of temporal things."InDante'sPurgatory,the patientswere boundandlaidface downonthe
groundfor havingconcentratedtoomuchon earthlythoughts. Hoardingof materialsor
objects, theftandrobbery,especiallybymeansof violence, trickery,ormanipulation of authority are all
actionsthat may be inspiredby covetousness.Suchmisdeedscaninclude simony,where one attempts
to purchase or sell sacraments,includingHolyOrders and,therefore,positionsof authorityinthe
Church hierarchy. Asdefinedoutside of Christianwritings,greedisaninordinate desire toacquire or
possessmore thanone need,especiallywithrespectto material wealth.
Faustusdemonstratesthisinvariousscenes,whenhe evokesthe devilsmagic,the wantof a wife,and
the overall actionsof hischaracter portrayhispursuitof knowledge andglory.Usuallythissinis
manifestedthroughsex,power,orimage whichdemisesthe self-control andcansuffocate the soul.Itis
the self-destructive driveforpleasure whichisoutof control. Faustusperformshissillytricksforself-
indulgence.
Kinza Qaisrani
Wrath
Wrath is the thirdsin. Wrath, alsoknownas rage, may be describedasinordinate anduncontrolled
feelingsof hatredandanger.Wrath, inits purestform, presentswithself-destructiveness,violence,and
hate that may provoke feudsthatcango on for centuries.Wrathmaypersistlongafter the personwho
didanothera grievouswrongisdead.Feelingsof angercan manifestindifferentways,
includingimpatience,revenge,andself-destructive behavior,suchasdrug abuse or suicide.
Wrath is the onlysinnotnecessarilyassociatedwithselfishnessorself-interest,althoughone canof
course be wrathful forselfishreasons,suchasjealousy. Dante describedvengeance as"love
of justice pervertedtorevenge and spite".Initsoriginal form, the sinof wrathalsoencompassedanger
pointedinternallyaswell asexternally.Thus suicide wasdeemedasthe ultimate,albeittragic,
expressionof hatreddirectedinwardly,afinal rejectionof God'sgifts.
Faustusdemonstrateshisimpatience withthe wayhe treatsthe people aroundhim, hisservants
(demonicandhuman), aswell asothercharacters. Wrath is whatFaustusfeelswhenhe conjuresup
hornsto place on the headof a knightof EmperorCharlesV,court. Since the knightshowsskepticismin
Faustus’powers,Faustusmustrebuke hisinsolence byplacinghornsonthe knight’shead.
Samia Shabbir
Envy
The fourthis envy. Envyischaracterisedbyspite andresentmentatseeingthe successof another.
Those whocommitthe sin of envyresentthe factthat anotherpersonhassomethingtheysee
themselvesaslacking,andmayevengloatif anotherpersonlosesthatsomething.Those guiltyof envy
were destinedtobe putintofreezingwater. Like greedandlust, Envy ischaracterizedbyaninsatiable
desire.Envyissimilartojealousyinthattheybothfeel discontenttowardssomeone'straits,status,
abilities,orrewards.The difference isthe enviousalsodesire the entityand covetit.

3. Faustusenviesthe Emperor,the Pope,LuciferandevenGodforhavingpowerandstatus beyondhim.
He summonsMephistophelessothat he can use himto have a powerhe hopeswill exceedthe powerof
themall.Dr. Faustuswantedmore inhislife andenviedthe powersof others.Therefore he wantedto
commandthe demonsto control the worldto hisaccord. Dr. Faustuswasenviousof the
accomplishmentof othersandwantedtoexceedtheirglory.
Sara George
Gluttony
The fifthsinisgluttony;temperance inacceptingthe natural limitsof pleasures,andpreservesof the
natural balance.Thisdoesnotpertainonlyto food,butto entertainment andotherlegitimate goods,
and eventhe companyof others.Gluttony isthe overindulgence and overconsumption of anythingto
the pointof waste.
In Christianity,itisconsideredasinif the excessive desire forfoodcausesittobe withheldfromthe
needy.Because of these scripts,gluttonycanbe interpretedas selfishness;essentiallyplacingconcern
withone'sowninterestsabove the well-beingorinterestsof others.Medieval churchleaderstooka
more expansive view of gluttony,arguingthatitcouldalsoinclude anobsessiveanticipationof meals,
and the constanteatingof delicaciesandexcessivelycostlyfoods.
At the endof histwenty-fourthyear,withdeathclose,Faustusis‘swillingandrevelingwithhisstudents’
ina feastwith‘foodandwine enoughforanarmy’.Faustusdemonstratesgluttonywhenhe evokesthe
use of the dark arts. He is attemptingtogobeyondhisearthlyknowledge whiledisturbingthe natural
balance of Gods lawsand expectations.Faustuswantstoelevatehimself asanequal to God.In Faustus’s
eyesGodis no longerthe balance ormediuminhislife,the devil hasbecome the greaterpowerto
Faustus. Faustusstartsusingthe devilsname inplace of where one woulduse Godsname.
Rabia Ashiq
Sloth
Slothisthe sixthone.Sloth can entail differentvices.While slothissometimesdefinedasphysical
laziness,spiritual lazinessisemphasized.Failingtodevelopspirituallywillleadtobecomingguiltyof
sloth.Inthe Christianfaith,slothrejects grace andGod. Slothhasalso beendefinedasafailure todo
thingsthat one shoulddo.Bythisdefinition,evil existswhengoodmenfail toact.
Sloth,inconjunctionwiththe othersins,workstomuffle the spiritual sensessowe firstbecome slowto
respondtoGod and thendriftcompletelyintothe slumberof complacencytothe demonicways.Thisis
the sixthsininthe deathof Faustus.Faustushasbecome numbto hisownsub consciousness;he no
longerabidesbywhathe does.Eveninthe scene where he signsthe contract withthe devil,hisblood
congealsandhe doesnot understandwhy.Hisownbodyisfightingthe deadlydeedhe wasattempting
to do.
The slothful person,likeFaustus,isunwillingtodowhat God wantsbecause of the effortittakesto do
it.He summonsMephistophelesandsignsthe contractwithLucifersohe can have knowledge,
possessionsandexperienceson-tapwithoutanyeffortonhispart.
Mehak Rasool

4. Lechery
Lechery,greedisthe seventhsin.Lust orlechery isan intense anduncontrolleddesire.Itisusually
thoughtof as uncontrolledsexualwants,howeverthe wordwasoriginallyageneral termfordesire.
Therefore lustcouldincludethe uncontrolleddesireformoney,food,fame,orpower.Those guiltyof
lecherywere destinedtobe smotheredinfire andbrimstone (sulphur).Lecheryisthe onlyone inthe
pageantwhois obviouslyfemale.InElizabethantimesitwasthoughtthatthe Devil targetedmen
throughwomenwho,like Eve,were ruledbytheirappetitesratherthanreason,giventodelusional
imaginingsandfartoo feebletoresisttemptation.
The Old Man pleadswithFaustuswithlove torepentandcall onGod’s mercy.Faustus,prizingfleshover
spirit,wasteshisremainingtime onlecheryratherthanheedhisadvice.He instructsMephistopheles
insteadtosummonHelenof Troyfor hislover .Faustusalsodisplayslust inactone whenhe stateshe
has notaccomplishedgreatness.Faustuswantstogainglory;he has expectationsof otherstogethim
hisglory.Faustususes Mephistophelestogainglory andhe doesnotacknowledge thatthe demonis
responsible forall the taskshe performs,butstatesitishisgiftof the dark arts
Conclusion
These sevensinsare the reflectionof Dr.Faustuspersonality.He isa self-centeredpersonwhoonly
thinksof himself andcando eachand everythingtofulfil hisdesires. He isa personimprisonedinhis
owndesiresandhe put isegoabove all.
Faiza Anwar Kamal
Thank You
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