In spite of a literary career prematurely shortened by his violent life, Marlowe profoundly influenced English literature. It has been said that performances of the play were so terrifying that during the 17th century audiences believed that the devil actually appeared among them. Editors generally combine parts of these and other versions of the text to create the play as it is widely read today.Ĭontemporary theatre records indicate that in early performances, Faustus may have worn the cloak of a scholar, decorated with a cross, while the devil Mephistopheles appeared in the costume of a dragon. Thomas Busshell published the play in 1604, though John Wright published a different version in 1609. (Most critics believe that Marlowe wrote the play’s tragic beginning and end, while his collaborators wrote much of the comical middle sections.) A theatrical company named the Earl of Nottingham’s Men (commonly known as the Admiral’s Men) performed the play twenty-four times between its opening in 15. London’s Stationer’s Register entered the play into the official records in 1601, but in 1602, at least two other writers were paid for additions to the text. Scholars believe Marlowe heard or read the story of Johann Faust and composed Doctor Faustus sometime between 15. In 1587, the first story about his life appeared in Germany, translated into English in 1592 as The History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus.Įxactly dating Renaissance texts can be difficult, but Doctor Faustus poses particular challenges. Born in 1488, the original Faust wandered through his German homeland until his death in 1541. Christopher Marlowe based his play Doctor Faustus on stories about a scholar and magician, Johann Faust, who allegedly sold his soul to the devil to gain magical powers.

Shakespeare faustus