Doctor Faustus - The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus - Introduction

Sep 27, 2026

Uploaded by jayni

Edited edition of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, providing a detailed prefatory framework and scholarly notes. The editorial apparatus is largely new, omitting earlier textual notes and alternative versions of selected scenes from the Revels edition while adding modern-spelling variants and expanded explanatory commentary. The introduction and notes address the origins of the Faustus legend, chronology and authorship, Renaissance context, the morality plays, theatre and stage history, and support comprehension through word-level footnotes and broader discursive annotations on references, language, and performance.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages147

Reading Time3 h 46 min

AccessFree to download

Preface

Chronology of Marlowe’s Life and Works

Introduction

Origins of the Faustus legend

The first English biography of Faustus

Extracts from the Damnable Life

Date of the play

Authorship of the play

The Renaissance

The morality plays

The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus

Marlowe’s theatre

Stage-history of Doctor Faustus

Text of Doctor Faustus

The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus

Notes

Short Bibliography

DOCTOR FAUSTUS Also from Routledge: ROUTLEDGE · ENGLISH · TEXTS GENERAL EDITOR · JOHN DRAKAKIS WILLIAM BLAKE: Selected Poetry and Prose ed. David Punter EMILY BRONTË: Wuthering Heights ed. Heather Glen ROBERT BROWNING: Selected Poetry and Prose ed. Aidan Day BYRON: Selected Poetry and Prose ed. Norman Page GEOFFREY CHAUCER: The Tales of The Clerk and The Wife of Bath ed. Marion Wynne-Davies JOHN CLARE: Selected Poetry and Prose ed. Merryn and Raymond Williams JOSEPH CONRAD: Selected Literary Criticism and The Shadow-Line ed. Allan Ingram JOHN DONNE: Selected Poetry and Prose ed. T.W. and R.J.Craik GEORGE ELIOT: The Mill on the Floss ed. Sally Shuttleworth HENRY FIELDING: Joseph Andrews ed. Stephen Copley BENJONSON: The Alchemist ed. Peter Bement D.H.LAWRENCE: Selected Poetry and Non-Fictional Prose ed. John Lucas ANDREW MARVELL: Selected Poetry and Prose ed. Robert Wilcher JOHN MILTON: Selected Longer Poems and Prose ed. Tony Davies JOHN MILTON: Selected Shorter Poems and Prose ed. Tony Davies WILFRED OWEN: Selected Poetry and Prose ed. Jennifer Breen ALEXANDER POPE: Selected Poetry and Prose ed. Robin Sowerby SHELLEY: Selected Poetry and Prose ed. Alasdair Macrae SPENSER: Selected Writings ed. Elizabeth Porges Watson ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON: Selected Poetry ed. Donald Low OSCAR WILDE: The Importance of Being Earnest ed. Joseph Bristow VIRGINIA WOOLF: To The Lighthouse ed. Sandra Kemp WILLIAM WORDSWORTH: Selected Poetry and Prose ed. Philip Hobsbaum Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe Edited by JOHN D.JUMP London and New York This edition first published 1965 by Methuen & Co. Ltd This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of [eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk](eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk).” Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Introduction and notes © 1965 John D.Jump All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. ISBN 0-203-97796-3 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-415-03960-6 (Print Edition) Contents PREFACE vi CHRONOLOGY OF MARLOWE’S LIFE AND WORKS viii INTRODUCTION 1 Origins ofthe Faustus legend 1 The first English biography of Faustus 2 Extracts from the Damnable Life 4 Date of the play 21 Authorship of the play 22 The Renaissance 24 The morality plays 25 The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus 27 Marlowe’s theatre 37 Stage-history of Doctor Faustus 43 Text of Doctor Faustus 44 THE TRAGICAL HISTORY OF THE LIFE AND DEATH OF DOCTOR 46 FAUSTUS NOTES 114 SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY 136 Preface The text of Doctor Faustus printed here reproduces exactly that printed in my‘Revels’ edition of the play, published by Methuen in 1962. But, in view of the special needs of the readers for whom the present volume is intended, the editorial apparatus of introduction, notes, etc. is very largely new. All textual notes have been omitted; so, too, have the alternative versions of five scenes which differ too widely from the accepted versions for their variants to be digestible into textual notes and which were therefore printed in full in an appendix to the ‘Revels’ edition. The long textual sections of the earlier introduction have been replaced by a very brief account of the characteristic features of my text of the play. For section 8 of the present introduction, I have borrowed at length from my critical discussion and interpretation of Doctor Faustus in section 9 of its predecessor and have expanded what I have borrowed. Otherwise, the present

FAQs

What does the Preface say about this edition’s textual approach?

The text reproduces the earlier Revels edition text, but the editorial apparatus for introduction and notes is largely new. Textual notes and alternative versions of five scenes are omitted, except that variant material is handled via earlier appendix/expanded presentation depending on the discussed needs of readers.

Which topics does the introduction cover for understanding Doctor Faustus?

It covers the Faustus legend’s origins, early biographical material, extracts from the Damnable Life, dating and authorship of the play, Renaissance context, and the role of morality plays. It also includes Marlowe’s theatre, stage history, and how the play’s text is presented.

How are the notes organized to help readers?

Footnotes provide brief explanations for difficult single words and short phrases. Longer explanations, proper names, and fuller discussions of historical references and allusions appear in more discursive notes at the end of the volume.

Sep 27, 2026

Uploaded by jayni