English 2610

I think Marlowe is saying many things about knowledge, each point being layered deeper within the text. First, in response to the last prompt, I think that Marlowe is saying that knowledge is power. As many others have said, this seems to be the case in the text. However, in the last sentence of the text,
"Whose deepness doth entice such forward wits,
To practice more than heavenly power permits."
I think it is saying, just because we might gain this powerful knowledge, does not mean we can play god with it. My example would be that Faustus uses his knowledge to do 'unnatural' things, like giving people horns, or turning them into apes. An example of modern times, of course, would be genetic research, cloning, stem cell harvesting, etc.

Another thing that I noticed as I was reading the text, was that Faustus doesn't DO anything amazing with this power that he receives. Sure, he does some cool tricks here and there, but nothing world-changing. He himself thought at the beginning that gaining this knowledge and power would give him the potential to do just about anything, but to me, it seems like he wastes this power. (Not that I think selling his soul to the devil is a good way to gain knowledge to begin with) I think that this points, along with many other instances in the text, to the weakness of Faustus's character. He doubts God, sells his soul to the devil. He doubts Satan; many times he is about to turn his back on Satan and repent. He doubts himself; believes himself to be damned even though he is consistently being told that he still has hope. And he also wastes the knowledge he's been given. (Although, can you really TRUST the knowledge and power that he's been given? How do we know it all isn't false. Can we really believe that Satan gave him anything valid?)

I really did, though it was difficult to understand it all, enjoy this play. As someone else said, I'd really like to see a stage production of this. Though I would appreciate the text being dumbed down for me a little. :)