2 h 17 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 2 h 17 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What would you give for limitless power—and what would you do once it was yours?
John Faustus has mastered every subject at Wittenberg, yet knowledge leaves him restless. With help from Valdes and Cornelius, he turns to magic for powers no university can offer. In Christopher Marlowe’s blank-verse play, a scholar’s hunger leads him toward a bargain with Lucifer: his soul for twenty-four years of service.
Mephistophilis serves Faustus, but speaks plainly of hell’s pain. The Good Angel urges him away from magic; the Bad Angel promises wealth and honour. From the bargain signed in blood to invisible pranks at the Pope’s feast, high poetry meets low comedy, and thrilling ambition becomes hard to separate from waste.
What you’ll discover
- A restless, brilliant mind Meet a scholar who finds every subject too small and reaches beyond ordinary human limits.
- A bargain in blood Watch desire take the shape of a contract that puts Faustus’s soul at stake.
- Voices pulling both ways Hear rival angels press Faustus toward mercy or the pleasures of magic.
- Wonders beside foolish pranks Follow extraordinary power into comic scenes that expose the gap between ambition and its use.
- Verse with force Discover the rolling music of Marlowe’s blank verse, where grand desires meet plain warnings.
Who will love it
This is for readers who love a bold bargain with the devil, a tormented hero, sharp verse and sudden comedy, and anyone drawn to the price of wanting more.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A scholar finds every subject too small
- Magic wins him against two angels
- Faustus summons a devil and is warned
- He signs the contract in his own blood
- The devil's gifts are thin and the questions stop
- Faustus travels the world and plays tricks
- Beauty, an old man, and the pull of repentance
- What the play is about and how it is built
Who’s who
- FaustusA brilliant doctor of Wertenberg who tires of ordinary learning and wants godlike power through magic, whatever the cost to his soul.
- MephistophilisA fallen spirit and servant of Lucifer who serves Faustus, tells him what hell is, and works to bind his soul.
- Good AngelA voice of conscience who urges Faustus to put aside magic, read the Scriptures and trust God's mercy.
- Evil AngelThe tempting voice who urges Faustus toward honor, wealth and power and tells him repentance is too late.
- WagnerFaustus's sharp-tongued servant, who copies his master by hiring a clown and summoning spirits.
- Old ManA neighbor of strong faith who begs Faustus to repent and trusts that heaven's mercy is still open.
- LuciferThe prince of devils, once an angel cast out for pride, who demands Faustus's soul and entertains him with the Seven Deadly Sins.
- RobinA stable hand who steals one of Faustus's books and tries his own spells to get drinks and have fun.
Formats and delivery
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- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
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- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
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- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
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- Hardcover
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La tragica storia del dottor Fausto
by Christopher Marlowe · 1604
A brilliant scholar signs away his soul in his own blood for twenty-four years of magic, pleasure and power.
Medium level2–5 hours to readItaliano
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In short
What would you give to know everything and to command anything? Doctor Faustus, a scholar at Wertenberg, has mastered logic, medicine, law and theology, and he finds every one of them too small.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A scholar finds every subject too small
The play opens with the Chorus, a single speaker who tells the audience what kind of story this will be. It is the story of Faustus, born to humble parents and raised in Wertenberg. He rises so fast in theology that he earns the title of doctor. Then comes the warning. Swollen with knowledge and self-conceit, he flies on waxen wings that will melt.
In his study, Faustus talks himself through his own career. Logic offers no marvel, so he puts it aside. Medicine cannot make people live forever or raise the dead, so he drops it. Law is a study fit for a hired drudge who wants only money.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1604
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 1 h 30 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Marlowe, Christopher. The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-tragical-history-of-doctor-faustus.
Marlowe, C. (2026). The tragical history of Doctor Faustus. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-tragical-history-of-doctor-faustus (Original work published 1604)
Marlowe, Christopher. The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-tragical-history-of-doctor-faustus.
@book{marlowe2026tragical,
author = {Marlowe, Christopher},
title = {The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-tragical-history-of-doctor-faustus},
note = {First published 1604}
}
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What is Doctor Faustus about?
It follows a German scholar who finds learning in every field too limited. He turns to magic, sells his soul to the devil for twenty-four years of power and pleasure, and spends those years on tricks while the end draws closer.
Who are the Good Angel and the Evil Angel?
They are voices of Faustus's conscience and appetite, shown as stage figures. The Good Angel urges him to repent and read the Scriptures, while the Evil Angel pushes him toward wealth, honor and despair.
Who is Mephistophilis?
He is a fallen spirit in the service of Lucifer who becomes Faustus's servant. He is honest about the pain of hell, and he guards the bargain by pulling Faustus back whenever he turns toward God.
The author
Christopher Marlowe
1564–1593 · English playwright and poet
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator born in Canterbury in 1564. He studied at Cambridge and later lived in London. He wrote plays in the late 1580s and early 1590s, including Doctor Faustus and The Jew of Malta. He died in Deptford in 1593.
More by Christopher Marlowe
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