Dr. Faustus Title Page of 1620 Edition

Marlowe's popular play about a doomed magician provides a contrast to Shakespeare's happier wizard, Prospero, in The Tempest. The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, based on the German Faustbuch, was the first dramatised version of the Faust legend of a scholar's dealing with the devil. While versions of "The Devil's Pact" can be traced back to the 4th century, Marlowe deviates significantly by having his hero unable to "burn his books" or repent to a merciful God in order to have his contract annulled at the end of the play. Marlowe's protagonist is instead torn apart by demons and dragged off screaming to hell. The script in this later edition of Marlowe's has been much altered, but has the best illustration of Faustus conjuring up Mephistopheles, who would appear from the underworld through the stage trapdoor. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.