Doctor Faustus : Literary devices
Doctor Faustus is a notable literary work by Christopher Marlowe. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of Doctor Faustus.
Literary devices
Symbols
The Good Angel – The Good Angel is a spirit who appears on stage. The Good Angel tells Faustus to stop practising magic and return to God. The Good Angel is the symbol of Faustus’s own conscience, which tells him to stay away from sin.
The Evil Angel – The Evil Angel is a spirit who appears on stage. The Evil Angel tells Faustus to continue with black magic and enjoy honour and wealth. The Evil Angel stands for Faustus’s pride, greed, and temptation.
Seven Deadly Sins: Lucifer tries to impress Faustus by showing him the Seven Deadly Sins. These sins are Pride, Covetousness (greed), Wrath (anger), Envy (jealousy), Gluttony (overeating), Sloth (laziness), and Lechery (lust). Each sin appears like a person and talks about themselves. These sins are clearly the symbols of the habits they are named after. But Faustus does not realize the warning behind this show. He enjoys watching them like a fun performance. He does not understand that these same sins—especially his pride and his desire for Helen—are also inside him. And in the end, these sins led him to his death.