The Theological Complexity of the Will and Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus

The cover of Christopher Marlowe’s play adaptation of Doctor Faustus

Understanding Marlowe’s concept of the will is central to interpreting the theological complexity of Doctor Faustus. Expanding upon classical philosophy on the subject, Marlowe and his contemporaries developed a new understanding of the will within the Christian religious context of the Elizabethan era. Saint Augustine’s Christian further adaptation of this philosophical…