『파우스투스 박사』에 함축된 종교적·정치적 저항과 도덕극의 재해석

The Religious and Political Defiance and the Reinterpretation of the Morality Play Implied in Doctor Faustus

From a religious perspective, Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus has primarily been analyzed in two contrasting ways. Some critics have claimed that this play advocates orthodox Christianity and others have argued that Marlowe defies Christianity and the Elizabethan England in the 16th century. There are several reasons why the interpretation of this play has been divided into conflicting views: the confusion in the aftermath of the Reformation, the unexplained notoriety for Marlowe being an atheist, and much of his life and death that has remained a mystery. Both sides have taken a confrontational stance. Accordingly, these conflicting aspects have imposed limitations on analyzing his life and works from an objective perspective. In this paper, the author reinterprets the meaning of the morality play in Marlowe’s own position and conclude that Marlowe capitalized on the morality play as an effective way to ardently criticize the harsh and strict Christianity of England while avoiding the accusation that he is an atheist.