Shakespeare s King Lear And Marlowe s Doctor Faustus

Shakespeare’s King Lear and Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus are two examples of early modern texts, one a tragedy and the other a morality play respectively, which deal with the theme of power at the crux of its narrative. Between both texts it is evident that different characters utilize their power or authority differently – some ‘unwisely’ whilst some ‘maliciously’. In either case, the use of power progresses the plays and drives the majority of main characters. To begin with, both plays incorporate the conventions of an Aristotelian tragedy. One of Aristotle’s primary conventions of a tragedy in his Poetics, is the notion of hamartia where: A man not outstanding in virtue or justice, brought down through vice or depravity, who falls into adversity not through vice or depravity but because he errs in some way (Aristotle 2013, p. 32) It can be argued that both Lear’s and Faustus’ hamartia are intertwined in one way or another with power. Lear’s ‘error of judgement’ is his hubris when he asks his daughters who ‘doth love us most’ so he can split up his kingdom so the ‘largest bounty may extend where nature doth with merit challenge’ (Shakespeare 2004, 1.1.50-52). Pride and vanity leads him to test his daughters and distributing his kingdom. This is ultimately the starting point leading to the tragic consequences at the end of the play. Similarly, Faustus shows excessive ambition in regards of knowledge and power – ‘O, what a world of profit and delight, of power, of honor, ofShow MoreRelatedThe Reign Of Queen Elizabeth I And The Elizabethan Era1787 Words   |  8 Pagesbeginning of the Elizabethan theatre which still to this day influences theatre and the way theatre is presented . The Elizabethan Era began in 1588 and ended in 1603 during Queen Elizabeth I reign England s capital and largest city, London grew to about two hundred thousand people. London s population was divided into three main sections a small but powerful population of wealthy nobles, a prospering middle class, and a large and impoverished lower class living in miserable conditions. In theRead Moreâ€Å"the Spirit of Renaissance and Elizabethan Era†5448 Words   |  22 Pagescentury to the early 17th century. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that many cultural historians believe originated in Tuscany in the 14th century. This era in English cultural history is sometimes referred to as the age of Shakespeare or the Elizabethan era, the first period in English and British history to be named after a reigning monarch. Renaissance literally means rebirth. It refers especially to the rebirth of learning that began in Italy in the fourteenth