Oedipus Vs Faustus

One does not have to look behind the words and actions to discover Faustus’ pride, the willfulness of his falling from God, or his egotistic ambition to become his own god, they are outwardly and directly seen in everything he says and does. The opening Chorus describes the man, his intellectual excellence, and his fatal choice:

… swoll’n with cunning of a self-conceit, his waxen wings did mount above his reach, And melting heavens conspired his overthrow; For falling to devilish exercise And glutted now with learning’s golden gifts, He surfeits upon cursed necromancy. Nothing so sweet as magic is to him, Which he prefers before his chiefest bliss… (Fau. Prologue. 20-27).

This picture and the issue is clear enough; the allusion to Icarus is representative of Faustus’ career, while the alternative between “cursed necromacy” and “his chiefest bliss” is set forth as Faustus’ deliberate choice to choose magic.

Ever proud to the very end it is not until he faces the last hour of his life does Faustus finally humble himself and ask for forgiveness from God. “My god, my god, look not so fierce on me! Adders and serpents, let me breathe a while! Ugly hell, gape not! Come not, Lucifer! I’ll burn my books! Ah, Mephistophillis!” (Fau.5.2. 196-199). All his knowledge could not save him when the time had come for his death.

This knowledge for the truth stems from Oedipus’ pride in being the leader of Thebes and it is this same knowledge that will be his undoing. Ironically, his wanting to protect himself by discovering the identity to the murderer is the perfect example of how through knowledge comes his downfall because as the readers know the “old defilement” (Rex.Prologue.106) that plagues Thebes is Oedipus.

Of power, of honor, of omnipotence is promised to the studious artisan! All things that move between the quiet poles Shall be at my command. Emperors and kings are but obeyed in their several provinces, Nor can they raise the wind or rend the clouds, But his dominions that exceeds in this Stretcheth as far as doth the mind of man. A sound magician is a demi-god (Fau. 1.1 55-63).

The contrast between the outward glory and inward blindness of Oedipus and the outward blindness and inward sight of the prophet is representative of the fact that in order to see all that is truly there one must ignore the world they see and turn within themselves to discover the answer for which they search.

Depicted in the previous quote is the obvious desire of Faustus for power over everything, going as far as to c

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