Dr. Faustus is not only the masterpiece of Marlowe, it is one of the most influential of Elizabethan plays. In it, Marlowe has taken one of the best-known mediaeval legends and given his own interpretation of it, as Goethe was to give his own in Faust nearly 200 years later. Not only in the subject-matter, but in the manner of presentation also Dr. Faustus is almost perfect a tragedy in the Aristotelian sense. It is not fully perfect because of the comic scene in it, which goes against classical theories. This book has been written with the needs of students in mind but as will be clear to the reader, it will help other serious readers too.