Doctor Faustus

Christopher Marlowe's most famous play exists in multiple versions, and scholars are still struggling to untangle the relationships among the different texts of the play. Though the copy text for this edition is the 1616 edition (B1), Appendix A reproduces four scenes and a chorus from the A-text, all of which differ substantially from their B-text analogues, along with the Sultan of Babylon scene from the 1663 edition of the play (B7). Readers can thus observe the mutations of the play Doctor Faustus (as well as the character of Faustus) through the course of early modern English theatre and culture. The introduction and appendices to this Broadview Edition provide a wealth of materials on Marlowe's life and work, the Faust tradition in Europe and Britain, magic and witchcraft, and the Protestant Reformation.