Would you call the character of Dr. Faustus ‘heroic’? Give reasons for your answer
Answers
The character of Dr Faustus is not heroic but he is considered a Tragic Hero.
Why he is called a tragic hero is because he uses all his powers to destroy himself and makes his own life miserable.
He is a very intelligent man with amazing qualities in him. He has a talent for good music, arts and a lot of other things. He is someone who can do everything at a time.
At the end of the day he is victorious and that is ending the quest of destroying his own life.
Dr. Faustus, may be categorized not as a hero, but as a Tragic Hero.
He may be considered hero because, heroes are born with unique qualities, remarkable potential, unnatural power and a huge wealth of knowledge. However, a tragic hero uses all these elements to destroy himself, making his own life miserable.
Considering the case of Faustus, we find him intelligent, a good scholar with rich influence among the academic community.
He has a talented in arts, music, and almost everything.
He has a great job, great lecturer, teacher, as well as a traveller.
Hence, we have the typical tragic hero tale of a man too big compared to himself, and too smart for any common sense.