Matthew Parker's Pastoral Training and Marlowe's Doctor Faustus

Authors

Celia Barnes

Abstract

Critics have made the point that Marlowe's training in theology provided him with raw material for Doctor Faustus.¹ I would like to suggest that the original intention of Marlowe's benefactor, Matthew Parker, was not only that his scholars should become skilled in the academic study of divinity for its own sake, but also that they should become skilled in the practical application of divinity in order to serve the community as much-needed parish priests. Their principal tools in this capacity were the Bishops' and Geneva Bibles and the 1559 Boke of Common Praier, echoes of which I shall demonstrate in Doctor Faustus.²

Recommended Citation

Barnes, Celia (1981) "Matthew Parker's Pastoral Training and Marlowe's Doctor Faustus," Comparative Drama: Vol. 15: Iss. 3, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/compdr/vol15/iss3/4