Christopher Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus" and William Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part 1" are both two of history's most notable plays. Even with the fact that Marlowe has had a serious influence on Shakespeare, there are a series of differences between the two plays and one is likely to observe how each playwright employs a different attitude in speaking about the same concepts. "Doctor Faustus", for example, is a play that centers on a single character while "Henry IV, Part 1" is more complex and provides audiences with several characters as they progress and develop into individuals that are very different from how they were initially.
Christopher Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus" vs. William Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part 1"
Christopher Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus" and William Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part 1" are both two of history's most notable plays. Even with the fact that Marlowe has had a serious influence on Shakespeare, there are a series of differences between the two plays and one is likely to observe how each playwright employs a different attitude in speaking about the same concepts. "Doctor Faustus," for example, is a play that centers on a single character while "Henry IV, Part 1" is more complex and provides audiences with several characters as they progress and develop into individuals that are very different from how they were initially.
In contrast to Marlowe, Shakespeare focuses on humanizing his characters and on actually influencing audiences to identify with them. Marlowe only wants spectators to maintain their roles throughout the play, as he concentrates on presenting Faustus' character without actually expecting spectators to feel empathy for this individual. Faustus is not one of the most lovable characters that someone can possibly come across and Marlowe is well-acquainted with this. This is one of the reasons for which he is hesitant about trying to get audiences to like this particular character. Shakespeare, however, wants audiences to relate to characters in his play and actually goes as far as to display negative characters as having positive traits and one can almost say that there are no negative characters in "Henry IV, Part 1."
While Marlowe paints his character in a negative light, he actually manages to captivate audiences as a result of displaying Faustus. People are practically influenced to accept that this character is not necessarily unlikeable. Even with the fact that he is arrogant and feels superior to others; his life is the product of a single bad choice. Shakespeare is generally focused on presenting his characters as being more sensible and as generally being more humane. Marlowe apparently wants audiences to acknowledge the harsh reality of life and is determined to use every means available in order to put across this feeling.
Plot construction is complex in both plays, taking into account that Marlowe and Shakespeare take audiences on a journey across the lives of Faustus, and, respectively, the numerous characters in "Henry IV, Part 1." Both writers apparently want to put across important lessons through their stories. Marlowe wants to emphasize the risks associated with the concept of hubris and the fact that one is likely to experience significant suffering as a result of taking on an attitude focused on extreme pride. Similarly, Shakespeare feels that by demonstrating the evolution experienced by the character of Hal, the play is more probable to induce intense feelings in audiences by having people feel that anyone can change as long as he or she is determined to do so.
Both writers take on a traditional storytelling attitude in devising their plots, taking into account that there is a three act structure that both stories are focused on. Exposition occurs in "Doctor Faustus" when the protagonist signs the deal with the devil, conflict occurs when he is having second thoughts about his decision, and resolution happens when he realizes that he has no option left and the devil takes his soul. "Henry IV, Part 1"s exposition is presented as audiences become familiarized with Prince Hal and his personality, conflict takes place across the battle, and resolution comes when it becomes clear that the prince is actually worthy of his position. The passing of time is meant to emphasize the contrast between certain characters in Shakespeare's play.
Word choice largely dominates both plays, as the playwrights focused on putting across language that would make it easy for audiences to get a complex understanding of the messages that they wanted to put across. The language present in "Doctor Faustus" however, seems to be directed at having audiences feel that it is essential for them to put most of their concentration in trying to understand Faustus' state of mind at different moments during the play and to determine whether or not he is right in taking particular decisions.
Scene creations are linear in both plays and practically all scenes enable audiences to make connections between particular parts of each play. Marlowe and Shakespeare both employ character description in the beginning of their plays, but while the former appears to get involved in the story, the latter only relates to his characters and prefers to stay out of the overall structure of his play.
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