The Importance Of Faustus As A Tragic Hero

Although Faustus is a brilliant scholar, he becomes a tragic hero by the end of the play due to Faustus’ failure to recognize Lucifer and Mephistopheles’ deceitful influence. They take advantage of the fact that Faustus thinks very highly of himself and will go as far as to sell his soul to the devil to prove that he is the amazing scholar and hero that he believes himself to be.
At the beginning of the play, Faustus is deemed to be a hero. He is a scholar of theology, medicine, law, and logic. But, despite his scholarly achievements, he is still humble and true to himself. For instance, when contemplating whether to begin studying black magic, Faustus admittedly doubts himself, and then tells himself to “be resolute.” (page 19) Unlike the later passages, in these first few scenes of the play, a humble and raw side of Faustus is displayed through his humility.
Faustus initially requests repentance from God to “save distressed Faustus ' soul” (page 27), which leads to the first moment of deceit when Lucifer and Mephistopheles coincidentally appear seconds after Faustus admits to desiring repentance. Once Lucifer and Mephistopheles appear, they immediately remind Faustus of his failure to adhere to his earlier promises in selling his soul to the devil when “[Faustus] talk 'st of Christ, contrary to thy promise.” (Page 28.) In reminding Faustus of his failure to adhere to his promise, Lucifer and Mephistopheles guilt Faustus into feeling as though he is a failure due to his