How does the play of Doctor Faustus reflect the culture and ideas during the Golden Age?

Answer 1

Critics actually were never able to say, with certainty, whether this play was of its era or ahead of its time. The play was so dark, yet a lot of people of that age could relate to the play itself and what Faustus wanted- power and pleasure. The means in which he received what he wanted is where it truly gets dark, sells his soul to the devil, we now know many plays and movies that show something very similar to this play, it is not something different or unique, but during the Golden Age it was not usually what a play was made of; evil.

"Moreover, the fact that Doctor Faustus is set in a Christian universe and affirms the reality of hell and damnation should warn us not to overstate the secular values of Renaissance England. Indeed, what the play explores – its principal theme – is the conflict between the confidence and ambition its protagonist embodies, and the Christian faith, which remained a powerful cultural force when Marlowe was writing and required humility and submission to God's will. The play's two opening speeches set up an opposition between the Prologue's view of boundless ambition as sinful presumption and Faustus's implicit claim that the Christian universe places unjust restrictions on human potential."

I also found this " Despite! its! rampant! popularity,! Doctor Faustus was!controversial among!critics!and!members!of!the!Church!and!the!Elizabethan! state—some! found! it! satanic,! some! found! it! too! Catholic.! Marlowe’s! focus! on! Faustus’!psychology,!and!the!unwavering!clarity of!the!damnation!Faustus!faces,! exacerbated! by!his! own!passivity!in! stopping!it,! create! a! striking!narrative! that! seems! to! differ! in! its! message! from! audience! to! audience,! but! consistently! led! members! of! its! audience! to! feel! persecuted,! shamed,! or! targeted! in! some! way,! often!in!contradictory!interpretations"

Now you can base your own thoughts off of something.