Faustus' character is certainly not one-dimensional. Throughout the timeframe of twenty-four years in which the play takes place, we see Faustus in different lights, but none of them provide a cast-iron mold of what 'type' of character Faustus is. Thus we can assume he is three-dimensional; extremely complex. Marlowe likely developed Faustus in this way so as to provide the audience with questions rather than answers. However, many critics have perceived elements of humanism portrayed …showed first 75 words of 719 total…

…showed last 75 words of 719 total…as entertainment for a fifteenth century audience or whether he included them as evidence of Faustus' own humanistic beliefs will forever remain a debate. I, personally, see the religious undercurrents and the reputation of Doctor Faustus as a religious play to counteract Faustus' humanistic beliefs. If Faustus was to be of humanist thought, he would be a Christian humanist, and thus not be so intense in his Renaissance thinking as some critics would believe themselves.