Discuss Doctor Faustus by Marlowe as a tragedy in about 550 words.

It is hard to see any way in which this excellent play
could not be regarded as anything other than a tragedy. Faustus, and the way that he
willingly makes a decision to trade his soul for power and prestige, captures an
archetype that occurs in many stories worldwide. Faustus makes a free decision to make
this exchange, though he ignores the act of repentance that would be enough to let him
escape eternal damnation. Indeed, part of the tragedy lies in the way in which Faustus
is presented as being in hell from the moment he makes his pact. The frivolous and
flippant way in which he uses his powers only reinforces his damnation. The fact that he
is unaware of this highlights the tragedy of the play.

The
way in which the pride and arrogance of Faustus prevents him from repenting directly
results in his eternal damnation. The final scene of the play, where we see Faustus
desperately trying to argue himself out of a situation from which only repentance can
liberate him reinforces the tragedy of the play as we are made to see the way in which
pride, ignorance and fear of punishment prevent him from gaining the salvation that it
tantalisingly within his reach. The ending of the play, indicated by his damnation, is
tragic because of the way that another outcome was always possible, had he been aware of
it and had enough strength to embrace it.