'In forming an answer to this question there are two aspects which must be considered. Firstly we must decide whether Dr. Faustus is a morality play; I will do this by discussing the play’s form, content and subject matter in an attempt to categorise the play. I will also offer an alternative argument by saying that the play is in fact a tragedy. Secondly we must decide whether or not it has a moral; to do this I will consider the tone of certain parts of the play, in particular the Chorus’ speeches as well as the speech of other characters.'

'The idea of metaphysical conceit is prevalent amongst the poetry, a metaphor which strikes the reader at first as being highly inappropriate and un-obvious, which then needs to be established intellectually by proving the comparison. So successful reading of metaphysical poetry necessitates a temporary separation of feeling from intelligence. This has led to criticism of the metaphysical style, for being inventive purely for its own sake, merely to flatter the intellect of the author, rather than to produce an effective poem. Similarly, the genre seems to have its faults in that it is needlessly obscure, restrained by the intellectual imagery therefore failing to communicate the spontaneous emotion of the poet.

However, the use of intellect does give a certain refinement or respectability, intensifying the meaning of the poem, thereby producing and making possible an even greater sense of emotion through highly complex and intellectual theories. Intellect and emotion are nearly always viewed as separate entities, one concerned with strong instinctive or spontaneous feeling, sensation or passion, the other being the faculty of reasoning, knowing and thinking, quite opposite and distinct from feeling. In this essay, I plan to show that these two factors can, and do work in tandem to produce the effect of metaphysical poetry, and such distinctions are a rather simplistic generalisation of the genre.'