To answer the question posed by the title there are two aspects that must be considered. First we need to decide whether Dr Faustus is a moral drama; I will do this by discussing the form, content, and subject matter of the work in an attempt to classify it. I will also offer an alternative argument by saying that the play is actually a tragedy. Secondly, we need to decide whether or not it has morals; to do this I will take into consideration the tone of some parts of the opera, in particular the speeches of the chorus as well as those of the other characters. Let's first address the categorization of the work. To determine whether Doctor Faustus is a morality play or not, we must first know what a morality play is. Morality plays are essentially dramatized sermons usually based on the theme of repentance; typically an Everyman figure will begin in innocence, be led into temptation by others, to finally be redeemed. In Dr Faustus Marlowe uses the moral drama structure intensively, most noticeably in the characters he uses as many of them are representations of types rather than individuals. For example, the characters of Valdes and Cornelius are known as "the tempters", thus fitting the definition of morality as characters who tempt the main character into sin (although they are not alone in this). Good and bad angels can also be seen as characters in morality plays, although this depends on whether or not we see them as real characters from another world or as externalizations of Faustus' thoughts and conscience. There is nothing in the text that precisely determines which view is correct. However, Faustus' speech in Act II, scene i, implies that these are externalizations of his conscience; Why do you falter? Or a little... middle of paper... because of the style of the time or because it had the right shape for what Marlowe wanted to say. As for morals within the work, there is definitely (at least) one offered by several characters. However, I do not believe that the work was written with the sole intention of offering a moral and would be just as strong without it. Despite the given morality and aspects of the structure of the moral drama, the drama remains, primarily, the tragedy of an individual. Bibliography Marlowe, Christopher Dr Faustus in ed. W.B. Worthen (1996) The Harcourt Brace Anthology of Drama, 2nd ed., Texas: Harcourt BraceSteane, J.B. (1965) Marlowe Cambridge: Cambridge University PressWilson, F.P. (1953) Marlowe and the Early Shakespeare Oxford: Clarendon PressThe Oxford English Dictionary (1989) ), Second edition, volume xviii. Oxford: Clarendon Press