Dr. Faustus has as one of its most powerful themes the use of knowledge and the definition of knowledge as power. What are the key words and images (books, maps) that represent or contain knowledge in the text?
Students sometimes find that Faustus's desire for knowledge, and his decision to acquire complete knowledge at all costs, are insufficiently motivated. That's a hypothesis, not a fact, and it should not dominate your response to the play. But does the hypothesis have a foundation?
Because Faustus comes to his awareness of the limits of knowledge in isolation, in thoughts only he knows about rather than through a conflict generated by a discover that his knowledge is limited, the plot seems to have little motive.
Other relationships--for example, a love relationship--are not (in this version of the legend) elaborated and other characters drawn into the decision, all that is left is to demonstrate the magical powers Faustus acquires, to use them to satirize various corrupt institutions (the Church--big surprise--or the nobility). Do you see some basis for these claims, or do you take issue with them?
Dr. Faustus is well-known for its use of medieval dramatic conventions, specifically those from morality drama (an example is Everyman, also in the Norton). These include the use of allegorical characters (personification), the use of the seven deadly sins, and what might be called the convention of choice. The drama we've talked most about in SEAFARER is the Second Shepherds Play, however; do you see any links between that text and Faustus?
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