In Christopher Marlowe's The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, which two aspects reveal the theme of forbidden knowledge?

• A. The devil actively seeks to destroy human souls
• B. Heaven is the ultimate goal of knowledge
• C. Only to wonder at unlawful things, forward wits to practise more than heavenly power permits
• D. Knowledge should be pursued regardless of consequences

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is how the play presents knowledge as something that can be dangerous when it is pursued beyond legitimate bounds. Faustus reveals this by combining two attitudes: a curiosity that longs to wonder at unlawful things, and a drive to use his intellect to do more than what heavenly power permits. That pairing shows why knowledge becomes a forbidden realm: the quest for power and mastery over the limits set by the divine leads to overreaching and, ultimately, ruin. The statement makes explicit both aspects—the attraction to the unlawful and the defiance of divine limits—which together embody the theme of forbidden knowledge.

The other options don’t capture both elements as clearly. One points to the devil’s actions instead of the human temptation to transgress; another suggests that heaven is the goal of knowledge, which the play does not endorse; and the last implies knowledge should be pursued regardless of consequences, which the text presents as a caution, not an endorsement.