Indulge Yourself with the best classic literature on Your PDA. Navigate easily to any novel from Table of Contents or search for the words or phrases. Features Navigate from Table of Contents or search for words or phrases Make bookmarks, notes, highlights Searchable and interlinked. Access the e-book anytime, anywhere - at home, on the train, in the subway. Table of Contents Edward the SecondHero and Leander And Other PoemsThe Jew of Malta Massacre at ParisTamburlaine the Great -- Part 1Tamburlaine the Great -- Part 2 The Tragedy of Dido Queen of CarthageThe Tragical History of Doctor Faustus From the Quarto of 1604 The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus From the Quarto of 1616 AppendixChristopher Marlow Gilman BiographyAbout and Navigation
Christopher "Kit" Marlowe (baptised 26 February 1564) was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. The foremost Elizabethan tragedian next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his magnificent blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his own mysterious and untimely death.
I am a great fan of Christopher Marlowe, both of his poetry and his plays. The Everyman edition that I own has held up under some pretty heavy usage, as I tend to mark up a book until it vomits pages. Good thing I own this one.
Marlowe's choice of subjects for plays always dumbfounded me. He went for the most unpleasant subjects possible. Tamburlaine, not just one, but two of those. The Jew of Malta, sheesh what a horrible title. Edward II, we all know he died as a result of a hot poker stuck up his ass. The ever unpleasant The Massacre at Paris where Huguenots get killed by the hundreds, and Catherine the Queen is blamed for the whole thing.
But! We also have Dido,Queen of Carthage a very lovely telling of that very sad tale. It's also a bit snarky in places, especially where the gods are involved. Doctor Faustus which is his greatest work.
Marlowe was part of the University educated dramatists. Shakespeare had no real University education, so we might say that the subject matter chosen by Marlowe was that of the classical world, and heavily influenced by Protestant thinking, The Massacre at Paris. Shakespeare took his from English history, and therein lay a world of difference.
Overall, I prefer Shakespeare to Marlowe, but it has to be said that there was Marlowe, Jonson and Shakespeare that are really worth remembering today, the rest just wrote plays. Oh, now I have set the hordes of dramaturges on me like the furies of old.
Evidently, this play is not published by itself. I am planning on reading more Marlowe this year, but this review reference "Edward II." I've gotten a bee in my bonnet to read the history plays of Shakespeare now that "Edward III" has been entered into the canon. I read it a few months ago and I will re-read it soon so I can learn the history of England "theatrically," rather than literally. Anyway, Marlowe clearly was sympathetic to the gay king. His relationship with Gaveston is related with dignity. Gaveston himself is a bit of a jerk, but the king's love blinded Edward to Gaveston's faults. Indeed, Queen Isabel I rather sympathize with. Poor thing. Married to a gay man, pretty much abandoned after the heir is born. Well, that's the backstory I provided in my mind. I am not all that conversant with this period of English history. But that's my private scholarly work to do for awhile. I am not an authority, but I do agree that Marlowe was Shakespeare's only real rival and I do wonder what Marlowe would've written if he hadn't been conveniently killed in that tavern brawl.