Christopher Marlowe: Every Word Doth Almost Tell My Name: 27 Essays from The Marlowe Studies

by Cynthia Morgan

These essays from The Marlowe Studies give the Shakespeare authorship evidence for Christopher Marlowe that has been overlooked by traditionalists resistant to the idea someone other than the Stratford man wrote the works. While the authorship debate continues, the words of Shakespeare himself sit silent on the sidelines. The essays herein bring his words into the spotlight and interpret them within the Marlowe context, so readers can decide for themselves whose autobiography they voice. Whether or not we believe Marlowe was the man behind a pseudonymous Shakespeare name, no invention is needed to see that these sonnets and plays answer our questions about his character, Baines’s Note, a staged death at Deptford, Thomas Walsingham, and the bestowal of the pseudonym. The essays also offer a new explanation for cryptic Sonnet 112, new information about the man who sued Marlowe for assault, a look at the literary similarities between Marlowe and Shakespeare, an examination of the “heretical” papers in Kyd’s room, and an exploration of Marlowe’s Cambridge education that reveals how it shaped his plays and his ideas about religion. Signals for Marlowe being the true author of Shakespeare’s works are found in Ben Jonson’s authorship clues, the clues in As You Like It and Hamlet, and the eighteen clues in the Inductions to The Taming of a Shrew and The Shrew. Evidence is also given for Marlowe’s authorship of Venus and Adonis, the King Henry VI trilogy, and three anonymous Edward the Third, The Troublesome Raigne of King John, and The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth.

466 pages, Paperback

Published July 25, 2022

Reviews

[Karen]

Interesting collection of essays about Christopher Marlowe's life and works from The Marlowe Studies. It's helpful to already know about the Marlowe as Shakespeare issue, but not necessary (though I had to catch up on a few issues). Primarily written by Cynthia Morgan, she also summarized the works of other scholars. I found that helpful, as sometimes it's difficult to access and read various scholarly work in multiple journals. I learned quite a bit about Marlowe. Whether you believe this theory of Marlowe's authorship of the Shake-speare cannon or not, this book is still quite interesting. Traditional Shake-speare scholars, such as Stephen Greenblatt, tend to downplay the genius of Marlowe's works in order to prop up Will of Stratford. This book gave me a better understanding of Marlow the person and his works, events surrounding his death, and the defamation of his character that has been going on for centuries. I'm interested in reading Marlowe's works now and finding out more about this theory!