Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)
Biographical note
English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. He is known for his magnificent blank verse and overreaching protagonists.
Marlowe's first success on the London stage was in 1587 with Tamburlaine, the story of the conqueror Timur. Tamburlaine Part II soon followed. His next play may have been Doctor Faustus, the first dramatic version of the Faust legend. His other known plays are: The Jew of Malta; Edward the Second, an English history play about the fall of Edward II and the accession of Edward III; and The Massacre at Paris, portraying the events surrounding the Saint Bartholomews Day Massacre in 1572. Dido, Queen of Carthage seems to be an early work, possibly written with Thomas Nashe.
His other works include the minor epic Hero and Leander (unfinished, published 1598), the popular lyric The Passionate Shepherd to His Love, and translations of Ovid's Amores and the first part of Lucan's Pharsalia.
The two parts of Tamburlaine were published in 1590; all his other works were published posthumously. In 1599 his translation of Ovid was banned and copies publicly burned as part of Archbishop Whitgift's crackdown on offensive material.
Marlowe's plays were enormously successful, thanks in part, no doubt, to the imposing stage presence of Edward Alleyn. He was unusually tall for the time, and the haughty roles of Tamburlaine, Faustus, and Barabas were probably written especially for him. Marlowe's plays were the foundation of the repertoire of Alleyn's company, the Admiral's Men, throughout the 1590s.
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Works
Plays
- Dido, Queen of Carthage (ca.1583)
- The first part of Tamburlaine the Great (ca.1586) [ read | print | download ]
- The second part of Tamburlaine the Great (ca.1587) [ read | print | download ]
- Doctor Faustus (ca.1589)
- The Jew of Malta (ca.1589)
- Edward II (ca.1592)
- The Massacre at Paris (ca.1592)
Poetry
- The Passionate Shepherd to His Love (ca.15??)
- Translations of Ovid's Amores (ca.1582)
- Translation of Lucan's Pharsalia (ca.1582)
- Hero and Leander (ca.1593)
