8-4Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe WHO WAS CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE, AND WHAT ROLE DID HE PLAY IN SHAKESPEARE’S LIFE? Answer prepared by James Lueken

Christopher Marlowe was a man who wrote plays and poetry. Marlowe lived during Shakespeare’s time and was well respected. He was born on February 6, 1564 in Canterbury, England and was only a couple of months older than Shakespeare. According to a biography of Marlowe, he was the second child of a family of nine children. His father, John Marlowe, was a leatherworker and a member of an affluent guild in Canterbury. John was vociferous and caused lots of trouble. Christopher eventually followed in his father’s footsteps, and died from stab wounds in a tavern fight at the age of 29. Marlowe accomplished much as a writer during a very short time span. It’s unfortunate that he could not have lived longer, for he was very talented.

Enotes.com states that Shakespeare did not go to college. On the contrary, Christopher Marlowe was well educated. At the age of 15 he enrolled in the King’s School in Canterbury, known for its emphasis on theater and considered one of the best schools in England. Two years later he became a student at Cambridge University where he became an excellent student and poet. By the time he received his master’s degree from Cambridge in 1587, Marlow had already written two plays and translated two others. His first play, __Tamburlaine the Great__, performed in London that same year and was an immediate success. The play talked about the triumphs of a Tartar conqueror. Marlowe liked to shock people by writing about subjects that were not acceptable at the time. For example, his main character in __Edward II__ is a homosexual. Marlowe was an atheist and sometimes added this message in his plays In another classic called __Doctor Faustus__, Faustus, the main character, uses necromancy (talking to the dead) to his advantage instead of his divinity-which is best for him- so he can become his own god. He eventually will create a devil, Mephistophilis, and sell his soul to the devil’s master, Lucifer, In return for Lucifer’s powers. 24 years go by, and his soul ends up in hell for eternity because of his temptation for power. There is a strange belief that when Marlowe was stabbed he faked his death and continued to write under the name William Shakespeare. This is not accepted by most people because Marlowe died in 1593 and Shakespeare’s plays were written after this year. The more accepted belief is that Shakespeare was influenced by Marlowe in ways that benefitted his writing. In __As You Like It__, Shakespeare quotes a line from Marlowe’s __Hero and Leander.__ Shakespeare also reused themes from Marlowe’s __Anthony and Cleopatra__, The __Merchant of Venice__, __Richard III__ and __Macbeth__. In __Hamlet__, Hamlet requests that Player perform a speech about the Trojan War similar to what Marlowe had in __Dido, Queen of Carthage__. In Robert Logan’s book, “Shakespeare's Marlowe: The Influence of Christopher Marlowe on Shakespeare's Artistry,” the author states that Marlowe gave Shakespeare a “heightened awareness of the writer’s artistry”. He says that this new artistry not only encouraged Shakespeare to be creative, but led him to form a different frame of mind about morality and freedom.

Works Cited "Christopher Marlowe Biography." __eNotes__. 1 Mar. 2009 .

"Christopher Marlowe." __Elizabethan Era__. 1 Mar. 2009 .

"Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)." __Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature__. 23 Feb. 2009 .

Greenblatt, Stephen. __Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare__. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005.

"In Search of Shakespeare . Christopher Marlowe | PBS." __PBS__. 2 Mar. 2009 .

Marlowe, Christopher. "Dr. Faustus Book Notes Summary by Christopher Marlowe: Plot Summary Book Notes Summary." __BookRags.com: Book Summaries, Study Guides__. 1 Apr. 2009 .

"Robert A. Logan. Shakespeare's Marlowe: The Influence of Christopher Marlowe on Shakespeare's Artistry. (22-SEP-07) Comparative Drama." __AccessMyLibrary - News, Research, and Information that Libraries Trust__. 5 Apr. 2009 . []