¶ … Man Who Was Not Shakespeare:
The Comedic and Tragic Life of Christopher Marlowe
One of the most famous and shadowy figures in the history of the Elizabethan stage is that of the playwright Christopher Marlowe. Unlike Shakespeare, whose plays tend to be quite character-driven, Marlowe wrote extremely rhetorical, highly poetical works with elevated language and elaborate feats of stagecraft. Marlowe was a university-educated man with complex ties to the government and politics of the period. In contrast, Shakespeare's father was a glove maker, although politically a fairly prominent member of his community, and Shakespeare never attended university, only the common school of his town. Marlowe's concern with power and society's elite is reflected not only in the language of his plays, but also in terms of his play's subject matter. This is reflected in his most famous works, such as "Dr. Faustus" and "Tamburlaine." Marlowe is often studied as an example of a literary influence upon the early Shakespeare. But because Marlowe's style is so different in tone and so divergent in subject matter, he exists more as an interesting historical curiosity in his own right, as an individual playwright of note, outside of Shakespeare's own theatrical history. Simply seeing him as an influence of the later, greater playwright also tends to reduce the considerable differences between the two men's careers and lives.
One of the most substantial differences between Marlowe and Shakespeare is the fact that historians know a fair amount about Marlowe, considering he was an individual of the 16th century (when record keeping was fairly shaky), in contrast to the shadowy Shakespeare. Marlowe was born in the same year as Shakespeare, the son of a cobbler, but it was there the early social similarities between the two men end. (Steane 11) Marlowe was awarded a scholarship to Cambridge University. It was expected that individuals who obtained the scholarship would take holy orders. However, Marlowe had lost his faith. He decided to leave Cambridge and go to London to become a playwright. Unlike Shakespeare, there are no records that Marlowe ever performed as an actor on the stage or was a 'sharer' in any theatrical company. Although it is not surprising today for...
Marlowe's Faustus An Examination of Christopher's Doctor Faustus The Play in its Period The Play Personal Evaluation The Play in its Period Christopher Marlowe's play The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus is a frightening adaptation of the German narrative of Johann Faust who traded his soul for knowledge and power. With its emphasis on intellectual pursuits, this play illustrates Marlowe's contribution to the Elizabethan drama. While much of Marlowe's life is
Thus, the notion of ruler ship in marriage is actually an orchestrated ideological shift in the hands of Chaucer the writer, as notions of marriage and change from the point-of-view of the miller, the Wife of Bath, to the Franklin. Even in the more singular voice of Marlowe, the poet acts an intrusive rather an impartial narrator of the tale of "Hero and Leander," as he utilizes a number of
Namely, it demands us to consider the anomaly potential in Shakespeare's socioeconomic modesty as it compared to his great vocabulary wealth. And in doing so, it draws us into a keener awareness of the courtly life about which Shakespeare wrote with such remarkable acuity and into a similar appreciation for the colorful, frequently playful, representation of commoners in his plays. The intermingling of such figures denotes something of Shakespeare's
And while it may seem silly upon first reading or seeing the play, it is clear that a Midsummer Night's Dream also has quite serious ideas. Scholars have noted that the play includes a cultural critique of the Elizabethan era in which it is set (Lamb 93-124). Other critics have noted that the play may contain quite subversive ideas regarding the fluid nature of sexual identity (Green 369-370). Whatever
Introduction William Shakespeare and Robert Burns are both iconic figures in the UK. Also known as the Bard of Avon, Shakespeare is often regarded as England’s national poet. Shakespeare is also considered the world’s greatest English writer and dramatist. During his time, Shakespeare authored tens of plays, over a hundred sonnets, and several narrative poems and verses (Marche, 2012). Shakespeare’s work has been translated into virtually all major languages of the
William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Moliere, brought us so many masterpieces not only valuable as works of art, but also as very important sources of understanding the society in the Renaissance. More important, when reading or wathching these plays, we can understand today the universality of Man. We are not allowed to forget the Asian theater which bears the stamp of the philosophical and religious ideas and beliefs of the times
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