This thesis examines the nature of the heroes in four of Christopher Marlowe’s plays and concludes that Marlovian heroes are transitional men who embody both medieval and Renaissance concepts and who are tempted to pursue the Renaissance dream, but are continually haunted by the Christian dogma concerning the destiny of man. They resemble Adam and Lucifer in multiple ways as they strive, suffer, and fall in their attempts to gain power, wealth, knowledge, and godlike omnipotence. The attainment of power corrupts Marlovian heroes, and they reveal characteristics of the Machiavel as the term was understood in Elizabethan times. Their moment of death is significantly magnified as they rage, curse, stoically accept, or philosophize in poetic terror as their doom approaches. The plays included in this study are Tamburlaine: Part One and Part Two, The Jew of Malta, Edward II, and Doctor Faustus.

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The purpose of the study is to establish the critical need for stage action in order to understand fully the theme of Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. Marlowe's primary intent is to invert the morality play, illustrating the distortions and ambiguities of a systematized religion and to establish the human dilemma when man is faced with moral choices. To illustrate this inversion, Marlowe uses emblematic action for an effect opposite to that of the traditional moralities: Often this action goes beyond the emblem, becoming a metaphor for Marlowe's theme, man as a victim, conflicting within himself and within the system which governs his morality.Chapter one introduces this theme and the crucial need for staging Marlowe's ideas. The first chapter also establishes a compromise of the textual problems inherent within any study of Doctor Faustus. Since the study argues that audience reaction is important to Marlowe's intent, attention is paid to how audience response governs the play's interpretation.Chapter two is a critical review of the historical staging practices which must be considered when studying the dramatic text. Included are stage size, costuming, and special effects.Chapter three is the advancement of the thesis in a scene by scene analysis of the text with special attention to the action as metaphor. Considered is how audience reaction represents part of Marlowe's purpose; the increasing tension of the audience furthers Marlowe's concept of the ambiguities present when humans are faced with moral choices. This purpose is traced scene by scene with specific attention to how it is metaphorically portrayed on stage.Chapter four is separate as a director's book, with the text reproduced, together with the researcher's marginal notes on specific blocking and with footnotes emplacing and expanding on the metaphorical action as it appears in the text. / Department of English

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Instead of asserting any alleged rivalry between Marlowe and Shakespeare, Sawyer examines the literary reception of the two when the writers are placed in tandem during critical discourse or artistic production. Focusing on specific examples from the last 400 years, the study begins with Robert Greene’s comments in 1592 and ends with the post-9/11 and 7/7 era. The study not only looks at literary critics and their assessments, but also at playwrights such as Aphra Behn, novelists such as Anthony Burgess, and late twentieth-century movie and theatre directors. The work concludes by showing how the most recent outbreak of Marlowe as Shakespeare’s ghostwriter accelerates due to a climate of conspiracy, including “belief echoes,” which presently permeate our cultural and critical discourse. / https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu_books/1161/thumbnail.jpg

As a transition period from the Middle Age to modern times, Renaissance is renowned for its cultural magnitude and richness. Different from the Middle Age, Renaissance, as its name indicates, proceeds into cultural, social and economical rebirth and prosperity. Literary works in the time also achieve a high tide not only in quality but also in quantity. Among the sparkling Renaissance works, one of the distinguished achievements is English Drama. Christopher Marlowe, probably one of the most popular playwrights in his contemporary time, no doubt, stands a peculiar and distinguishing position in the early Renaissance English theater. In his short lifetime, he produced seven plays on various dramatic themes. Whether in the adaptation of mythological stories, like Dido, Queen of Carthage, or historical events such as, Edward II, Marlovian theatrical world always contains blooming vitality and grandeur language that may easily catch the viewer¡¦s eyes. Marlowe¡¦s plays usually center on the process of the fulfillment of a person¡¦s desire and an individual¡¦s pursue for personal achievement. It is not a task to observe certain patterns manipulated in Marlowe¡¦s plays. For instance, in Dr. Faustus, Faustus exchanges his soul with Mephistopheles for omnipotent knowledge which for Faustus represents mighty power and strength. In Jew of Malta, Barabas, the Jew, by all means chases infinite riches and defends his wealth owing to that his self-esteem relies on the amount of gold. Tamburlaine, who is called the Scourge and Wrath of God, endlessly conquers country after country to establish his own empire as well as to prove his masculinity. These characters are driven by the innermost desire to prove their values that are mostly built on earthly success. Their accomplishment in turn nourishes their ambitions to pursue more success that brings them power. In the project, I attempt to detect the forming of selfhood in Christopher Marlowe¡¦s two plays, Tamburlaine and The Jew of Malta. I would also like to dissect the interweaving relations between the heroes¡¦ inner impetus and their repeated speeches as well as actions of claiming their existence and how their subjectivities are displayed in the space between the inner constructive power and their outer repeated actions for pursue of success.

In the biographical sketch of Christopher Marlowe which prefaces his 1818 edition of The Jew of Malta, Oxberry wrote: "Of his (Marlowe's) family we know absolutely nothing; their very names are forgotten...Ali the genius or Marlowe...has not had the power to save the records of his life from oblivion." [...]

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Universität zu Köln, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references.