ECCENTRICITY AND FREEDOM IN THE PLAYS OF CHRISTOPHER MARLOW
Keywords:
Marlowe, Shakespeare, English literature, British literatureAbstract
In recent years, concerns about racial, religious and gender in equalities in classical literature have led many educators and students to question whether the western canon was sufficient to represent the diverse ethnic groups that existed at the time. As the important works of examining overlooked writings of the marginalized, the following essay aims to shine a light on one already accepted author within the canon of western literature.
Christopher Marlowe's plays have had many influences on the development of literature since the late 16th century. Marlowe's own sexual identity has long been thought to have been alienated, so his work features a protagonist who may have been given the role of a villain by the hands of another writer.
From Barnabas' machinations in The Jew of Malta to Dido's aggressive use of power as Queen of Carthage, Marlowe's marginalized men and women literally take center stage to create their own stories. They are examples of characters whose narrative is strengthened by alienation rather than hindered by it.
Downloads
References
Barber, C.L. “The Form of Faustus’ Fortunes Good or Bad.” The Tulane Drama Review. Vol. 8, No. 4, Marlowe Issue (Summer, 1964), pp. 92-119.
Bianco, Marcie. The Spirit of Marlowe: Creating An Ethics On The English Renaissance Stage. Rutgers University. New Brunswick, New Jersey. 2012.
Comensoli, Viviana. “Homophobia and the Regulation of Desire: A Psychoanalytic Reading of Marlowe’s ‘Edward II.’” Journal of the History of Sexuality. Vol. 4, No. 2, Special Issue, Part 1: Lesbian and Gay Histories (Oct., 1993), pp. 175-200.
Danson, Lawrence. “Christopher Marlowe: The Questioner.” English Literary Renaissance Vol. 12, No. 1 (WINTER 1982), pp. 3-29.
Garber, Marjorie. “Here’s Nothing Writ.” Theatre Journal. Vol. 36, No. 3, Renaissance Re-Visions (Oct., 1984), pp. 301-320.
Gamel, Mary-Kay. “The Triumph of Cupid: Marlowe’s ‘Dido, Queen of Carthage’.” The American Journal of Philology. Vol. 126, No. 4 (Winter, 2005) pp. 613-622.
Hunter, G.K. “The Theology of Marlowe’s ‘The Jew of Malta.’” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes. Vol. 27 (1964), pp. 211-240.
Logan, Terrence P. Smith, Denzell S. The Predecessors of Shakespeare. University of Nebraska Press. Lincoln, Nebraska. 1973.
Marlowe, Christopher. Christopher Marlowe: The Complete Plays. Frank Romany and Robert Lindsey. Penguin Classics. 2003. London, England.
Meyers, Jeffrey. “Marlowe’s Lives.” Michigan Quarterly Review. Volume XLII, Issue 3, Summer 2003. Link: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.act2080.0042.306
Rothstein, Eric. “Structure As Meaning in ‘The Jew of Malta.’” The Journal of English and Germanic Philology. Vol. 65, No. 2 (Apr., 1966), pp. 260-273.
Saunders, J.J. The History of the Mongol Conquests. University of Pennsylvania Press. Philadelphia. 1971.
Staszak, Jean-Francois. “Other/Otherness.” International Encyclopedia of Human Geography. Elsevier. 2008.
Suzuki, Mihoko. “Gender, Class, and Social Order in Late Elizabethan Drama.” Theatre Journal. Vol. 44, No. 1 (Mar., 1992), pp. 31-45.
