Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus

He was mysterious, he was smart and he was a secret agent? I am talking about Christopher Marlowe, one of the greatest playwrights of Elizabethan era. He was born into a shoemaker family in Canterbury, England. His birthday is unknown, but he was baptized on February 26, 1564. After his early school years in King’s School, he won the scholarship that paved his way to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. In 1587, he was qualified enough to receive his master’s degree, but the university gave hard time to Marlowe because of the suspicions about him. He was absent from school for long periods of time, and he was suspected of being a Roman Catholic. To save him, Privy Council took control over the situation and sent a letter to the university. Although the letter helped him with getting his degree, it created a rumor about his secret agent life. After his graduation, he moved to London, where he created his most famous works like; Tamburlaine, The Jew of Malta, Dr Faustus, Edward II and Massacre at Paris. After a short (29 years) but a successful life, on May 30, 1593, he was stabbed to death in the eye. However, the myths about Marlowe’s life, and death, don’t end there. People believe a number of different theories about his death. Some say that it was just a bar fight over the bill, while others say he was assassinated by the order of Queen Elizabeth I. And another rumor is that he faked his death and he continued his literary life as William Shakespeare. Some similarities between their works actually support this theory but there is no proof about its accuracy. If you ask me, truth doesn’t matter if you can reach people’s hearts with your words, but I still would like to believe the last theory about Marlowe, since it goes well with his so called spy history.

Doctor Faustus is Christopher Marlowe’s last and most remarkable work. It was first performed around 1588. It was published under two different titles, both after Marlowe’s death. The Tragicall History of D. Faustus (The A-Text) was published in 1604 andThe Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus (The B-Text) in 1616. He was famous for the use of blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter) and writing overreaching protagonists, just like Dr. Faustus. The play is about a man who sells his soul to devil for power and knowledge and we can say that an agreement like this never ends well. The play was too bold for the Elizabethan era’s beliefs, so Marlowe had to make some changes on it. Because playwrights were not completely free, they could be arrested while staging their plays.