Concetti Chiave
- Christopher Marlowe was born in Canterbury, studied at Cambridge, and became a secret agent for the queen.
- He lived in London, sharing a room with Kyd, and was known for his atheism and freethinking, leading to his arrest by the Privy Council.
- Marlowe's death in a tavern brawl is believed to have been politically motivated, cutting short a promising literary career.
- Despite his early death, Marlowe authored several notable plays, including "Tamburlaine the Great" and "Doctor Faustus".
- "Doctor Faustus" was inspired by the real-life story of a German magician, with Marlowe transforming the character into a scholar at a critical life juncture.
Early life and education
Christopher Marlowe was born in Canterbury in the same yeas as Shakespeare. He studied at Canterbury and then at Cambridge where he took his BA. Then he became a secret agent for the queen. After leaving Cambridge, he went to live in London where he shared a room with Kyd and joined a group of intellectuals. Accused of murder, he was imprisoned but soon realized. His profession of atheism, his dissolute life and his freethinking made him dangerous in the eyes of the Privy Council, who decided to arrest him on evidence probably supplied by his former room-mate Kyd.
Death and legacy
But before he could be arrested he was killed in a tavern brawl. It is nevertheless widely believed that his death was not accidental, but planned for political reasons. He died very young, but he had already written a lot of plays: Tamburlaine the Great, Doctor Faustus, the Jew of Malta, Edward II… He was a spy, a dangerous man, a rebel, an atheist, but he was also a scholar, a keep observer and interpreter of his own time.
Doctor Faustus and its origins
Doctor Faustus tells about a man who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for 24 years of acknowledge and power. The devil will turn back after 24 years and Faustus will have to serve him. The devil will give his soul to the Hell. The plot was not invented by Marlowe but taken from the real history of one Georg or Johannes Faustus, a German magician. Marlowe was impressed by this story but he decided to transform Faustus from a necromancer to a scholar and theologian, and present him at a critical point of his life. In fact he is tired of the science of his time and turns to magic. The soliloquy is divided into two parts which correspond to two half hours before the arrival of the devil.
Domande da interrogazione
- What were some key aspects of Christopher Marlowe's early life and education?
- How did Christopher Marlowe's life come to an end, and what is believed about his death?
- What is the plot of "Doctor Faustus," and how did Marlowe adapt it from its original source?
Christopher Marlowe was born in Canterbury, studied at Cambridge, and became a secret agent for the queen. After leaving Cambridge, he lived in London, shared a room with Kyd, and joined a group of intellectuals. His atheism and freethinking made him a target for the Privy Council, leading to his arrest on evidence likely provided by Kyd.
Marlowe was killed in a tavern brawl before he could be arrested by the Privy Council. It is widely believed that his death was not accidental but orchestrated for political reasons. Despite his early death, he left behind significant works like "Tamburlaine the Great" and "Doctor Faustus."
"Doctor Faustus" is about a man who sells his soul to the devil for 24 years of knowledge and power. Marlowe adapted the story from the real history of Georg or Johannes Faustus, transforming the character from a necromancer to a scholar and theologian, highlighting his critical life choices and disillusionment with contemporary science.
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