Christopher Marlowe Research Paper

When one thinks about playwrights and poets in The Renaissance one automatically thinks of Shakespeare, but before Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe made his big entrance on the stage by influencing theater and literature. He even taught Shakespeare a thing or two.

Born on February 26, 1564, Marlowe came into the world two months prior to Shakespeare ("Christopher Marlowe Is Baptized"). His birth occurred in Canterbury, England at the commencement of contemporary theater when the words playwright and dramatist had no meaning in the English Theater (Riggs 1). His father had the poor occupation of shoe-making. Though born into a family of poverty, Marlowe had the gift of intelligence and obtained scholarships to renowned schools ("Christopher Marlowe Is Baptized"). He attended the King's School and then went to Cambridge from late 1580 until 1587. At Cambridge, he possessed his bachelors and masters of arts degree. At first, Cambridge felt disinclined to present Marlowe with his masters degree because of his

lack of attendance, which they normally did not tolerate as many missed days as he had. But their hesitation quickly faded away when the Privy Council sent a letter proclaiming that Marlowe had served his country in his absences, and the school decided to grant him with his masters degree ("Christopher Marlowe”).
After the letter, speculations arose that Marlowe worked for the government secretly. He did have prolonged leaves and spent considerable quantities on fine dining for how little money he possessed with his scholarship income. This indicated that he had a remuneration, which could have come from government work. Though, after attaining his masters degree, Marlowe relocated to London to have a writing career ("Christopher Marlowe").
Marlowe managed to have only two of his pieces published before his death, the rest of

his work got published posthumously. His first play, Dido, Queen of Carthage, did not get issued until 1594, but many believe that Marlowe wrote it while still in college. A company of young boys had first performed this early play. His second and final play published before his death had two parts to it and had the title, Tamurlaine. This was Marlowe's first play performed on a London stage and one of the first plays written in blank verse. His other plays got published after his death and he named them The Jew of Malta, Edward the Second, The Massacre at Paris, and Doctor Faustus. The written order of these has not gotten agreed upon yet, as some still dispute about it to this day ("Christopher Marlowe").
Oddly enough, Marlowe's work corresponded to Shakespeare's, for they both wrote in blank verse and created overreaching characters. Much of their writing seemed to come from the same inventive mind. One may suppose that Marlowe wrote for Shakespeare or Shakespeare worked under the name Marlowe at one point. Speculations claim Marlowe faked his own death to continue writing for Shakespeare or that Shakespeare used a false name and came to prominence under it before using his own. Although, no one really knows if any of the suspicions have the slightest bit of truth to them (Green).
On Sunday May, 20, 1593 authorities arrested Marlowe because rumors had circulated around about him and atheism. In the Renaissance, people considered atheism scandalous and an atheist had to face the terrifying fate of burning on a stake. Fortunately for Marlowe, he did not have to encounter such an awful death on the stipulation that he report daily to an officer at the court ("Christopher Marlowe").
On the next day, May 30, 1593, Marlowe attended a meeting in his disguise as a state spy at Mrs. Bull's government safe lodging house in Deptford. A street thug named Nicholas Skeres,

a blackmailer called Ingram Frizer, and an agent Provocateur named Robin Poley made Marlowe's acquaintances at the meeting.

They all seemed in good humor till Marlowe and Frizer got in a fight over the bill, leaving Marlowe dead with a knife in his forehead. Frizer had gotten pardoned, most likely because of his position in the government ("Marlowe's End").

Around the time of Marlowe's death, investigations on him and searches for evidence against him occurred. Marlowe's roommate, playwright Thomas Kyd, experienced arrest and torture because authorities wanted information. A police spy, Richard Baines, then gave Queen Elizabeth's secret police a list of Marlowe's offensive opinions. Ingram and the other men at the meeting when Marlowe died took part in the secret police force. This gives evidence that a fight over a bill did not kill Marlowe, but something else ended his life ("The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The 16th Century: Topic 1:

Overview")
Marlowe lived for only twenty nine years and he had a literary career for less than six of them ("Christopher Marlowe"). In those years, Marlowe gave the world beautiful tragedies that catered to the audience's main concerns such as poverty, class conflict, sexual desires, differentiating religious beliefs, and their fear of hell. Even William Shakespeare mourned Marlowe's death in As You Like It (Riggs 1). Though he lived a short life, he successfully made his mark and managed to have others remember him for his great works that influenced generations of writers and shaped theater today.