Marlowe: the Plays (Analysing Texts)

277 Pages·2001·0.72 MB·English

by  Stevie Simkin

Marlowe:
The Plays
Stevie Simkin
01SimPm1 14/3/01 2:39 pm Page i
Marlowe: The Plays
01SimPm1 14/3/01 2:40 pm Page ii
ANALYSING TEXTS
General Editor: Nicholas Marsh
Published
Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales Gail Ashton
Webster: The Tragedies Kate Aughterson
Shakespeare: The Comedies R. P. Draper
Charlotte Brontë: The Novels Mike Edwards
Shakespeare: The Tragedies Nicholas Marsh
Jane Austen: The Novels Nicholas Marsh
Emily Brontë: Wuthering Heights Nicholas Marsh
Virginia Woolf: The Novels Nicholas Marsh
D. H. Lawrence: The Novels Nicholas Marsh
John Donne: The Poems Joe Nutt
Thomas Hardy: The Novels Norman Page
Marlowe: The Plays Stevie Simkin
Analysing Texts
Series Standing Order ISBN 0–333–73260–X
(outside North America only)
You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing
order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the
address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted
above.
Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England
01SimPm1 14/3/01 2:40 pm Page iii
Marlowe:
The Plays
STEVIESIMKIN
01SimPm1 14/3/01 2:40 pm Page iv
© Stevie Simkin 2001
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of
this publication may be made without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or
transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with
the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988,
or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying
issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court
Road, London W1P 0LP.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this
publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil
claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identified
as the author of this work in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2001 by
PALGRAVE
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
Companies and representatives throughout the world
PALGRAVE is the new global academic imprint of
St. Martin’s Press LLC Scholarly and Reference Division and
Palgrave Publishers Ltd (formerly Macmillan Press Ltd).
ISBN 0–333–92241–7 hardback
ISBN 0–333–92240–9 paperback
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and
made from fully managed and sustained forest sources.
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Simkin, Stevie.
Marlowe : the plays / Stevie Simkin.
p. cm. – (Analysing Texts)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-333–92241–7 — ISBN 0–333–92240–9 (pbk)
1. Marlowe, Christopher, 1564–1593—Criticism and interpretation.
I. Title. II. Series.
PR2674 .S58 2001
822'.3–dc21 00-048338
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01
Printed in Hong Kong
02SimPm2 8/3/1 5:15 pm Page v
For my parents
02SimPm2 8/3/1 5:15 pm Page vi
03SimPm3 8/3/1 5:16 pm Page vii
Contents
General Editor’s Preface x
A Note on Editions xi
Introductory Guidance 1
PART 1: ANALYSING MARLOWE’S PLAYS
1 Openings and Entrances 13
Tamburlaine I, Prologue and Tamburlaine II, Prologue 14
Doctor Faustus, Prologue 18
The Jew of Malta, Machiavel’s Prologue 22
Tamburlaine I, I.i.1–80 27
Doctor Faustus, I.i.1–65 31
The Jew of Malta, I.i.1–48 37
Edward II, I.i.1–23, 50–72 40
Conclusions 44
Methods of Analysis 45
Suggested Work 46
2 Heroes and Anti-Heroes 48
Tamburlaine I, V.i.64–134 49
Doctor Faustus, I.iii.45–101 56
The Jew of Malta, II.iii.164–218 61
Edward II, IV.vii.37–98 67
Conclusions 73
Methods of Analysis 74
Suggested Work 75
3 Devils and Angels 77
Tamburlaine II, V.i.148–220 79
The Jew of Malta, IV.i.49–100 86
Doctor Faustus, II.i.1–82 91
Doctor Faustus, V.i.35–80 98
vii
03SimPm3 8/3/1 5:16 pm Page viii
viii Contents
Conclusions 102
Methods of Analysis 103
Suggested Work 104
4 Power and Politics 106
Tamburlaine I, II.v.50–105 106
The Jew of Malta, V.ii.26–46, 110–123 111
Edward II, I.ii.33–83 116
Edward II, V.ii.1–56 122
Conclusions 127
Methods of Analysis 128
Suggested Work 129
5 Gender and Sexuality 130
Tamburlaine I, III.iii.166–211 131
Doctor Faustus, V.i.81–118 137
Edward II, I.iv.74–143 142
Edward II, I.iv.144–88 148
Edward II, II.iv.15–69 152
Conclusions 157
Methods of Analysis 158
Suggested Work 159
6 Black Comedy and Black Humour 161
Doctor Faustus, I.iv.1–73 163
The Jew of Malta, I.ii.301–66 170
The Jew of Malta, III.vi.1–52 176
The Jew of Malta, IV.iv.26–80 181
Conclusions 187
Methods of Analysis 187
Suggested Work 188
7 Endings and Exits 190
Tamburlaine II, V.iii.199–253 190
The Jew of Malta, V.v.51–123 195
Doctor Faustus, V.ii.57–115 200
Edward II, V.v.38–120 205
03SimPm3 8/3/1 5:16 pm Page ix
Contents ix
Conclusions 212
Methods of Analysis 214
Suggested Work 214
PART 2: THE CONTEXT AND THE CRITICS
8 Marlowe the Elizabethan 219
Introduction 219
Marlowe’s Early Life 220
Protestantism and Catholicism 222
The London Theatre 225
The Theatre Profession 227
Marlowe’s Career as a Playwright 231
Heresy and Atheism 233
Gender and Sexuality 237
Conclusion 240
9 A Sample of Critical Views 241
Harry Levin 242
Jonathan Dollimore 246
Stephen Greenblatt 251
Emily Bartels 253
Further Reading 257
Index 261