His relationship with Gaveston is related with dignity. Anyway, Marlowe clearly was sympathetic to the gay king. I read it a few months ago and I will re-read it soon so I can learn the history of England 'theatrically,' rather than literally. I am planning on reading more Marlowe this year, but this review reference 'Edward II.' I've gotten a bee in my bonnet to read the history plays of Shakespeare now that 'Edward III' has been entered into the canon. Oh, now I have set the hordes of dramaturges on me like the furies of old.Įvidently, this play is not published by itself.

Overall, I prefer Shakespeare to Marlowe, but it has to be said that there was Marlowe, Jonson and Shakespeare that are really worth remembering today, the rest just wrote plays. Shakespeare took his from English history, and therein lay a world of difference. Shakespeare had no real University education, so we might say that the subject matter chosen by Marlowe was that of the classical world, and heavily influenced by Protestant thinking, The Massacre at Paris. Marlowe was part of the University educated dramatists. Doctor Faustus which is his greatest work. It's also a bit snarky in places, especially where the gods are involved. The ever unpleasant The Massacre at Paris where Huguenots get killed by the hundreds, and Catherine the Queen is blamed for the whole thing.īut! We also have Dido,Queen of Carthage a very lovely telling of that very sad tale. Edward II, we all know he died as a result of a hot poker stuck up his ass. The Jew of Malta, sheesh what a horrible title. Tamburlaine, not just one, but two of those. He went for the most unpleasant subjects possible. Marlowe's choice of subjects for plays always dumbfounded me. The Everyman edition that I own has held up under some pretty heavy usage, as I tend to mark up a book until it vomits pages. I am a great fan of Christopher Marlowe, both of his poetry and his plays.

The complete plays christopher marlowe