Christopher Marlowe, Renaissance Dramatist

This book offers a lively introduction to all of the plays of Christopher Marlowe and to the central concerns of his age, many of which are still important to us& mdash;religious uncertainty, the clash between Islam and Christianity, ideas of sexuality, and the role of the marginalised inidividual in society.

Each chapter focuses on a specific aspect of Marlowe's work and its cultural contexts: Marlowe's life and death; the Marlowe canon; the theatrical contexts and stage history of the plays; Marlowe's interest in old and new branches of knowledge; the ways in which he transgresses against established norms and values; and the major issues which have been raised in critical discussions of his plays.

Key Features:

* Covers all of Marlowe's plays, including Tamburlaine the Great, Doctor Faustus, Edward II, and The Jew of Malta

* Emphasizes how daring Marlowe's ideas were at the time as well as their relevance to readers today

* Covers the theatrical contexts of Marlowe's plays and their performance history

* Reassesses Marlowe's achievement as well as his relationship to Shakespeare

Lisa Hopkins is Professor of English at Sheffield Hallam University and co-editor of Shakespeare, the journal of the British Shakespeare Association. She has a longstanding interest in Marlowe and her previous publications include Christopher Marlowe: A Literary Life (Palgrave, 2000) and Christopher Marlowe: An Author Chronology (Palgrave, 2005). She is a vice-president of the Marlowe Society and a previous joint winner of the Hoffman Award for Distinguished Publication on Christopher Marlowe.