Christopher Marlowe

The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, commonly referred to simply as Doctor Faustus, is an Elizabethan tragedy by Christopher Marlowe, based on German stories about the title character Faust, that was first performed sometime between 1588 and Marlowe's death in 1593. Two different versions of the play were published in the Jacobean era, several years later. The powerful effect of early productions of the play is indicated by the legends that quickly accrued around them—that actual devils once appeared on the stage during a performance, "to the great amazement of both the actors and spectators", a sight that was said to have driven some spectators mad.

Marlowe was an English poet, dramatist and translator in the Elizabethian period. Faust is the famous story of a man selling his soul to the devil for power and knowledge. On a deeper level man's decay from choosing material things over the spiritual is depicted.

The complete plays of Christopher Marlowe, in which the lure of dark forces drives the shifting balances between weak and strong, sacred and profane Marlowe's seven plays dramatise the fatal lure of potent forces, whether religious, occult or erotic. In the victories of Tamburlaine, Faustus's encounters with the demonic, the irreverence of Barabas in The Jew of Malta , and the humiliation of Edward II in his fall from power and influence, Marlowe explores the shifting balance between power and helplessness, the sacred and its desecration. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

A guide to reading "Doctor Faustus" with a critical and appreciative mind. Includes background on the author's life and times, sample tests, term paper suggestions, and a reading list.

The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus By Christopher Marlowe

The political tragedy of a King ruled by his infatuation for young Gaveston. Set in early fourteenth-century Britain, Christopher Marlowe's play follows Edward II as he indulges his passion and renounces his duties, and ultimately pays the price for forsaking his country.

Marlowe's unfinished masterpiece, as completed by George Chapman. Includes an introduction and notes by Edward Blunt.

Book by Christopher Marlowe

One of the greatest English playwrights, Christopher Marlowe received the scholarly compliment of having long been considered the author of some plays now attributed to Shakespeare. Marlowe's remarkable inventiveness and powers of poetic expression enabled him to render his first play, Tamburlaine, the relatively new form of English blank verse, establishing the form for later Elizabethan dramatic writing. This heroic epic, his most ambitious work, was also the first genuine English tragedy.Produced around 1587, the two-part romantic drama derives from the historical figure of Tamerlane (1336–1405), a Mongol warrior whose conquests and tyrannical rule extended from the Black Sea to the Upper Ganges. In Part I, Tamburlaine represents the best and most admirable qualities of the Renaissance man — his relentless rise to greatness, his ability to defy the odds and his determined pursuit of all life's possibilities. The first part concludes with the hero at the zenith of his powers, with vivid descriptions of his military victories and the passionate courting of a rival's captive daughter; in Part II, however, Tamburlaine's ambition overrides his better nature, and his greed and vanity ultimately lead to his ruin.Ideal for classroom use, this volume will also be a welcomed addition to the libraries of anyone fond of English literary classics.