Christopher Marlowe was a playwright and poet who lived during Shakespeare’s time. He had four major plays, including Doctor Faustus, and was known for his unorthodox religious beliefs and possibly being openly homosexual. He died in 1593, possibly in a bar fight, and his work was appreciated more after his death.
Christopher Marlowe was an English playwright and contemporary of William Shakespeare. Born on 6 February 1564 in Canterbury, he grew up in the merchant class and had access to at least a decent education. He graduated from Benet College in 1571 and in 1580 joined the Lord Admiral’s Players’ Company in London.
Marlowe had four major plays: Tamburlaine the Great, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, The Jew of Malta and Edward the Second. He certainly had other works, but these were his best known, and those still performed. Of these, Faustus is probably the best known and the one who has had the greatest impact on popular culture. Marlowe was also a famous poet in his day and many literary experts say his work had a direct influence on the works of Shakespeare. In all likelihood, he had little formal training in writing, which makes his literary achievements all the more remarkable.
Christopher Marlowe was known in his day for his unorthodox religious beliefs, and some sources say he was openly homosexual, but many centuries later, it’s hard to know exactly where the truth lies. Contemporaries and other sources note that he “celebrated hard,” to use an anachronism. Some said he was an atheist, but that too is up for debate. He had famous friends in the court of Queen Elizabeth I, including Sir Walter Raleigh, who may have been one of his patrons.
Marlowe died in May 1593, at Deptford. Contemporary scholars theorize that he was probably killed in a bar fight, and this is certainly not out of the realm of possibility, considering how few actual facts are known about his life. He was buried in St Nicholas churchyard in Deptford, and outrageous stories circulated some time later about the circumstances of his death, including one that he was stabbed to death in a fight over a man. His colorful life was even used as a solemn warning to others in Puritan author Thomas Beard’s “The Theater of God’s Judgments.”
Much of what Marlowe achieved was overshadowed by what Shakespeare was doing at the same time. His work was widely appreciated long after his death, rather than during his short life.
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