Playwrights Christopher Marlowe & Moliere

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is probably the greatest dramatist of all time, and yet he owed a self-acknowledged debt to Christopher Marlowe; indeed, some think it was Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great, Part I which lead Shakespeare to become a playwright. Tamburlaine continued to "serve as a model for a generation of playwrights: the admixture of titanic, episodic action with classic form, the whole expressed in powerful blank verse" (Burdick, 1974, 63).

Tamburlaine depicts the rise of a young peasant lad to transcendent power by ruthless means which have been used before and since. It typifies the Elizabethan desire for glory and advancement clothed in magnificent language. This youth tortures the Emperor and Empress until they kill themselves and he seizes the throne for himself. "Though not the first tragedy written in blank verse, it was the first written for a public theater, and was certainly a first in importance because Marlowe strained himself to prove that the form could be more effective than rhyme" (Freedley, 1951, 105).

Christopher Marlowe was well trained in classical studies at Cambridge. He is a member of what has come to be called the "university wits," a group of ver

. . .
dley, 1941, 148). Despite his apparent cynicism, MoliFre "had the wisdom to remember that the object of comedy is laughter and entertainment" (Gassner, 1940, 295). Even so, his language is "rarely witty for its own sake--aptness to character and situation is the secret of his dialogue" (Brockett, 1974, 210). Ironically, MoliFre died while biting the hands of those who in the medical profession who were powerless to cure him. While playing the part of a hypochondriac who fears death and doctors in his last play, Le Malade imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid), he collapsed on stage, lampooning the fatuity of a would-be doctor with too much learning and no sense. He was buried without ceremony, and after sunset, as he had not been given the sacraments nor had he renounced the actor's life.  References Brockett, O. G. (1974). History of the theatre. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Burdick, J. (1974). Theater. New York: Newsweek Books. Freedley, G. (1941). A history of the theatre. New York: Crown Publishers. Gassner, J. (1940). Masters of the drama. New York: Dover Publications. Norman, J. (1960). Christopher Marlowe. New York: Dover Publications. The period 1915-1940 represents the beginnings of what we now con
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Doctor Faustus, Threepenny Opera, Britannica Macropaedia, Dover Publications, Staging Swiss, Artaud Burdick, Voltaire France's, MoliFre Alceste's, Heyward America's, Marlowe's Tamburlaine, gassner 1940, burdick 1974, brockett 1974, encyclopedia britannica, encyclopedia britannica macropaedia, history theatre, christopher marlowe, britannica macropaedia, freedley 1941, doctor faustus, freedley 1951, york dover publications, theatre boston allyn, allyn bacon burdick, boston allyn bacon,
Approximate Word count = 3180
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)