Christopher Marlowe at 450

About the Book

There has never been a retrospective on Christopher Marlowe as comprehensive, complete and up-to-date in appraising the Marlovian landscape. Each chapter has been written by an eminent, international Marlovian scholar to determine what has been covered, what has not, and what scholarship and criticism will or might focus on next. The volume considers all of Marlowe’s dramas and his poetry, including his translations, as well as the following special topics: Critical Approaches to Marlowe; Marlowe’s Works in Performance; Marlowe and Theatre History; Electronic Resources for Marlovian Research; and Marlowe’s Biography. Included in the discussions are the native, continental, and classical influences on Marlowe and the ways in which Marlowe has interacted with other contemporary writers, including his influence on those who came after him. The volume has appeal not only to students and scholars of Marlowe but to anyone interested in Renaissance drama and poetry. Moreover, the significance for readers lies in the contributors’ approaches as well as in their content. Interest in the biography of Christopher Marlowe and in his works has bourgeoned since the turn of the century. It therefore seems especially appropriate at this time to present a comprehensive assessment of past and present traditional and innovative lines of inquiry and to look forward to future developments.

Table of Contents:

Part 1 Marlowe's Works: Dido, Queen of Carthage. Tamburlaine, parts one and two. Doctor Faustus. The Jew of Malta. Edward II. The Massacre at Paris. 'The Passionate Shepherd and His Love' and Hero and Leander. Translations of Ovid and Lucan. Part 2 Marlowe in Contemporary Contexts: Specters of Marlowe: the state of the debt and the work of mourning. Marlowe's plays in performance: a brief history. Marlowe and theatre history. Marlowe and electronic resources. Marlowe biography: fact, inference, conjecture, and speculation.

About the Author :

Sara Munson Deats is Distinguished University Professor of English at the University of South Florida, USA. Robert A. Logan is Professor of English at the University of Hartford, USA.

Review :
A Yankee Book Peddler US Core Title for 2015 ’Well written throughout, the collection is accessible to undergraduates, who could profitably read any chapter independent of the others. This detailed, comprehensive collection is a necessary addition to the literature on Renaissance drama. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.’ Choice 'Clearly-written and accessible for a variety of audiences, this volume provides a carefully-considered survey of the past and current conversations surrounding Marlowe's plays and poems, as well as some key biographical and historical contexts. Taken together, these essays - thoughtful, engaging, and highly instructive - offer a wealth of information, reappraising the field of Marlowe Studies while simultaneously pointing the way to timely new areas of research. In the end, the collection not only stands as a significant cartography of literary criticism and performance study, but it demonstrates by implication the vitality of an increasingly rich and continually emerging area of scholarship.' S.P. Cerasano, Colgate University, USA 'Marlowe at 450 is a welcome contribution to the recent wave of scholarship on Christopher Marlowe and his works. Each chapter provides a snapshot of the current state of Marlowe studies, while also attending to its past and forecasting the direction of its future. However, in the diversity of their approaches, the essays do not reflect a cookie-cutter pedantry. Despite the variety of argumentative strategies, the individual contributions have a common denominator in their eye-popping bibliographies, further marking the collection as an indispensable reference book.' Roslyn L. Knutson, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, USA '[This is] a celebratory volume well edited by Sara Munon Deats and Robert A. Logan ... the emphasis is on compiling and evaluating information rather than on producing yet another set of critical essays ... [it has] excellent bibliograph