Jew Of Malta Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe Christopher

Jew Of Malta Christopher Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe l born in 1564 in Canterbury, England l son of a shoemaker l he gained a scholarship to Corpus Christi College Cambridge at the age of sixteen l early interest in drama l awarded his B. A. in 1584 l Elizabeth I's Privy Council secured him with an M. A in 1587

Machiavelli l l l Marlowe based his prologue character, Machevill, on the basis of a real philosopher, Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy at a time when the country was in political upheaval. Machiavelli's greatest work is The Prince, written in 1513 and published after his death in 1532. The work immediately provoked controversy and was soon condemned by Pope Clement VIII. Its main theme is that princes should retain absolute control of their territories, and they should use any means of expediency to accomplish this end, including deceit. Some readers initially saw The Prince as a satire on absolute rulers such as Borgia

Jew of Malta.

Staging l Notice that this play actually has actors talking “aside” to the audience l The Renaissance theater is dealing with the complexity of symbolic locations that would allow for the “crossing” of imaginary boundaries ( extending out from the nebula to the 'Platae' of the stage area) l Notice the development of fresh interactive strategies for actors (whispering and conspiracy) l We begin to dissect “inner qualities” in the characters of this play.

Barabas

He is: l The protagonist of the play. l He is a Jewish merchant who only cares for his daughter Abigail and gold. l His scheming for revenge lead to many deaths including Abigail’s.

l He is marked as an outsider in Maltese society because of his religion and attitude (seen as Machevallian). l He is very honest about being the villain and doing these terrible things. He never attempts to justify his actions by religious doctrine. (Porrex“Gorboduc”) l Very driven by HATE!

l. Remind us of anyone from a famous Shakespeare History Play? ? ?

Richard III

Richard and Barabas l Love to hate them l Hate to love them l Vices who are simultaneously sympathetic and detestable l Their characters are intriguing, and the most interesting character to want to follow…do we REALLY see him as such a villain? l In the end, they both send out the same message: “To be good…is boring!”

A Few Fun Facts! l It is a Tragicomedy: satire of religious hypocrisy and Machiavellian scheming l It was written in 1589– 1591, London l Publisher - Nicholas Vavafour, London l It was set during the 1565 Turkish siege of Malta, an island in the Mediterranean l Its themes are Religion; vengeance and retribution; and Machiavellian strategy l The dramatic climax was when Barabas' plot to kill Calymath backfires, and Barabas dies in a cauldron. AGREED?

? My Final Ponderings? l Is Barabas truly evil? l What role does Abigail play within the text? (innocent? Father’s pawn? )