Christopher Marlowe: The Man in His Time

Christopher or Kit Marlowe (1564-93), was an English Elizabethan writer who rose from a shoemaker’s son to become a Cambridge scholar, famous playwright, and secret agent of the queen’s court.[1]  He was murdered and perhaps assassinated before the age of thirty.  In just six short years of production, he influenced Shakespeare and many others and left an indelible mark on English literature.  If you know who he was, congratulations on your education, if you were like me before I read this book, I could not have told you hardly anything about him except the name sounded familiar.  This is a good book to read about Christopher Marlowe because he was a very interesting and important person in English literature, the author has excellent credentials, and the narrative style is pleasant to read and informative.

Marlowe was a very interesting and influential person.  One of his most famous quotes is from Doctor Faustus, “Was this the face that launcht a thousand shippes?”[2] This is from the scene where Faustus has Mephistopheles raise Helen of Troy from the dead to be his paramour and he falls helplessly in love.  Marlowe rose rapidly in fame in London for his plays.  Even after his death they continued to draw in crowds for decades after.  In addition to Doctor Faustus, he is known for Tamburlaine, The Jew of Malta, Edward the Second, and The Massacre at Paris.  He performed extensive research for his plays.  Shakespeare and others borrowed or what we call plagiarized many of his ideas.  I believe plagiarism was not formally recognized as a crime in England until early in the 18^th century.  John Bakeless, the author of this book about Marlowe, gives numerous, but not tedious, examples of how others used Marlowe’s works to continue the dramatic conversation of English literature.

John Edwin Bakeless (1894-1978) was an American author, educator, and editor.[3]  In 1918 he received his B.A. in philosophy from Williams College.[4]  At Harvard, he earned his M.A. in philosophy in 1920 and his Ph.D. in English philology in 1936.[5]  His dissertation was “Christopher Marlowe, A Biographical and Critical Study,” which spawned both this book and The Tragical History of Christopher Marlowe.[6]  Bakeless taught and lectured at several universities from 1927 until he retired in 1953 to spend more time writing.[7]  He served in the Army Reserve for over thirty-five years and earned a Bronze Star.[8]  The Central Intelligence Agency recognized Bakeless talents and used him as a consultant.[9]  Even in this early work, we see the literary talent he possessed to convey to the reader the information they needed to understand the topic he was discussing.

Bakeless frequently parallels Shakespeare’s and Marlowe’s life.  He delivers a pleasant narrative that keeps the reader interested and eager to learn more.  The story moves from his beginning to his death.  We learn the books he had access to and might have used for his research.  The author paints a picture of 16^th century life of a scholar at Cambridge and the intrigue and danger of the city of London.  These were the days of the threat of the Spanish Armada and the danger of the popery.  An example of Bakeless’ narrative skill can be seen in the following when Marlowe was entering London, “He had is education, his pen, his genius, and his way to make.”[10]  He continues a little later, with “Ahead lay swift and dazzling success – and death almost as swift.  He plunged into the life of London.”[11]  Bakeless himself seemed to have picked up the flair and drama of Marlowe.

By now, it is obvious I enjoyed this book.  Marlowe is an intriguing character from the past that played a vital role in the history of English literature.  Bakeless brings a very professional and yet easy narrative form to the material that creates an easy atmosphere for the reader to enjoy.  I look forward to reading more from both of these writers in the future.

Bibliography

Bakeless, John. Christopher Marlowe: The Man in His Time. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1937.

Pennsylvania Center for the Book. “Bakeless, John Edwin.” Accessed February 2, 2016. http://pabook2.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Bakeless__John_Edwin.html

[1] John Bakeless, Christopher Marlowe: The Man in His Time (New York: William Morrow and Company, 1937)

[2] Ibid., 132

[3] Pennsylvania Center for the Book, “Bakeless, John Edwin,” accessed February 2, 2016.  http://pabook2.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Bakeless__John_Edwin.html

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid.

[10] John Bakeless, Christopher Marlowe: The Man in His Time (New York: William Morrow and Company, 1937), 103

[11] Ibid.