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Christopher Marlowe: Blank Verse
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Christopher Marlowe (baptized February 26, 1564 - May 30, 1593) was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. He is known for his magnificent blank verse and overreaching protagonists.
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Unfortunately, much of Marlowe's work must be judged from corrupt texts. He neglected to publish authoritative texts. His greatest contribution to the theatre of his time was stylistic. Marlowe used the blank verse with power and intensity and introduced a new character on the English stage, the villain-hero.
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Marlowe followed the Italian Machiavelli in admiration for mental and spiritual freedom. He tried to show the inner spiritual struggle in his plays; "he made tragedy a matter of character, not caste." In addition, he greatly improved the blank verse that in his time was the recognized vehicle of tragic drama. But he had one important weakness: he lacked the ability to portray women and none of his plays treats the subject of love.
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There are seven plays and various poems and translations that are ascribed to Marlowe's name. Through the plays he gave birth to Elizabethan blank verse drama. There are many parallels in words, phrases and imagery between his work and that of Shakespeare, which, at the very least, indicate that Shakespeare learned his trade from him. Computers seem unable to differentiate between his work and that of Shakespeare.
Others had used blank verse before Marlowe, but none had shown what an astonishingly eloquent vehicle it could be. In his plays written at the same time as Marlowe's, Shakespeare's verse is noticeably less striking.
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