THE RELEVANT QUEER: Christopher Marlowe, Elizabethan Poet and Tragedian

“I count religion but a childish toy, And hold there is no sin but ignorance.”

TRQ: Christopher Marlowe, Baptised February 26, 1564

Elizabethan Poet and tragedian Christopher Marlowe, whose writing influenced William Shakespeare, was born in Canterbury, Kent, England. Baptised on February 26, 1564 at St. George’s Church, Cantebury he was likely born a few days earlier although the birth date was not recorded. Marlowe attended King’s School, Canterbury, and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. 

Marlowe earned his bachelor of arts in 1584. By 1587 Marlowe was writing in London. His literary career lasted less than six years. His most notable work, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, brings Lucifer to life on the stage with such power that Elizabethan audiences reportedly fainted. 

“If we say that we have no sin, We deceive ourselves, and there’s no truth in us. Why then belike we must sin, And so consequently die. Ay, we must die an everlasting death.” — Christopher Marlowe, Dr. Faustus

Shakespeare pays tribute to Marlowe often in his own work. In As You Like It, Shakespeare quotes Marlowe’s Hero and Leander. In Love’s Labour’s Lost, Shakespeare’s Marcade is a tribute to Marlowe’s character Mercury in Hero and Leander. Marlowe himself publicly identified with the god Mercury. Themes from Marlowe’s work reappear in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, The Merchant of Venice, Richard II and Macbeth. 

In fact, academics have determined that Marlowe’s impact on Shakespeare’s work is significant enough to credit Marlowe in future editions of Henry VI, Parts One, Two and Three. 

An atheist who behaved disreputably, Marlowe earned a dangerous reputation. He was both scandalous and charismatic. According to part-time spy Richard Baines in a report dubbed the “Baine’s Note,” Marlowe publicly doubted the existence of God, claimed that he could have improved the “filthily written” New Testament, and insisted that Christian communion should be administered through a tobacco pipe. 

“All they that love not tobacco and boys were fools.” — Christopher Marlowe

Baines’ evidence is today regarded as unreliable and comparable to inciting a witch-hunt. In his report Baines warns that “All men in Christianity ought to endeavour that the mouth of so dangerous a member may be stopped.” Only a few days after the report was submitted, Marlowe was stabbed to death in Deptford, London, by Ingram Frizer. The suspicious nature of Marlowe’s murder is questioned by Shakespeare in As You Like It, and continues to raise doubts today. 

“For religion hides many mischiefs from suspicion.” — Christopher Marlowe, The Jew of Malta

Marlowe’s homosexuality is unclear. Whether a fabricated character assassination or inferred from his handling of male sexuality in Edward II, Marlowe’s sexuality would have been more understood in the Elizabethan era in terms of sexual acts rather than sexual orientation or identity. 

About the Authors

Troy Wise is currently a PhD student at UAL Central St Martins and teaches fashion and graphic design at London College of Contemporary Arts. His background is in marketing and is founder and co-editor of Image Amplified. He lives in, and is continually fascinated by, the city of London.

Rick Guzman earned his most recent MA at UAL Central St Martins in Applied Imagination in the Creative Industries. He currently holds two MA’s and an MBA in the New Media, Journalism and International Business fields. Co-editor at Image Amplified since its start, he lives in London, is fascinated by history and is motivated by continuing to learn and explore. 

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Sources:

Biography

Marlowe, Christopher; Forker, Charles R. (15 October 1995). Edward the Second. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719030895.

Studenti

The Guardian

The Independent