The Cambridge Companion to Christopher Marlowe

Description

The Cambridge Companion to Christopher Marlowe provides a full introduction to one of the great pioneers of both the Elizabethan stage and modern English poetry. It recalls that Marlowe was an inventor of the English history play (Edward II) and of Ovidian narrative verse (Hero and Leander), as well as being author of such masterpieces of tragedy and lyric as Doctor Faustus and 'The Passionate Shepherd to His Love'. Sixteen leading scholars provide accessible and authoritative chapters on Marlowe's life, texts, style, politics, religion, and classicism. The volume also considers his literary and patronage relationships and his representations of sexuality and gender and of geography and identity; his presence in modern film and theatre; and finally his influence on subsequent writers. The Companion includes a chronology of Marlowe's life, a note on reference works, and a reading list for each chapter.

Patrick Cheney is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Pennsylvania State University. He is the author of Marlowe's Counterfeit Profession: Ovid, Spenser, Counter-Nationhood (1997) and Spenser's Famous Flight: A Renaissance Idea of a Literary Career (1993).

'This collection of seventeen essays gives readers the latest thinking on him and his works ... will prove invaluable to students of their respective subjects.' Contemporary Review 'The Companion can be recommended for its detailed information on all aspects of Marlowe's life and work and for the productive use it makes of modern scholarship and critical approaches. Its authoritative contributors and its orderly arrangement of topics make it an accessible and stimulating source for all those interested in Elizabethan literature and in theatre studies.' Reference Reviews 'This collection of seventeen wide-ranging essays testifies to the rich and exciting development of Marlovian studies currently taking place. The book brings together a number of scholarly and stimulating essays by some of the leading critics in the field ... this volume will doubtless serve as a work of reference on Marlowe for many years to come. ... I warmly recommend the collection for academic libraries and students of Marlovian studies: the Companion provides an absorbing introduction for readers new to Marlowe's works, but also a good source of reference for those already more engaged with the Marlovian tradition.' Journal of Theatre Research International