. “Marlowe and Shakespeare” –
Position and Influence from a Historical Perspective
Author: Thomas W70 (blog)
Source: der Freitag 2014
Content: An essay written for the 450th anniversary of Christopher Marlowe, placing him in relation to Shakespeare. The text explores the aesthetic, historical, and stylistic connections between Marlowe and Shakespeare, thereby indirectly addressing questions of influence, and collaboration.
------------------ excerpt 1 (translated) ------------------------
Christopher Marlowe is also celebrating his 450th birthday this year. The significance that Marlowe had for Shakespeare can hardly be overestimated and goes far beyond the obvious influences he exerted on Shakespeare’s early tragedies and histories. It was Marlowe’s personality, with its dangerous unpredictability, that had an inspiring effect on Shakespeare, giving his work decisive impulses and opening up new perspectives. Even though they were fundamentally different in temperament, they were brothers in spirit. When reflecting on Shakespeare, taking a look at Marlowe as well can be extremely helpful. Viewed from this three-dimensional perspective, Shakespeare emerges much more vividly within a historical and aesthetic context.
------------------- excerpt 2 ( translated )---------------------
His [Marlowe's] enormous self-confidence was by no means without justification. He was endowed with genius: his first play, Dido, Queen of Carthage, which he probably wrote at not yet twenty for a company of boy actors, already displays an impressive assurance in conception and in verse. His first play written for the public stage, Tamburlaine the Great, was an immediate sensation, and from then on success was his constant companion.
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Personal C o m m e n t a r y:
It is difficult not to find it regrettable—and indeed astonishing—that the author, despite the situation outlined, appears never to have encountered the long-standing scholarly debate surrounding a Marlowe–Shakespeare authorship controversy.
