History Creator / ChristopherMarlowe

* AffectionateNickname: "Kit" Marlowe is used by his friends in fictional stories.

!! Marlowe in HistoricalFiction

* ICouldaBeenAContender: Fictional stories of Marlowe play up the poignance of his death, and how he had a chance to be as great and famous as Shakespeare had he not died. Shakespeare and Ben Jonson and others remember their old friend and wonder mourn how he was TooCoolToLive. [[invoked]]

* CreateYourOwnVillain: Marlowe's ''The Jew of Malta'' while not free of the anti-semitism of its premise at the very least has a Jewish protagonist as a VillainProtagonist (where ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice'' has a Jewish BigBad and supporting character). Barrabas also makes it clear that his actions are inspired by racism and oppression at the hands of Christians and Muslims.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: He appears in ShakespeareInFiction and his dramatic death has also been portrayed in a series of novels, most notably Creator/AnthonyBurges' ''A Dead Man in Deptford''.

** Creator/RupertEverett plays Marlowe similarly in ''Film/ShakespeareInLove'' giving professional advice and some uncredited doctoring on ''Romeo and Juliet'' and then being killed by Shakespeare's nemesis in a case of PoorCommunicationKills. Marlowe's death makes Shakespeare feeling very guilty.

Marlowe's death in what was considered a Bar Brawl at Deptford was long the source of suspicion and rumor. In the 20th Century, a researcher discovered the original coroner's report and while he dismissed foul play, he did note that Marlowe spent his final day in the company of known underworld types linked to Thomas Walsingham, a relative of Queen Elizabeth's hatchet-man Sir Francis Walsingham. This has fed much ConspiracyTheory about Marlowe and the circumstances of his death. There are still others who argue that Marlowe faked his death and continued writing under the pseudonym of... Creator/WilliamShakespeare. This is far from being the most popular theory even among aficionados of the Shakespearean authorship theory. In any case, while Marlowe did influence Shakespeare, there are enough differences between their plays to give pause to any claims of continuity. For one thing, Shakespeare was quite good at writing women characters whereas Marlowe's work is very much a boy's club with only ''Dido, Queen of Carthage'' counting as a prominent female role in his plays. In Marlowe's case this might have been an InvokedTrope since only men were allowed to act in his day, so he might have dialled down the female presence in his works for greater theatrical realism. However, this still means that Shakespeare went out of his way, to deliberately write characters who were feminine. Where Shakespeare mixed comedy with tragedy, and put in supporting characters with a lot of humour in his plays, Marlowe's works are far more unified and even in tone and generally lack Shakespeare's comic skill. The main point in common of course is the characterization of the anti-heroic and anti-villainous protagonists, with schemers and manipulators and elaborate revenge schemes, but this in the case of both Marlowe and Shakespeare is not original to them. It comes from Thomas Kyd's ''The Spanish Tragedy'' which was the TropeMaker and TropeCodifier for the Elizabethan Tragedy and the first popular success of the GoldenAge of English drama.

** ''Tamburlaine'' declares himself the Scourge of God and sets fire on the Koran and basically has a philosophy akin to a proto-{{ubermensch}} who cannot be stopped by any force until his death.

* TheMentor: There's no evidence that he was this to Shakespeare, though there are indications that he and Shakespeare collaborated on ''Theatre/HenryVI'' but Marlowe is often portrayed as the BigManOnCampus who gives advice to the provincial grammar school noob from Stratford who all the other university wits make fun of for his "little greek and latin". ** In Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', Marlowe looks at Shakespeare's early verse tells him its very bad and that he should probably not waste his time but he does it gently, and Shakespeare takes his [[CompassionateCritic compassionate criticism]] to heart and writes Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream to impress his hero and is disappointed that he died before seeing it.
* TheSpy: Other historical stories feature Marlowe as [[NinjaPirateRobotZombie a gay atheist Elizabethan James Bond]], Peter Whelan's play ''The School of Night'' does this. Marlowe is believed to have been a spy and an associate of Walter Raleigh at any rate.

--> '''Barabbas''': ''Why, I esteem the injury far less,\\

And therefore ne'er distinguish of the wrong.''

* ReligionIsWrong: Marlowe was labelled an atheist in the Elizabethan Age. But this was done by his enemies and atheism did not have the same sense as it would to a modern audience. Nevertheless, Marlowe's plays are really critical and ambivalent about religion.

-->''I count religion but a childish toy\\

* ConspiracyTheory: On account of the overall mystery of his life:

* TheMentor: There's no evidence that he was this to Shakespeare, though there are indications that he and Shakespeare collaborated on ''Theatre/HenryVI'' but Marlowe is often portrayed as the BigManOnCampus who gives advice to the provincial grammar school noob from Stratford who all the other university wits make fun of for his "little greek and latin". ** In Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', Marlowe looks at Shakespeare's early verse tells him its very bad and that he should probably not waste his time but he does it gently and Shakespeare takes it to heart and writes Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream to impress his hero and is disappointed that he died before seeing it.
**

Marlowe's death in what was considered a Bar Brawl at Deptford was long the source of suspicion and rumor. In the 20th Century, a researcher discovered the original coroner's report and while he dismissed foul play, he did note that Marlowe spent his final day in the company of known underworld types linked to Thomas Walsingham, a relative of Queen Elizabeth's hatchet-man Sir Francis Walsingham. This has fed much ConspiracyTheory about Marlowe and the circumstances of his death. There are still others who argue that Marlowe faked his death and continued writing under the pseudonym of... Creator/WilliamShakespeare. One person who believes this is Creator/JimJarmusch, he even made [[Film/OnlyLoversLeftAlive a movie]] around it.

* BlackAndGrayMorality: ''The Jew of Malta''

* ByronicHero: Doctor Faustus, Tamburlaine

* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: ''The Jew of Malta'' has the flashy MagnificentBastard VillainProtagonist that is the [[EvilIsCool coolest character in the show and wins at absolutely everything]], but then gets [[spoiler:boiled alive]] in the last five minutes as if to say that "we aren't supposed to root for them" was invoked.

* GreedyJew: ''The Jew of Malta''

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli delivers the prologue to ''The Jew of Malta''; as anyone who had actually read Machiavelli would know, Governor Ferneze arguably could be a follower of his. Many modern productions have Ferneze and Machiavelli played by the same actor.
* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: How any Marlowe [[VillainProtagonist protagonist]] meets his end.]]

* ThenLetMeBeEvil: In ''The Jew of Malta'' the protagonist gets cheated out of his fortune by those in power who hold the attitude that [[GreedyJew Jews are greedy and evil]], [[{{Hypocrite}} oh and by the way make more money so we can cheat you out of it again.]] This is his StartOfDarkness because he decides if he's going to be considered wicked no matter what he does he might as well show them true villainy.

--> '''Barabbas''': ''Why, I esteem the injury far less,/To take the lives of miserable men/Than be the causers of their misery.''

He was regarded highly, at least in terms of his writing, by his literary contemporaries, including Creator/WilliamShakespeare (who was beginning his own rise to fame when Marlowe died, and whose works contain many {{Shout Out}}s to Marlowe). [[MoralGuardians Staid, respectable people]], however, regarded him as a [[JerkAss contentious brawler]] and [[BombThrowingAnarchist a dangerous rebel against society]]. Which seems to have been exactly the reputation Marlowe was going for. By all accounts he was one of those over-clever young men who get a charge out of shocking their elders and social superiors. In his case it may have come back to bite him. It certainly bit his friend and roommate Thomas Kyd who probably died of the trauma he suffered when questioned about Marlowe's opinions and associates.

'''Christopher Marlowe''' (1564 - 1593) was an English poet, dramatist, and translator. He is probably best known for ''[[Theatre/DoctorFaustus The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus]]'', ''The Jew of Malta'', and ''Tamburlaine''. He was one of the first to write English drama in blank verse.

* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: ''The Jew of Malta'' has the flashy MagnificentBastard VillainProtagonist that is the [[EvilIsCool coolest character in the show and wins at absolutely everything]], but then gets [[spoiler: boiled alive]] in the last five minutes as if to say see "we aren't supposed to root for them."

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli delivers the prologue to ''The Jew of Malta''. It is as awesome as it sounds.
** Although it wasn't ''intended'' to be awesome. Given the opinion of the time period about Machiavelli, invoking him is basically waving a big red flag saying "This story's about an evil guy!"
*** Uncertain. Anyone who had actually read Machiavelli would know that Barabas is absolutely NOT a follower of his... and his enemy Governor Ferneze arguably is. Many modern productions have Ferneze and Machiavelli played by the same actor.

* [[ParentalMarriageVeto Parental Relationship Veto]]: ''Edward II'' As soon as his dad is dead he gets together with Gaveston.

* YaoiGuys: ''[[{{Uke}} Edward II]]'' with [[{{Seme}} Gaveston]]

Marlowe's death in what was considered a Bar Bawl at Deptford was long the source of suspicion and rumor. In the 20th Century, a researcher discovered the original coroner's report and while he dismissed foul play, he did note that Marlowe spent his final day in the company of known underworld types linked to Thomas Walsingham, a relative of Queen Elizabeth's hatchet-man Sir Francis Walsingham. This has fed much ConspiracyTheory about Marlowe and the circumstances of his death. There are still others who argue that Marlowe faked his death and continued writing under the pseudonym of...Creator/WilliamShakespeare. One person who believes this is Creator/JimJarmusch, he even made [[Film/OnlyLoversLeftAlive a movie]] around it.

** He also opened one play, ''Dido, Queen of Carthage'', with a love scene between [[ClassicalMythology Zeus and Ganymede]], though that was already shipped for him.

* HeroicComedicSociopath: Because of ValuesDissonance and he's [[AffablyEvil very entertaining in his evil schemes]] the audience may end up [[RootingForTheEmpire rooting for]] [[VillainProtagonist The Jew of Malta.]]

* [[YaoiFangirl Yaoi Fanboy]]: He shipped [[Literature/TheBible Jesus and John]]. Someone quoted, or paraphrased, him as saying that "John the baptist was bedfellow to Christ, and leaned alwaies in his bosom, and used him as the sinners of Sodoma." He is also supposed to have said that "Christ was a bastard and his mother dishonest [unchaste]" and that "the Angel Gabriel was bawd [pimp] to the Holy Ghost". Due to this he was accused of atheism and blasphemy-serious charges-but died only days before he his case was scheduled to be heard by the Privy Council, which some see as linking his murder with it.

* [[YaoiFangirl Yaoi Fanboy]]: He shipped [[Literature/TheBible Jesus and John]]. Someone quoted, or paraphrased, him as saying that "John the baptist was bedfellow to Christ, and leaned alwaies in his bosom, and used him as the sinners of Sodoma." He is also supposed to have said that "Christ was a bastard and his mother dishonest [unchaste]" and that "the Angel Gabriel was bawd [pimp] to the Holy Ghost". Due to this Marlowe was apparently accused of "atheism" (in those days this probably didn't mean a disbelief in God, but rather attacking orthodox religion).

* AssShove: [[spoiler: the end of ''Edward II'' [[CruelAndUnusualDeath with a branding iron.]]]]

* ComeToGawk: happens to [[spoiler:Bajazeth]] in ''Tamburlaine''

* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: how any Marlowe [[VillainProtagonist protagonist]] meets his end.]]

* PuppetKing: in ''Edward II'' the other members of the DeadlyDecadentCourt fear [[EvilChancellor Gaveston's influence]] on the king.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: ''The Jew of Malta''
* RoyalBrat: ''Edward II''

* TakeOverTheWorld: ''Tamburlaine''
* ThenLetMeBeEvil: In ''The Jew of Malta'' the protagonist gets cheated out of his fortune by those in power who hold the attitde that [[GreedyJew Jews are greedy and evil]], [[{{Hypocrite}} oh and by the way make more money so we can cheat you out of it again.]] This is his StartOfDarkness because he decides if he's going to be considered wicked no matter what he does he might as well show them true villainy.

* VillainProtagonist: ''The Jew of Malta'', ''Tamburlaine''
* [[YaoiFangirl Yaoi Fanboy]]: He shipped [[Literature/TheBible Jesus and John]]. Someone quoted, or paraphrased, him as saying that "John the baptist was bedfellow to Christ, and leaned alwaies in his bosom, and used him as the sinners of Sodoma." (He is also supposed to have said that "Christ was a bastard and his mother dishonest [unchaste]" and that "the Angel Gabriel was bawd [pimp] to the Holy Ghost".)

He was regarded highly, at least in terms of his writing, by his literary contemporaries, including Creator/WilliamShakespeare (who was beginning his own rise to fame when Marlowe died, and whose works contain many {{Shout Out}}s to Marlowe). [[MoralGuardians Said, respectable people]], however, regarded him as a [[JerkAss contentious brawler]] and [[BombThrowingAnarchist a dangerous rebel against society]]. Which seems to have been exactly the reputation Marlowe was going for. By all accounts he was one of those over-clever young men who get a charge out of shocking their elders and social superiors. In his case it may have come back to bite him. It certainly bit his friend and roommate Thomas Kyd who probably died of the trauma he suffered when questioned about Marlowe's opinions and associates.

* [[spoiler: KarmicDeath]]: [[spoiler: how any Marlowe [[VillainProtagonist protagonist]] meets his end.]]

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: NiccoloMachiavelli delivers the prologue to ''The Jew of Malta''. It is as awesome as it sounds.

He was regarded highly, at least in terms of his writing, by his literary contemporaries, including Creator/WilliamShakespeare (who was beginning his own rise to fame when Marlowe died, and whose works contain many {{Shout Out}}s to Marlowe). [[MoralGuardians Said, respectable people]], however, regarded him as a [[JerkAss contentious brawler]] and [[BombThrowingAnarchist a dangerous rebel against society]].

* BreakTheHaughty: The VillainProtagonist by the third act of any ChristopherMarlowe play. (''Tamburlaine'', ''The Jew of Malta'', ''Theatre/DoctorFaustus'', etc.)

* PrideBeforeAFall: The VillainProtagonist by the third act of any ChristopherMarlowe play. (''Tamburlaine'', ''The Jew of Malta'', ''Theatre/DoctorFaustus'', etc.)

He was regarded highly, at least in terms of his writing, by his literary contemporaries, including WilliamShakespeare (who was beginning his own rise to fame when Marlowe died, and whose works contain many {{Shout Out}}s to Marlowe). [[MoralGuardians Said, respectable people]], however, regarded him as a [[JerkAss contentious brawler]] and [[BombThrowingAnarchist a dangerous rebel against society]].

As a HistoricalDomainCharacter, his appearances in fiction almost invariably feature one or both of (a) his acquaintance with Creator/{{Shakespeare}}; (b) his death. (Which was somewhat suspicious, and has prompted theories that it was a set-up by the English secret service, either to keep him from spilling some secret or, more creatively, to allow him to adopt a new identity and go into hiding. People who promote the creative version are generally advocates of the theory that Marlowe was the true author of Shakespeare's plays, even the ones written after 1593, or else historical fiction writers who don't care whether it's true because it makes a good story.)

* FoeYay: Lightborne/Edward II, he "must have the king." See AssShove above.