Christopher Marlowe

Blank verse's first master, whose overreachers — Tamburlaine, Faustus — burned bright before Deptford cut it short.

Specifications & Metrics

era

1564 – 1593

language

English

region

Canterbury, Cambridge, and London

notable works

Doctor Faustus, Tamburlaine, The Jew of Malta

Core Principles & Analysis

• Tamburlaine's mighty line established blank verse as English drama's meter.
• He was killed in a Deptford tavern quarrel at twenty-nine.
• Shakespeare's early work plays in the theatrical world Marlowe built.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Christopher Marlowe