1. Christopher Marlowe "What nourishes me, destroys me," baptized 26 February 1564– 30 May 1593 (Shakespeare, baptized 26 April 1564; died 23 April 1616)

2. Marlowe Son of shoemaker, Canterbury, England Attended Cambridge University on scholarship Earned BA and MA Wrote for production, not publication Wrote with others (Thomas Nash) and alone

3. University Wits 1590’s Up to 60 men, mostly university graduates Writing styles – Verse Marlowe known for his mighty line – Tragic – Heroic

4. Blank Verse Unrhymed iambic pentameter poetry Is this / the face / that launched / a thou / sand ships

5. Poet!!! Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships, And burnt the topless towers of Ilium? Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss. Her lips suck forth my soul: see where it flies! Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again. Here will I dwell, for heaven is in these lips, And all is dross that is not Helena. I will be Paris, and for love of thee, Instead of Troy, shall Wittenberg be sack'd; And I will combat with weak Menelaus, And wear thy colours on my plumed crest; Yea, I will wound Achilles in the heel, And then return to Helen for a kiss. O, thou art fairer than the evening air Clad in the beauty of a thousand stars; Brighter art thou than flaming Jupiter When he appear'd to hapless Semele; More lovely than the monarch of the sky In wanton Arethusa's azur'd arms; And none but thou shalt be my paramour!

6. Catholic!!! Marlowe was initially denied his Masters Degree on suspicion of being a Catholic The crown intervened and Marlowe was given his degree

7. Atheist!!! Thomas Kyd’s house was raided, Marlowe’s name were on some heretical papers found Kyd tortured for information Ordered to be arrested for being an atheist

8. Satanic!!! The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus Performed around 1592 First published 1604 (quarto, A text) Published again 1616 (quarto, B text)

9. Secret Agent!!! Marlowe became a secret agent at university Went to jail for participating in a fight, resulting in a man’s death

10. Assassinated??? Stabbed to death (in the eye) in a brawl in Deptford in a "dispute over an unpaid bill." – Two government agents were involved with killing – assassination?

11. Shakespeare? http://youtu.be/OsJTbWF1-lg