Marlowe's Books
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Marlowe’s Books: Reading, Writing, and Early Modern Drama Christine Edwards Bachelor of Arts (Honours) A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2018 School of Communication and Arts Abstract In our enthusiasm to depict Christopher Marlowe as an iconoclast—who challenged restrictive sexual, religious, and political norms—we have perhaps neglected the Marlowe who read. Unlike his direct contemporary William Shakespeare, Marlowe undertook a university education, completing both a Bachelor and Masters degree. At Cambridge, Marlowe would have built upon the rhetorical training of his grammar school and been rigorously trained in the principles of debating on either side of contentious topics. It is generally understood that around this time he put his extensive classical training to use when he translated Ovid and Lucan, and wrote the classically- inspired play Dido, Queen of Carthage. As I argue in this thesis, taking greater account of Marlowe’s bookish influences is not to reimagine him as somehow more conservative in his views, but rather to underline that his subversive writings are at times inspired by, and consumed with, books. His relation to books was not one of respectful emulation. He questioned the authority of the works he read, juxtaposing them with competing and opposing texts—a pattern that emerges in all four plays I discuss. It is my contention that we find a slightly different version of Marlowe when we consider how he read: a man who was interested in pursuing “merely” intellectual concerns, like the versioning of the Dido myth or the omissions of the historical chronicles. And yet it is out of this bookish thinking that Marlowe builds storylines that question the will of God and the divine right of kings. Indeed, I suggest that we have not fully understood what the category “book” meant to Marlowe. Rather than identifying new textual borrowings or focussing upon one particularly influential or revered writer, I suggest that he persistently draws attention to conflicts between books. Consequently, this thesis argues that books were never stable and reliable sources of eloquence and wisdom for him, but alternately contradictory, confusing, dangerous, or even ridiculous. It is this awareness of how books can change people, both intellectually and socially, and can alter perception, that energises the four plays I will be examining. By paying greater attention to how books influence, drive, or lurk behind his plays, we gain a better understanding of Marlowe’s bookish thought. In the first half of the thesis I will look at two plays that openly wrestle with books and incorporate them into the experience of the play. In Dido, Marlowe plays off competing textual traditions against each other, foregrounding the versioning of each character between these traditions. By refusing to assert the primacy of a single account, Marlowe’s imitative work bases itself in textual conflict. Unlike all of Marlowe’s other plays, Dido was written for a children’s theatre production, and he relies upon the usually richer, and possibly better-read, audiences of such productions to follow his bookish experiment. By contrast, Doctor Faustus was written for a more diverse audience that may not have been as familiar with classical literature. For this audience, books appear as physical objects on stage that are variously debated, worshipped, rejected, and stolen. Books, as much as magic itself, have the potential to transform people and their fortunes in unpredictable and sometimes unpleasant ways. In Faustus, as I show, books shape the thoughts of those who hold them, playing an uneasy role in determining someone’s place in the world. In the second half of the thesis I look at two plays that reflect Marlowe’s reading practices more subtly. In Edward II, Marlowe juxtaposes the conflicted accounts of the chronicles, which form a largely unnoticed inspiration for the divided play that emerges. It is not necessary for the audience to have a thorough understanding of where and how the chronicles contradict one another; instead, these contradictions are embedded in the theatrical experience. The play that emerges takes a historiographical course that treats history as ultimately unknowable and beyond moralising narratives, at the same time that it critiques the omissions and silences of the chronicles. In Tamburlaine Part One, I return to one of Marlowe’s earliest works in order to explore in detail a facet of his writing that appears in all of his work: his tendency towards self-imitation. Nestled within a martial play, Tamburlaine adopts the language of Marlowe’s own lyric, “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love,” in order to win the love of Zenocrate and the loyalty of the general Theridamas. While Marlowe imitates his own writings rather than an actual book, his irreverent reinvention fits the same pattern of the other plays. Culminating in the forced suicide of Agydas, Marlowe ties Tamburlaine’s alternately charismatic and brutal nature to the doubleness underlying the pastoral invitation, and of Marlowe’s own oeuvre. Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, financial support and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my higher degree by research candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis be made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis and have sought permission from co- authors for any jointly authored works included in the thesis. Publications during candidature Edwards, Christine. “Bookish Play: Imitation and Innovation in Dido, Queen of Carthage.” Marlowe Studies, vol. 4, 2014, pp. 29-48. Edwards, Christine. “’In No Respect Can Contraries be True’: Passion and Reason in Marlowe’s Edward II.’” Cerae, vol. 1, 2014, pp. 53-74. Publications included in this thesis No publications included. Contributions by others to the thesis No contributions by others. Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree None. Research Involving Human or Animal Subjects No animal or human subjects were involved in this research. Acknowledgements I would like to thank the University of Queensland and the School of Communication and Arts for enabling and supporting my studies. I have been the grateful recipient of an APA scholarship, a UQ conference travel award, and a CommArts finishing scholarship. I also wish to thank the Marlowe Society of America who awarded me a travel grant, allowing me to fly to the US for their seventh international conference. There have been so many supportive people within the broader academic community who have helped me to this point, from clarifying historical and intellectual points, to hunting down travel grants, to those brief moments of unexpected professional kindness. I am extremely grateful to all three of my supervisors for their wit and generosity through the course of my studies. Beginning in my undergraduate days, Alison Scott has been an inspiring and forbearing mentor. When I was worried that I might lose interest in Marlowe during the course of my Honours studies, it was Alison who assured me that, of all writers, he was unlikely to prove a dull choice. She was right. When Alison left UQ, I was fortunate to have Peter Holbrook take on my project. At this late and yet crucial stage Peter helped me to articulate what the thesis meant as a whole and, most importantly, to give it a name. My associate supervisor, Jennifer Clement, reminded me of the virtues of clarity and has been a great encourager along the road. I gratefully acknowledge David McInnis, Ross Knecht, and Tom Bishop who have each read parts of my work and encouraged me to keep thinking and reading. Here at UQ we have fantastic professional staff, and Angela Tuohy and Cathy Squirrell have tirelessly assisted me, and all postgraduate students, in negotiating the treacherous pathways through milestones, extensions, and requirements. Their invaluable support too often goes unmentioned. Lastly, I must of course acknowledge my friends and family. Lana Harding has kept me sane, my Grandpa helped me afford travelling to the US for a once-in-five-years Marlowe conference, my brother generously shared his home with me for the first half of this project, and my parents have always impressed upon me the value of studying what I love. Dad, I still consider it your fault that I have ever aspired to match your academic achievements, but I am so grateful that you have been willing to share your extensive wisdom in everything theological and multi-lingual, and your patience in waiting for books that I have probably never returned.