Balti state university a. Russo chair of english philology

4.The third period of English literature of Renaissance: English drama 
The epoch of Renaissance witnessed a particular development of English drama, which was 
closely connected with the increasing popularity of theatrical art. English drama of this period was a 
blending of the medieval dramatic works with new progressive humanistic ideas. A certain role in 
its creation was also played by the classical drama of ancient Greece and Rome. It was truly a 
democratic art and had an immense popularity. 
Long before the existence of regular theatres, there were professional companies of travelling 
players who enjoyed great popularity. They were moving from place to place and performed their 
plays. As they became more complicated, special playhouses came into existence called “theatres” 
– (a Greek word never before used in English). The actors did not have to travel any more. They 
could perform in their own buildings which had a specific shape at that time, much different from 
the theatres of today. These buildings where made of wood and had the shape of octagons, having 
no roof and looking more like a stadium. The spectators could be seated in the amphitheatre and the 
central part of the arena was the stage. The richest people were privileged to be seated right in front 
of the actors, actually in the stage itself. Theatres got their own names, such as: The Rose, The 
Curtain, and The Globe etc. The contents of the plays changed from moralities to historical ones 
and playwriting became very popular.
Christopher Marlowe 
(1564 
– 1593) 
The Greatest of the pioneers of English drama was Christopher Marlowe (1564 – 1593). He 
lived during the time of William Shakespeare and actually was Shakespeare‟s predecessor. He 
graduated from the Cambridge University where he was greatly inspired by the ideas of 

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Renaissance. His translations from Ovid prove that he took an interest in classics. At Cambridge 
Marlowe was greatly influenced by ideas of Renaissance which penetrated into his heart and moved 
him to write. He was overwhelmed by the thought that man should be free to express himself. 
Though Marlowe got a religious education at Corpus Christy College he hated religion 
because he thought that it cramped individuality. He never took up church service, though he used 
to be one of the most promising students. Ch. Marlowe started his career in London by joining a 
group of playwrights named the University Wits. The plays of these dramatists formed an important 
phase in the development of the English drama because they broke away with all medieval forms 
and for the first time introduced real characters in their plays. The Pre-renaissance characters were 
animals or qualities of people. Though none of the University Wits had as yet written any great 
play, they had prepared the public to understand different forms of drama. They wrote in many 
different styles: plain colloquial, declamation, smooth verse and witty prose. The pubic got 
accustomed to hear from the stage vivid dialogues between funny old women and silly men. They 
prepared the public for the drama of the great masterpieces of W. Shakespeare. 
Marlowe was the first in England to approach history form a political point of view. He 
depicted historic, social and political events. His main plays are: Doctor Faustus, Tamburlaine, The 
Jew of Malta and Edward II.
Marlowe‟s turbulent spirit revealed itself in the violent passions of his characters. He was 
fascinated by the role of power in man‟s life, depicting different forms of power in his plays. His 
three works create a Trilogy in which Marlowe depicts strong men who use their power not for the 
good of people but for their own self only. The thirst for power brought only evil, destruction, 
misery and wretched state of mind to all the characters ensnared by it. Finally all the heroes of his 
plays perish devastated by power. This trilogy included Dr. Faustus, in which Marlowe depicted 
the viciousness of the power of knowledge in a Doctor‟s life; Tamburlaine that revealed the 
destructive force of the imperial power, and The Jew of Malta that presented the power of money. 
These works were followed by another tragedy, “Edward II”, which seems not to be a part of the 
trilogy, though it can be considered a continuation or consequence of the impact of power on man. 
Edward II was devoted to loss of power. 
The life of Ch. Marlowe was quite a turbulent one. It was full of adventures and scandals. He 
tried his hand acting and during one of the plays he hit an actor killing the man, which brought him 
to imprisonment. In a scandal he was killed at quite a young age. In such a way Marlow disappeared 
from both the stage and playwriting. Later when Shakespeare‟s authorship was doubted many 
critics considered that it was Ch Marlow who wrote a part of Shakespeare‟s works. But these are 
just suppositions that lacked any serious grounds.

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