Christopher Marlowe Research Paper

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When one thinks about playwrights and poets in The Renaissance one automatically thinks of Shakespeare, but before Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe made his big entrance on the stage by influencing theater and literature. He even taught Shakespeare a thing or two.
Born on February 26, 1564, Marlowe came into the world two months prior to Shakespeare ("Christopher Marlowe Is Baptized"). His birth occurred in Canterbury, England at the commencement of contemporary theater when the words playwright and dramatist had no meaning in the English Theater (Riggs 1). His father had the poor occupation of shoe-making. Though born into a family of poverty, Marlowe had the gift of intelligence and obtained scholarships to renowned schools ("Christopher Marlowe Is Baptized"). He attended the King's School and then went to Cambridge from late 1580 until 1587. At Cambridge, he possessed his bachelors and masters of arts degree. At first, Cambridge felt disinclined to present Marlowe with his masters degree because of his …show more content…

They all seemed in good humor till Marlowe and Frizer got in a fight over the bill, leaving Marlowe dead with a knife in his forehead. Frizer had gotten pardoned, most likely because of his position in the government ("Marlowe's End").
Around the time of Marlowe's death, investigations on him and searches for evidence against him occurred. Marlowe's roommate, playwright Thomas Kyd, experienced arrest and torture because authorities wanted information. A police spy, Richard Baines, then gave Queen Elizabeth's secret police a list of Marlowe's offensive opinions. Ingram and the other men at the meeting when Marlowe died took part in the secret police force. This gives evidence that a fight over a bill did not kill Marlowe, but something else ended his life ("The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The 16th Century: Topic 1:

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