Christopher Marlow known as father of English Tragedy (1564–1593):

Austen Writes
2 min readDec 2, 2024

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· He popularized heroic themes, like as Tamburlaine, and embodied the individualism and independence of the Renaissance.

· He gave his character vitality and realism.

· “The characters in Marlow’s hands were living, breathing realities rather than puppets that were manipulated.”

· His contributions to tragedy were more forceful, passionate, and vehement.

· He elevated drama to a level of poetic majesty and perfection.

· The most well-known academic writer has penned:

1. Tamburlaine.

2. The Jew of Malta.

3. Dr. Faustus.

4. Edwars-II

· University wits made significant contributions to drama.

· Heroic themes were given a heroic treatment, such as gratitude, variety, splendid descriptions, and long attractive speeches.

· Comedies lacked humour, but later developed coarse and immature humour.

· They frequently collaborated, as Marlowe did with Fletcher.

· They wrote and acted in the plays.

· Some (Lyly and Peele) made drama poetic.

· They opted to write for the public stage, discussing native traditions. Among their contributions, they made significant changes to mystery and morality plays, as listed below.

· University wits inspired the creation of comedy. Nicholas Udall wrote the first comedy, “Ralph Roister Doister”.

· They redefined tragedy.

· Their storylines were loose, but they prioritized plot.

· They pioneered the art of characterization. Characters got more realistic in their hands.

· They were interested in the heroic theme.

· They improved linguistic structure and added poetic power.

· The decade of the 1590s, shortly before Shakespeare began his career, witnessed a major shift in popular drama.

· Writing high-quality and diverse plays elevated the local interlude from a mere diversion to a potentially greater drama. Thus, according to Allardyce Nicoll, “they laid a sure basis for English theatre.”

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Austen Writes
Austen Writes

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