Weary of academic study, an eminent scholar turns to magic and makes a deal with the Devil. Mephistopheles will serve him and give him whatever he wants, but after twenty-four years Faustus must keep his side of the bargain. This edition contains a detailed introductory section that puts the play in its historical context, in-depth textual notes, extracts from key critical works and exam-style questions.

Doctor Faustus exists in two versions, both of which were edited from performances in the time of Marlowe. Both are considered to be authentic, but there are notable differences, both the b text containing additional scenes as well as different wording. Doctor Faustus: A text *Written to help students make the transition from GCSE to AS/A level;*Contains a detailed introductory section that puts the play in its historical context;*Provides in-depth textual notes;*Contains exam-style questions;*Includes carefully selected extracts from key critical works on the play;*Offers additional study skills for AS and A2 learning.

This Norton Critical Edition includes: Newly edited texts of the 1604 (A-Text) and the 1616 (B-Text) versions of the play. Editorial matter by David Scott Kastan and Matthew Hunter. Sources and background materials related to Christopher Marlowe, the composition and publication of Doctor Faustus, early performance of the play, the Faust legend, and Renaissance magic, including a new selection from James I and IV’s Of Daemonologie. Eighteen critical essays: five classic assessments and—new to the Second Edition—thirteen recent interpretations. A chronology and an updated selected bibliography.

This Norton Critical Edition includes: The 1633 quarto (Q) text-the only authoritative version-with modernised spelling and silent alteration of obvious errors, of confusing punctuation and of word-form changes. A Textual Notes section follows the play. Editorial matter by Lloyd Kermode. Six illustrations and one map. An unusually rich selection of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century contexts, thematically organised to promote classroom discussion. Topics include "Theater and Marlowe", "Machiavelli and Mediterranean Identities" and "Ideas of the Jew". Twenty-seven critical interpretations spanning three centuries and including seven considerations of The Jew of Malta in performance. A chronology and a selected bibliography. About the Series Read by more than 12 million students over fifty-five years, Norton Critical Editions set the standard for apparatus that is right for undergraduate readers. The three-part format-annotated text, contexts and criticism-helps students to better understand, analyse and appreciate the literature, while opening a wide range of teaching possibilities for instructors. Whether in print or in digital format, Norton Critical Editions provide all the resources students need.

The Jew of Malta, written around 1590, can present a challenge for modern audiences. Hugely popular in its day, the play swings wildly and rapidly in genre, from pointed satire, to bloody revenge tragedy, to melodramatic intrigue, to dark farce and grotesque comedy. Although set in the Mediterranean island of Malta, the play evokes contemporary Elizabethan social tensions, especially the highly charged issue of London's much-resented community of resident merchant foreigners. Barabas, the enormously wealthy Jew of the play's title, appears initially victimized by Malta's Christian Governor, who quotes scripture to support the demand that Jews cede their wealth to pay Malta's tribute to the Turks. When he protests, Barabas is deprived of his wealth, his means of livelihood, and his house, which is converted to a nunnery. In response to this hypocritical extortion, Barabas launches a horrific (and sometimes hilarious) course of violence that goes well beyond revenge, using murderous tactics that include everything from deadly soup to poisoned flowers. The play's sometimes complex treatment of anti-Semitism and its relationship to Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice remain matters of continuing scholarly reflection. This new edition is expertly edited with an accompanying introduction that addresses issues of performance, cultural and historical context, interpretation and the key themes explored by the play. Arden Early Modern Drama editions offer the best in contemporary scholarship, providing a wealth of helpful and incisive commentary and guiding the reader to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the play. This edition provides: A clear and authoritative text Detailed on-page commentary notes A comprehensive, illustrated introduction to the play's historical, cultural and performance contexts A bibliography of references and further reading

This New Mermaids anthology brings together the four most popular and widely studied of Christopher Marlowe's plays: Tamburlaine, Parts 1 and 2, The Jew of Malta, Edward II and Dr Faustus. The new introduction by Brian Gibbons explores the plays in the context of early modern theatre, culture and politics, as well as examining their language, characters and themes. On-page commentary notes guide students to a better understanding and combine to make this an indispensable student edition ideal for study and classroom use from A Level upwards.

Referencing early modern English play texts alongside contemporary records, accounts and statutes, this study offers an overdue assessment of the relationship between the dramatic efforts of the universities and early modern male identity. Taking into account the near single-sex constitution of early modern universities, the book argues that performances of university plays, and student responses to them, were key ways of exploring and shaping early modern masculinity. Christopher Marlow shows how the plays dealt with their academic and social contexts, and analyses their responses to competing versions of masculinity. He also considers the implications of university authority and royal patronage for scholarly performances of masculinity; the effect of the literary traditions of classical friendship and platonic love on academic representations of male behaviour; and the relationship between university drama and masculine initiation rituals. Including discussion of the Parnassus trilogy, Club Law and works by Thomas Randolph, William Cartwright, John Milton and others, this study shines new light on long neglected aspects of the golden age of English drama.

This fully re-edited, modernised play text is accompanied by commentary notes and an introduction written by Paul Menzer, guiding you through the fume of fact and legend that have accompanied the play across the centuries. As well as the complete text of the play, this re-edited New Mermaids edition includes: * A detailed plot summary and annotations throughout the text * An annotated bibliography and suggestions for further reading * A comprehensive introduction exploring the historical and literary context, and performance history, including Orson Welles's 1937 role as Doctor Faustus as well as recent productions at The Globe and the RSC One of the most spectacular and popular plays of the Elizabethan stage, Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, with its fantastical mix of high-minded theology and low-brow slapstick, has allured generations of readers and playgoers in the ensuing centuries.

In this classic and much-loved edition of Marlowe's best-known play, John D. Jump provides the reader with a wealth of introductory and explanatory material. As well as a fascinating chronology of Marlowe's life and works and extensive notes on the text, this edition includes a substantial and authoritative historical introduction to the play. An essential text whether studying the play in detail or coming to it for the first time.

This edition provides newly edited texts of both the 1604 (A-Text) and 1616 (B-Text) versions of the play, each with detailed explanatory annotations. "Sources and Contexts" includes a generous selection from Marlowe s main source, The Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Dr. John Faustus, along with contemporary writings on magic and religion (including texts by Agrippa, Calvin, and Perkins) that establish the play s intellectual background. This volume also reprints early documents relating to the writing and publication of the play and to its first performances, along with contemporary comments on Marlowe s scandalous reputation. Twenty-five carefully chosen interpretations written from the eighteenth century to the present allow students to enrich their critical understanding of the play. These diverse critical essays include classic analyses by Charles Lamb, William Hazlitt, and A. C. Swinburne, among others, and recent criticism from, among others, Michael Neill, Katharine Eisaman Maus, Alison Findlay, Stephen Orgel, and David Bevington. A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included."

In this classic and much-loved edition of Marlowe's best-known play, John D. Jump provides the reader with a wealth of introductory and explanatory material. As well as a fascinating chronology of Marlowe's life and works and extensive notes on the text, this edition includes a substantial and authoritative historical introduction to the play. An essential text whether studying the play in detail or coming to it for the first time.

Tragedy of learned German doctor who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power.

Dramatically compressing the reign of Edward II and enlivening the historical narrative with humour, romance, and horrific violence, Marlowe interrogates how the transgression of accepted codes of behaviour affects even those at the highest level of society. Kept off the stage for almost three hundred years because of its dramatization of explicit homosexual relationships, it has become increasingly popular with modern day readers and performed on stage and film to great acclaim. This student edition contains a completely new introduction by Stephen Guy-Bray, and offers students a useful and lively overview of recent criticism, an updated performance history paying greater attention to Derek Jarman's film, a background on the author and themes, as well as an updated bibliography and a fully annotated version of the playtext.

An engaging classroom playscript. Doctor Faustus, a talented student in Wittenburg, Germany, wants to learn more than the university has to offer. Craving knowledge of things beyond his reach, Faustus turns to the study of magic. Tempted by the immense powers of the black arts, he makes a pact with the devil himself... New, innovative activities specifically tailored to support the KS3 Framework for Teaching English and help students to fulfil the Framework objectives. Activities include work on Speaking and Listening, close text analysis, and the structure of playscripts, and act as a springboard for personal writing

This edition of Doctor Faustus features annotated versions, with modernized spelling and punctuation, of the 1604 A-text and the 1592 text of Marlowe's source, the English Faust Book --a translation of the best-selling Historia von Johann Fausten published in Frankfurt in 1587, which recounts the strange story of Doctor John Faustus and his pact with the spirit Mephistopheles. David Wootton's Introduction charts Marlowe's brief, meteoric career; the delicate social and political climate in which Doctor Faustus was staged and the vexed question of the religious sensibilities to which it may have catered; the interpretive significance of variations between the A and B texts; and the shrewd and subversive uses to which Marlowe put the English Faust Book in crafting, according to Wootton, a drama in which orthodox Christian teaching triumphed, but in which Faustus has all the best lines.

This edition answers the needs of both beginning and advanced students: It features the text of Marlowe's play with modern spelling and punctuation, glosses and annotations on the page, and a thorough Introduction devoted to the play's historical, cultural, and theological contexts. In addition, it includes a generous selection of related texts, including excerpts from Machiavelli's The Prince , Gentillet's Anti-Machiavel , and Bacon's The Advancement of Learning . Its combination of pedagogical acuity and historical craft make Lynch's an excellent edition of Marlowe's play--one that also serves as a fine introduction to Elizabethan drama as a whole. It moreover offers a convenient window on the reception of Machiavelli in England and the representation of Christmas, Jews, and Turks on the Elizabethan stage.

One of the smash hits of the late 1580s and 90s, Tamburlaine
established blank verse as the poetic line of English Renaissance
drama, Edward Alleyn as the first English star actor and Marlowe as one
of the foremost playwrights of his time. The rise and fall of a
Scythian peasant-warrior who conquers the Middle East and is struck
down by illness after burning the books of the Koran is presented in
two parts crammed with theatrical splendour and equally spectacular
cruelty. Marlowe's original audiences were delighted with the
blasphemous and ruthlessly ambitious hero; the introduction to this
edition discusses the problems that such a character poses for modern
audiences and highlights the undercurrents of the play that lead
towards a more ironic interpretation.

The classic Elizabethan play, with new material
From the Elizabethan period's second-biggest dramatist comes the story of Faustus, a brilliant scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for limitless knowledge and powerful black magic.

Dido, Queen of Carthage/Tamburlaine the Great, Parts One and Two/The Jew of Malta/Doctor Faustus/Edward the Second/The Massacre at Paris

‘When I behold the heavens, then I repent,
And curse thee, wicked Mephistopheles’

Christopher Marlowe – a possible spy with a reputation for atheism who was murdered in mysterious circumstances – courted danger throughout his life. A sense of dark forces operating in all social and political relationships underlies his work. In Dr Faustus, a man of great intellect and even greater ambition craves knowledge, and is prepared to sell his soul to the Devil to achieve it. Tamburlaine attempts to satisfy his desire for greatness through his domination over an ever-growing empire, while Edward II upsets the delicate balance of power in the land and plants the seed of his own murder. All the plays here show Marlowe’s fascination with the tension between weak and strong, sacred and profane.

Frank Romany’s introduction relates the plays to Marlowe’s turbulent religious world. The fully modernized texts have been newly edited from the earliest editions, and the full commentary on each play is supplemented with a glossary and an appendix of mythological and historical allusions.

Soon after he inherits the throne, King Edward of England writes a letter to his favorite nobleman, Piers Gaveston, who had previously been exiled, asking him to come back to England. Eager to return and happy to have the king's favor, Gaveston travels to the kingdom immediately. However, when the other noblemen and advisors hear of Edward's decision, they quickly try to talk him out of it. Believing that Gaveston is a manipulative social climber, the noblemen warn Edward that he should reconsider his pardon. However, Edward loves Gaveston deeply, and refuses to revoke his pardon. He appoints Gaveston the power to issue commands and draw money from the treasury, happy to be reunited with the man. Meanwhile, the angered noblemen start to gather a group of resistance. Concerned about the power Edward has given Gaveston, they continue their attempts to disillusion him, convincing others close to Edward to talk him into turning against the man. As some of Edward's closest friends and family, take a side against him, the distrust the nobles hold for Gaveston begins to bleed into contempt for the king. With schemes of manipulation, invasion, and abdication plague the kingdom, Edward must reconsider his love for Gaveston before it causes his downfall. First debuted in 1592, Edward the Second is among the legendary playwright's final works. Considered to be Marlowe's masterpiece, Edward the Second is praised for its unique topic, disciplined rhetoric, and homoeotic undertones. Having been adapted for film and radio, as well as inspiring theatre revivals, Edward the Second is one of Marlowe's most popular and celebrated works. With exemplary writing and a high-stakes plot, Edward the Second provides an intriguing perspective on the rule of Edward that remains fascinating to modern audience. This edition of Edward the Second by Christopher Marlowe is now presented in an easy-to-read font and features a striking new cover decision, creating an accessible reading experience. With these accommodations, Edward the Second is restored to modern standards while the original genius and vivid imagery of Marlowe's poetry is preserved.

When Edward becomes king, he uses his new authority to pardon his favorite nobleman, Piers Gaveston, from his exile, angering key supporters. Soon after he inherits the throne, King Edward of England writes a letter to his favorite nobleman, Piers Gaveston, who had previously been exiled, asking him to come back to England. Eager to return and happy to have the king's favor, Gaveston travels to the kingdom immediately. However, when the other noblemen and advisors hear of Edward's decision, they quickly try to talk him out of it. Believing that Gaveston is a manipulative social climber, the noblemen warn Edward that he should reconsider his pardon. However, Edward loves Gaveston deeply, and refuses to revoke his pardon. He appoints Gaveston the power to issue commands and draw money from the treasury, happy to be reunited with the man. Meanwhile, the angered noblemen start to gather a group of resistance. Concerned about the power Edward has given Gaveston, they continue their attempts to disillusion him, convincing others close to Edward to talk him into turning against the man. As some of Edward's closest friends and family, take a side against him, the distrust the nobles hold for Gaveston begins to bleed into contempt for the king. With schemes of manipulation, invasion, and abdication plague the kingdom, Edward must reconsider his love for Gaveston before it causes his downfall. First debuted in 1592, Edward the Second is among the legendary playwright's final works. Considered to be Marlowe's masterpiece, Edward the Second is praised for its unique topic, disciplined rhetoric, and homoeotic undertones. Having been adapted for film and radio, as well as inspiring theatre revivals, Edward the Second is one of Marlowe's most popular and celebrated works. With exemplary writing and a high-stakes plot, Edward the Second provides an intriguing perspective on the rule of Edward that remains fascinating to modern audience. This edition of Edward the Second by Christopher Marlowe is now presented in an easy-to-read font and features a striking new cover decision, creating an accessible reading experience. With these accommodations, Edward the Second is restored to modern standards while the original genius and vivid imagery of Marlowe's poetry is preserved.

Driven by an insatiable thirst for power, Doctor Faustus chooses to make the ultimate sacrifice to become an all-knowing practitioner of traditional and supernatural arts. He enters an agreement with Lucifer, trading his soul for unbridled access to a catalog of mystical spells. Doctor Faustus signs a contract ensuring 24 years of service from the demon Mephastophilis. In exchange, Lucifer will own his soul for all of eternity. Faustus immediately takes advantage of his divine skills, using them to impress various men of distinction. During his meteoric rise, Faustus experiences moments of regret, but they're quickly quelled under Mephastophilis' influence. As he approaches death, Faustus is overwhelmed by fear and futile attempts to escape the inevitable. In The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, Marlowe uses supernatural themes to explore the dire trappings of human nature. With influences from Christian doctrine, the story implicates the true wages of sin stemming from greed, gluttony and pride. The author illustrates how the greatest tragedy is the one of your own making. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus is both modern and readable.