1564–1593

Christopher Marlowe

Poet of the overreacher. In a short, violent life he gave the English stage its first great overgoer—Faustus, who would rather know than be saved.

Forged blank verse as a vehicle for ambition, and the pact-with-knowledge as a modern plot.

Primary works

Tragedy · c. 1592

Doctor Faustus

Christopher Marlowe

A scholar, bored of every faculty, sells his soul for twenty-four years of magic. He performs tricks for emperors and cannot repent. The clock is the play’s real antagonist.

Faustian tragedy