Marlowe was a regular pirate. Well, not exactly. But he was a spy who got stabbed in the eye. And that's not even why he was famous.

He was a bad-boy playwright whose favorite topic was the darker side of human nature. Dude was really concerned with such themes as justice and hypocrisy, deceit and revenge, prejudice and wealth… oh, and the thing that brings all those larger-than-life themes together: politics.

As you may have gathered, Marlowe loved to know what made people tick. And he suspected there was a lot of evil in that mix. In fact, he was the premiere tragedian of his day… until his untimely death led to the rise of one Mr. William Shakespeare.

No one's really sure why or how he died. But his legacy lived on in Shakespeare's plays, as Marlowe was said to be a great inspiration to him. Plus, many an English teacher has immortalized Marlowe as one of the greatest writers of blank verse; his plays, while penned in iambic pentameter, did not contain rhymes.

Doctor Faustus 

In Doctor Faustus, Marlowe played with the already well-known legend of the title character. See, Doctor Faustus is a great scholar who's looking to cure his ennui. So, of course, he sells his soul to the devil. Say what?

Yep. Apparently, the Good Doctor thought that was the best option for killing his boredom. Anyway, in this play, Marlowe showcases a whole host of devilish creatures. Which, lucky for Dr. F, are all around to witness his demise.

"The Passionate Shepherd to His Love"

Go read this poem. Right now. We'll hang out here while you do. Done? Okay, cool. Pretty persuasive, huh? Oh, not us. The speaker of the poem.

He's doing some quick talking to get his love to disappear into the wide, verdant pastoral with him. And Marlowe knew a lot about being persuasive, as he was well versed in espionage and all. But it's always nice to see a dude apply his political prowess to bribing his love interest with clothes, song, and dance.

Chew on This

One thing that makes Marlowe's work so powerful is that he treats very serious subjects with a touch of humor. Yes, satire is often assumed to be funny. But, in reality, many satires smack of cynicism. What do you think of the tone of Doctor Faustus? How well does Marlowe walk the line between wry wit and bitter skepticism?

Alright, time for a little stylistic focus. With all these seemingly disparate elements, how do we make heads or tails of Marlowe? How do his signature rhyming couplets intersect form and function?