Christopher Marlowe
English Playwright and Poet
Biography
-Dido, after her true love leaves her
Dido, Queen of Carthage
Dido, Queen of Carthage is an example of Marlowe's signature tragedies and is also thought to have been written by him while he was still in college, sometime between 1586 and 1588. Today, one may be able to see performance of this play in a large and well known theatre, but it is not a common production in small theaters. However, the play has grown in popularity over the past few years. The idea that a college student could write a play they would become well enough known that it is recognizable 500 years later is what stands out to many. Marlowe also uses a bold and straight forward style of writing that suits tragedies perfectly. For example, he builds his plot around a particular main character and a select few that help to tell the story. The main characters in this play include Dido,the Queen of Carthage, Aeneas ,the Queen's love interest, Anna, the Queen's sister, and Iarbus, Anna's love interest who also loves the queen. The play ends, like many tragedies do, with the majority of the characters committing suicide out of grief for their lost loved ones. The Renaissance principle that this play relates to the most is secularism. Albeit the play includes Roman gods and goddesses, it is still moving away from the common religion of that time period, Christianity, and towards other less religious topics. Personally, I enjoyed the way Marlowe was able to incorporate Roman gods into his play. The way he was able to transform an almost fairy tale-like story into his own work of art while also including true historical aspects of the polytheistic Roman religion is truly amazing. To further investigate this magnificent work, click on the link below:
.http://www.marlowe-society.org/marlowe/work/dido/plot/summary.html
Bibliography
"Christopher Marlowe." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998.Biography in Context. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.
"Christopher Marlowe." Gale Biography in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Biography in Context. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.
"Dido Plot Summary." The Marlowe Society. The Marlowe Society, 2002. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.marlowe-society.org/>.