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The Overreacher: A Study of Christopher Marlowe
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231 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1952
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 23, 2013
Levin offers a critical study of the work of Christopher Marlowe, the other great Elizabethan dramatist and poet. However he writes this book in a very "literary" style, by this I mean he is more concerned with how he presents his interpretations than how to help the reader relate this to Marlowe's actual writing.
If I had the time to leisurely read this book, & if I were intimately acquainted with Marlowe's writings (which I would like to be, but I am still at work at this), I might be able to properly understand what Levin says about Marlowe and say whether I agreed or disagreed with his theses. I have some hazy idea he believes Marlowe saw himself in the character of the protagonist of Tamburlaine, a Renaissance man who overreached himself by challenging God himself, and thus came to his death. (A probable interpretation of the character & Marlowe, but we know so little about the man any interpretation must remain speculation.) Unfortunately, somewhere in the second chapter I found myself lost, uncertain where Levin wanted to take his reader, & growing frustrated with the book -- which is where I stopped.
I found F.S. Boas's biography of Marlowe, although older and probably dated, far more useful.
If I had the time to leisurely read this book, & if I were intimately acquainted with Marlowe's writings (which I would like to be, but I am still at work at this), I might be able to properly understand what Levin says about Marlowe and say whether I agreed or disagreed with his theses. I have some hazy idea he believes Marlowe saw himself in the character of the protagonist of Tamburlaine, a Renaissance man who overreached himself by challenging God himself, and thus came to his death. (A probable interpretation of the character & Marlowe, but we know so little about the man any interpretation must remain speculation.) Unfortunately, somewhere in the second chapter I found myself lost, uncertain where Levin wanted to take his reader, & growing frustrated with the book -- which is where I stopped.
I found F.S. Boas's biography of Marlowe, although older and probably dated, far more useful.
September 1, 2017
More a set of thought-provoking and erudite essays on each of Marlowe's works than a biography, yet it still provides opportunities for insight into the playwright.
September 21, 2024
Erudite exploration of Marlowe’s deep themes and prosody. Great reading for anyone who loves Marlowe’s plays and poetry.
October 20, 2014
probably the standard reading of Marlowe and his work as a whole, and certainly the most influential single interpretation.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews