The Collected Poems of Christopher Marlowe

by Christopher Marlowe, Patrick Cheney (Editor), Brian J. Striar (Editor)

This unique anthology offers a more comprehensive look at the poems of Christopher Marlowe, England's first great poet and playwright, than any other volume currently in print. Bringing together the complete body of Marlowe's poetry--including Ovid's Elegies , "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love," Lucan's First Book , Hero and Leander , and a Latin epitaph on the jurist Sir Roger Manwood--the book also incorporates related works by other writers. These ancillary selections include Sir John Davies's Epigrams , Renaissance response poems to "The Passionate Shepherd," and continuations of Hero and Leander by George Chapman and Henry Petowe. By presenting Marlowe's works in the collaborative literary context of Renaissance England, the editors reveal his considerable influence on the literature of that period and on future writings. Patrick Cheney, a leading authority on Marlowe's work, provides a clear, informed, and in-depth introduction that is firmly grounded in modern criticism and
current scholarship, while classical and Renaissance scholar Brian J. Striar offers a helpful exploration of the practice of verse translation in Marlowe's work. Extensive annotations throughout give readers background on both the individual poems and on the cultural context in which they were produced. Ideal for courses in Renaissance poetry, The Collected Poems of Christopher Marlowe is an essential resource for students and other readers striving to understand Marlowe's role as a pioneering poet-playwright.

Genres: Poetry

320 pages, Paperback

Published November 10, 2005

About the author

Christopher "Kit" Marlowe (baptised 26 February 1564) was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. The foremost Elizabethan tragedian next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his magnificent blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his own mysterious and untimely death.

The author's Wikipedia page.

Reviews

[Dawn]

I do enjoy a dramatic poem

[Michael P.]

I highly recommend this edition of Marlowe's poetry for several reasons. It contains everything that is not a play. It includes his translations of Ovid and Lucan. Because the translation of Ovid's elegies were originally published along with Sir John Davies epigrams, the Davies poems are included. Poems that respond to, complete, or were obviously influenced by "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" are included in this edition. The continuations by both George Chapman and Henry Petowe of "Hero and Leander" follow Marlowe's unfinished poem. The same page glosses are extremely helpful in illuminating what is not obvious more than 400 years after these poems were written. This is in every way a superb edition.

Warning: those looking for Marlowe's mighty line will not find it here. His poetry and translations are entirely different from his dramatic poetry. I suspect it is something about the nature of couplets in contrast to blank verse. This isn't to say the line is necessarily delicate or weak, well, sometimes delicate, but the phrase "Marlowe's mighty line" would never have been coined to describe the poems collected here.

[Kent]

Perhaps the point where Marlowe's talent is most apparent is in Hero and Leander. This edition includes Chapman's addition, and it reads so dry next to the Marlowe. He has that vivacity in the line Chapman can't quite discover in that poem.