|
COPYRIGHT 2005 www.wmich.edu/compdr
Patrick Cheney, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Christopher Marlowe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Pp. xix + 312. 45.00 [pounds sterling] casebound; 15.95 [pounds sterling] paperbound.
The Cambridge Companion to Christopher Marlowe contains seventeen generally short essays, including the editor's introduction. The focus is often on the Marlowe "industry" that has emerged in recent years rather than on the works of the playwright himself. A handbook such as this is presumably intended as a guide for students, teachers, scholars who wish a broad overview of a subject, and interested members of the general public. The book certainly is not itself an example of original scholarship, nor perhaps was it meant to be. Except for a single essay, a fine essay by Lois Potter surveying Marlowe's plays on stage and in film, its slant generally is toward the literary rather than the theatrical. The methodology ranges from the eminently sensible to the cliche-ridden and the trendy. Some contributions are very worthwhile and can be read with pleasure, but others may be faulted for presenting peripheral commentary, some of it certainly destined to be baffling to a portion of the readership.
Following the editor's introduction, David Riggs provides an essay on biographical matters, always a vexed subject in Marlowe studies. This is reflected in attempts to trace his childhood as a cobbler's son up to his enrollment in the King's School at Canterbury, during which time he must have been given a good grounding in classical Latin literature and, it might be added, provided with exposure to several of the major companies...
Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.
|
Bookmark this article
Print this article
Link to this article
Email this article
Digg It!
Add to del.icio.us
RSS
