Marlowe - Christopher Marlowe

English poet and playwright. He was a representative figure of the University Wits, the pioneers of Elizabethan theatre, whose forerunner was Shakespeare. Born as the eldest son of a shoemaker in Canterbury, he graduated from Cambridge University on a scholarship. While at university, he became involved with the British intelligence agency, which was the leading agency in Europe at the time, under Francis Walsingham (1532-1587), and was eventually stabbed to death by a fellow spy. During that time, he formed friendships with progressive intellectuals such as Lord Waterlowey, and was branded an atheist, making his 29 years of life full of ups and downs. As for his plays, he is best known for his two-part Tamburlaine the Great (1587-1588), a tragedy depicting the process of an Asian shepherd who becomes the conqueror of the European subcontinent (Eurasia) and dies with the "crown of the earth" in his hands, and Doctor Faustus (1588-1592), which is based on the legend of Faust. Other works he wrote include "The Jew of Malta" (1589), a tragedy of a man who was completely obsessed with materialism; "Edward II" (1592), a tragedy of a weak king similar to Shakespeare's "Richard II"; and "A Massacre at Paris" (1593), which depicts the massacre of Huguenots on St. Bartholomew's Day. All of these works sing of the typical Renaissance man, who is possessed by abnormal desires such as materialism, knowledge, and conquest, and who dies calmly despite being frustrated. This is why he is called the son of the English Renaissance. He also showed extraordinary talent as a poet, and although unfinished, he wrote "Hero and Leander" (1598), a traditional narrative poem that depicts the tragic love of young lovers at the mercy of fate in a sensual style.

[Yasuo Tamaizumi]

"The Jew of Malta" translated by Jiro Ozu (included in "Elizabethan Drama Collection", 1974, Chikuma Shobo)" ▽ "Marlowe Studies" by Teiji Kitagawa (1964, Kenkyusha Publishing)" ▽ "Marlowe" by P. Henderson, translated by Junnosuke Kawasaki (1971, Kenkyusha Publishing)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イギリスの詩人、劇作家。シェークスピアを頂点とするエリザベス朝演劇の露払い役「大学才人(ユニバーシティ・ウィッツ)」の代表的人物。カンタベリーの靴職人の長男に生まれ、奨学金でケンブリッジ大学を卒業。在学中から、ウォルジンガムFrancis Walsingham（1532―1587）のもとで当時ヨーロッパ一を誇るイギリス諜報(ちょうほう)機関に関係し、最後はスパイ仲間に刺殺された。その間ウォーター・ローリー卿(きょう)ら進歩的文化人と親交を結び、無神論者の刻印を押されるなど、29年の生涯は波乱に富んでいる。戯曲としては、アジアの一羊飼いが欧亜大陸（ユーラシア）の征服者となり、「地上の王冠」を手にしながら死んでいく過程を描く悲劇『タンバレン大王』二部作（1587～1588）、ファウスト伝説に材をとる『フォースタス博士』（1588～1592）がよく知られる。ほかに、物欲に徹した男の悲劇『マルタ島のユダヤ人』（1589）、シェークスピアの『リチャード2世』に通ずる弱き国王の悲劇『エドワード2世』（1592）、聖バルトロメオの日に起こったユグノー教徒大虐殺を描く『パリの虐殺』（1593）など。これらの作品はいずれも、物欲、知識欲、征服欲など常軌を逸した欲望に憑(つ)かれ、挫折(ざせつ)しながらも従容として死につくルネサンスの典型的人間像を、無韻詩(ブランク・バース)で歌い上げている。イギリス・ルネサンスの申し子といわれるゆえんである。詩人としても非凡の才を示し、未完ながら、官能的筆致で運命に翻弄(ほんろう)される若い恋人たちの悲恋を描く伝統的物語詩『ヒーローとレアンダー』（1598）ほかがある。

［玉泉八州男］

『小津次郎訳『マルタ島のユダヤ人』（『エリザベス朝演劇集』所収・1974・筑摩書房）』▽『北川悌二著『マーロウ研究』（1964・研究社出版）』▽『P・ヘンダーソン著、川崎淳之助訳『マーロウ』（1971・研究社出版）』

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