His lifespan is 1564 to 1593. He was the greatest of the pre-Shakespearian dramatist. He was born in Canterbury. He was educated at Canterbury and at Cambridge. He adopted literature as a profession.

His plays, all tragedies, were written within 5 years(1587-92).

He had no bent for comedy. The comic parts found in some of his plays are always inferior and may be by other writers.

As a dramatist, he had serious limitations. It was traces that there was a growing sense of theatre through his plays.

Only in Edward II, Marlowe has shown sense of plot construction. His characterization is of the simplest and lacks the warm humanity of Shakespeare’s.

Except Edward II, all his playsrevolve around one figure drawn in bold outlines. That character shows no complexity or subtlety of development. The character is the embodiment of a single idea.

Marlowe’s plays are the representation of a poetic vision, the typically Renaissance quest for power combined with the quest for beauty. For example, in his play, “Tamburlaine the Great”, the Shepherd seeks the “sweet fruition of an earthly crown”, in the play, “The Jew of Malta” Barabbas seeks “infinite riches in a little room”, while the quest of “Doctor Faustus” is for more than human knowledge.

Marlowe excels as a poet. He was the first to exploit the possibilities of blank verse and make it supreme. His blank verse is notable for its burning energy, its splendour of diction, its sensuous richness, its variety of pace, and its responsiveness to the demands of varying emotions. His blank verse is unequalled by any of his contemporaries except Shakespeare.

His poetry is crammed with imagery from the classics, astronomy and from geography, an imagery barbaric in its wealth and splendor. Its resonance and power led Ben Jonson to coin the phrase “Marlowe’s mighty line”, but its might has often obscured its technical precision and its admirable lucidity and finish.