The Jew of Malta

by Christopher Marlowe

Overview

"One of the best editions for undergraduates. . . . All the editorial material is kept brief, unobtrusive, relevant, and crisp in style. The introduction is informative, sound, and suggestive rather than dogmatic. . . . [Van Fossen] is especially skillful in summarizing in a graceful and interesting manner the issues that have stirred critics and editors. . . . The whole publication seems almost perfect in design and presentation; it invites one to read the play." -Choice

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781494761769
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	12/21/2013
Pages:	148
Product dimensions:	7.44(w) x 9.69(h) x 0.32(d)

About the Author

Mathew R. Martin is Full Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Brock University.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations viii

General editors' preface x

Preface xiv

Introduction 1

Christopher Marlowe's life and works 5

Religious and political discourse 11

Malta and the early modern Mediterranean 21

Jews in early modern Europe 37

Genre and dramatic form 49

Performance history 61

The Jew of Malta and The Merchant of Venice 76

Quarto paratext 89

The Jew of Malta 97

Appendix: The text 269

Commentary on Q (1633), sig. H2^v 286

Abbreviations and references 289

Abbreviations used in notes 289

Short titles for works by Marlowe 289

Works by and partly by Shakespeare 290

Abbreviations for journals 290

Editions of The Jew of Malta collated 291

Other works cited 292

Index 321

Editorial Reviews

The great strength of Mathew Martin’s edition is the ease of access it gives scholars and students to one of Marlowe’s strangest and most disturbing plays. He achieves this not simply by exemplary annotations, but by framing Marlowe’s text within an introduction and richly informative appendices that place the play securely in its contemporary social, cultural, and political contexts, enabling readers to negotiate complexities of tone and racial attitudes with subtle insight. The effect is precisely to highlight the daring originality of Marlowe’s dramatic artistry and his exacting control of both the arts of performance and his audience’s responses.” — Richard Allen Cave, Emeritus Professor of Drama and Theatre Arts, Royal Holloway, University of London

“The Jew of Malta is one of early modern England’s most controversial plays on its most controversial topic—the collision of world religions. Martin’s terrific new edition brilliantly captures the gist of its cut-and-thrust. The introduction offers readers a sophisticated entrée into Anglo-Ottoman relations, European anti-Semitism, theatre history, and Machiavellianism. The edition is elegantly edited, with many resources for readers who want to understand one of Marlowe’s greatest plays in its historical milieu.” — Alan Shepard, President of Concordia University

From the Publisher

"The Jew of Malta is one of early modern England's most controversial plays on its most controversial topic—the collision of world religions. Martin's terrific new edition brilliantly captures the gist of its cut-and-thrust. The introduction offers readers a sophisticated entrée into Anglo-Ottoman relations, European anti-Semitism, theatre history, and Machiavellianism. The edition is elegantly edited, with many resources for readers who want to understand one of Marlowe's greatest plays in its historical milieu."

Alan Shepard

"The great strength of Mathew Martin's edition is the ease of access it gives scholars and students to one of Marlowe's strangest and most disturbing plays. He achieves this not simply by exemplary annotations, but by framing Marlowe's text within an introduction and richly informative appendices that place the play securely in its contemporary social, cultural, and political contexts, enabling readers to negotiate complexities of tone and racial attitudes with subtle insight. The effect is precisely to highlight the daring originality of Marlowe's dramatic artistry and his exacting control of both the arts of performance and his audience's responses."

Richard Allen Cave