The Jew of Malta: A Critical Reader

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Christopher Marlowes drama, The Jew of Malta, has become an increasingly popular source for scholarly scrutiny, staged productions, and, most recently, a filmed version. The play follows the sometimes tragic, sometimes comic, often outrageous fortunes of its villainous protagonist, the Jew Barabas. In recent years the play has provoked as much interpretive controversy as any work in the Marlowe canon. This unique volume is therefore especially timely, providing fresh, varied approaches to the many enigmatic elements of the play.

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Logan identifies three key interpretative cruxes that continue to preoccupy those studying The Jew of Malta: the extent of Marlowes familiarity with Machiavelli and his works; the vexed issue of the plays genre; and the problems faced in arriving at a coherent understanding of the character of Barabas. Such questions provide an important context for the chapters that follow, which together offer a clear, concise, and accessible overview of the plays reception history in criticism and performance, designed primarily for students and teachers. -- Eoin Price, Eleanor Collins, Helen F. Smith, Chloe Preedy And Jem Bloomfield * Year's Work in English Studies *

Author Bio

Robert Logan is Professor of English and Chair, University of Hartford. He is co-editor of Marlowe's Empery, Placing the Plays of Christopher Marlowe and author of Shakespeare's Marlowe, winner of the 2009 Roma Gill Prize for Best New Work in Marlowe studies.