Christopher Marlowe

• The writer of Dr Faustus was Christopher Marlowe
• Dr Faustus was first published in 1604
• Dr Faustus was first published in 1604 with the name "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus", which grabs attention to the genre of tragedy
• Christopher Marlowe was born in 1564 and died in 1593
• Marlowe become a Free Thinker and part of a group of intellectuals (noblemen, courtiers & commoners) who formed an underground club called 'The School of Night'
• 'The School of Night' embraced new ideas (and rejected old ones) and were passionate in the pursuit of knowledge, often dangerously in conflict with Church Dogma - For example, pointing out inconsistencies in the Bible
• The Free Thinkers were labelled as Atheist and targeted for suppression & death
• In the spirit of the Free-Thinkers, Faustus is a sceptic and intellectual who goes too far to acquire forbidden knowledge, violates heaven's laws, and is damned for it
• Christopher Marlowe wrote the tragedy 'Doctor Faustus' in 1592 and published 1604
• Christopher Marlowe was reported to the Privy Council of being an atheist due to several blasphemies, sent by government spy Richard Baines in 1593:

  • "Christ was a bastard and his mother dishonest"
• Christopher Marlowe's life was often speculated and some suggest he was involved with espionage due to connections with Francis Walsingham and his works which led to suspicions about his religious & political allegiances
• Christopher Marlowe was suspected of being Atheist due to his clandestine dissemination of anti-Catholic literature and his rumoured atheism made him a target for surveillance by government authorities
• Christopher Marlowe was arrested for Atheism on the 20th May 1593
• Christopher Marlowe's untimely death has led to speculation but many believe it was a political assassination orchestrated by 3 men in a pub:

  • A High-ranking government agent
  • Two men linked with Espionage
• On the 30th May 1593, Christopher Marlowe was stabbed in the right eye and tragically died
• Christopher Marlowe was also rumoured to being a Homosexual, which can be seen in Dr Faustus with the sensual dynamic between Faustus & Mephastophilis
• Christopher Marlowe was rumoured to be homosexual, going against religious & societal norms, this is mirrored in Dr Faustus as he rebels against religious & societal norms