Transcript The Tragedy of the Rich Jew of Malta

The Tragedy of the Rich Jew
of Malta
Written by
Christopher Marlowe
Presented by
Christopher Knock
Marlowe Facts and Fictions
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Life span 1564–1593
Born in Canterbury
Educated at Cambridge
Actor and dramatist for the Lord Admiral's Company in
London (1587)
 Thought by some to be a spy working as part of the great
espionage network created by Elizabeth I's secretary of
state, Sir Francis Walsingham.
 Died by having his own dagger shoved into his eye in a
bar.
 Friser (the killer) thought to be a collaborator in a lager
cover up scheem.
Review
 Plot
– Prologue
– Act 1
 Opens with Barabas
 Governor puts tax on Jews of Malta
– Act 2
 Barabas continues to scheme to get his wealth back
– Act 3
 Intro to Bellamira and her pimp Pilia-Borza
– Act 4
 Barabas and Ithamore have killed the nuns
 The friars die of greed
– Act 5
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Barabas helps Calymath invade Malta
Barabas becomes governor of Malta
Barabas makes a deal with Ferneze
Ferneze betrays Barabas and he dies
Characters
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Barabas and Ithamore
Ferneze
Abigail
Mathias and Lodowick
Friar Jacomo and Friar Bernardine
Themes and Symbols
 Machiavellian
– Deception
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Vengeance
Hypocrisy
Gold
Others?
Questions to ponder
 The Jew of Malta is supposed to be played
as a tragedy. How might the irony of the
play hinder the players from producing a
tragic work?
 If Barabas is all evil why do we as the
audience feel sympathy for him?
 What references or allusions in the play lead
to a possible anti-Semitic reading of the
play?
Bibliography
 David, Eric Rasmussen. "The Jew of Malta."
Oxford English Drama: Christopher Marlowe,
Doctor Faustus and other plays. Ed. Bevington
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. 249-322.
 Jokinen Anniina . "luminarium." Marlowe,
Christopher. 27/09/2003. . 4/11/2003
<http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/marlowe.htm>.
 "Marlowe, Christopher." The Columbia Electronic
Encyclopedia. 2003 on Infoplease.com.
© 2003 Family Education Network.4/11/2003
<http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0831904.
html>.