Electronic Theses

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Temptations of Christopher Marlowe: Tamburlaine The Great, Doctor Faustus, and The Jew Of Malta as a Trilogy on Christian Spirituality
(2014-08-19) Martin, George Fredric; Allen, David; Seaman, Myra; Livingston, Michael
This thesis demonstrates that Christopher Marlowe created three protagonists Barabas, Faustus, and Tamburlaineas personifications of three temptations to worldly powerAvarice, Hypocrisy, and Tyrannyas depicted in the gospels of the New Testament. Through detailed analysis of the Bible, the plays, and other sources primary and secondary, it rebukes the notion that Marlowe was an atheist at all. It explains the orthodoxy and heterodoxy of his theology as depicted in the plays, establishing Barabas as vice-figure and personification of avarice, Faustus as a vice figure and personification of hypocrisy, but Tamburlaine as the personification of tyranny, a role compatible with Gods design. By accomplishing this, this thesis posits the origin of the works of Marlowe within the historical fact of his studies in divinity rather than in his supposed psychology and sexuality.