Marlovian tragedy is significant due to its newness, Renaissance influence,

Machiavellian morality, powerful and passionate expression, element of tragic, inner conflict,
its tragic hero, popular literary type, high seriousness, bombastic language and blank verse.
Medieval drama was linked with church and there were only Mysteries and Morality plays but
after the rise of a new wave of the Renaissance in Europe, there was a great change in the
taste of audience. After the Reformation Movement, Mysteries and Morality plays lost all
their influence on audience, rather they were disliked by the people because of their link
with the old church. Interludes, Masques and Pageants were introduced and touch of
comedy was felt in English Drama but all these innovations were in chaotic state when
Marlowe and other University Wits started their career. With the revival of learning in the
fifteenth century, the translation of the Senecan tragedy greatly influenced English writers.
Christopher Marlowe is rightly acknowledged for his outstanding achievement of bringing
English Drama from the worst condition of mere and imitation of the Senecan tragedy into
its maturity. Swinburne says:
Before him there was neither genuine blank verse nor a genuine tragedy in our
language.
After his arrival the way was prepared, the paths were made straight, for
Shakespeare.
Medieval tragedy was a matter of kings or princes and the plot of these tragedies was
mainly concerned with the rise and fall of the royal personalities but Marlow has a modern
conception of tragic heroes. A Marlovian tragic hero belongs to a humble family but he is a
great man because he possesses great qualities. Barabas, the central character of The Jew
of Malta, possesses all the qualities of typical Marlovian tragic hero. Barabas is not a king or
a prince but a common Jew who has got importance in the state of Malta because he has
acquired a lot of wealth by his trade ships in several countries. Barabas gets such a high
status with the help of his policy that he dethrones Ferneeze, the ruler of Malta, and
himself occupies his seat. He is not a popular person but he is a deadly enemy of the
existed order. He is a symbol of common man to challenge the despotic of princes and
kings.
A typical Marlovian tragedy has a strong influence of Machiavelli, a socio-political writer of
Italy. Machiavelli rejected orthodoxical morality admired ambition as the only operated
virtue of a prince and emphasized morality of new and more attractive kind which operated
for the good of the individual. In Te Jew of Malta we find Barabas as the disciple of
Machiavelli who is ambitious for power through wealth and exploits all resources to
accumulate wealth. He uses Lodowick, Mathias, Ithamore, Abigail, Jocomo, Barnardine,
Ferneeze and Calimath to get his required targets and never cares for any one by holding
the audience spell-bound.
One of the most important features of Marlovian tragedy is that it has the element of inner
conflict and a lot of responsibility lies on the character of tragic hero in the occurrence of the
tragedy while in ancient tragedy it mainly owes to the unseen hand of blind fate. In The
Jew of Malta this inner conflict is not so articulate. Ferneeze, in Jew of Malta deprives
Barabas of all his wealth while Barabas cunningly manages to take back and even becomes
himself the governor of Malta there. He commits a fatal mistake and takes Ferneeze in
confidence and discloses his further plan and quite naturally meets his tragic end.
Marlovian tragedy discards the old concepts of tragedy as a medium of teaching
conventional morality. His tragedy is born out of the fall of protagonists Machiavellian

morality caused by some tragic flaw in his character which is responsible for his ruin.
Barabas revengeful motives are justifiable but the tragic end which Barabas faces in not
foreign but his very own fatal mistake causes his ruins.
Marlovian tragedy is also notable for high seriousness and beautiful poetry in mighty blank
verse.
Shakespeare would not have been Shakespeare had Marlowe never written
or live. He might not have been altogether the Shakespeare we know.

The Jew of Malta: The World of Malta

After a careful study of Jew of Malta it can be said without any exaggeration that the
society of Malta is full of social, political and religious evils like greed, corruption,
hypocrisy, prejudice, treason, blackmailing, exploitation, lawlessness, social
injustice, religious fanaticism, pride and selfishness. The play is a satirical exposition
of the Machiavellian politicians, hypocrite and lusty priests, ruthless Jews and the
so-called Christians who have forgotten the fundamental principles of their religion,
such as tolerance, patience, pity and selflessness. The picture of Malta is
very loathsome and detestable and it looks like a hell.
Marlowe strikes the key-note of the play when he introduces Machiavelli in the opening
scene of the play. Right from the beginning we start feeling that All is not well in the
state of Malta and all our fears prove true when we withers that evil desires, evil
thoughts and evil doings fill its five acts of the full. The central character, Barabas,
is found in his counting house, counting his gold coins and pleasing his eyes and soul
with the sight of his heap of wealth. With the passage of time we come to know that he
is so much obsessed with passion for wealth that he can cross any limit for it. He
is ruthless, selfish, materialist who leaves no stone unturned to accumulate
wealth by hook or by crook and hold other people in the grip of his own benefit. He may
have some personal grudge against certain Christians but his hate forall the
Christians and his grudge against the whole nation cannot be justified at all. He has
always an excuse ready for his misdoings as in the case of Lodowick and Mathias. He
thinks:
Its no sin to deceive a Christian
He gives the details of his ruthlessness in the heroic terms. He tells Ithamore:
There I enrichd the priests with burials,
And always kept he sextons arms in ure
With digging graves and ringing dead mens knells.
But is happy:
But mark how I am blest for plaguing them.
I have as much coin as will buy the town.
Barabas brutality is at the peak, when we find him so brutally planning for the murder
of his own daughter.

He ridicules religion and thinks it no more that it

Hides many mischiefs from suspicion.
Barabas has a materialistic and utilitarian outlook which places the advantages of the
nation.
From this detailed description of Barabas devilish activities we start thinking whether
Barabas is the single fish who spoils the whole pond but such a criticism is not just
because with the only exception of Abigail, almost all major and minor characters of the
play are the chips of the same block. If Barabas is possessed with passion for wealth,
same is the case with Ferneze, the knight, Calimath and Del-Bosco who have such
respective policies to acquire more and more wealth.
When Ferneze asks the Turks what thing had driven them to Malta, the reply was
significant:
The wind that bloweth all the world besides,
Desire of gold.
Even the religious characters like Jacomo and Barnardine are equally avarice who
altercate with each other only for Barabas treasure. The character of low life, Ithamore,
Bellamira and Pilia Borza join hands together to get as much as they can from Barabas
wealth.
When we think about the law and order situation in Malta, we find that both
the government administration and ecclesiastical figures defy and violate own
rules and principles. Ferneze plays his crafty statesmanship on highly political
ground. He has well convinced policy for the sake of his personal benefit and
aggrandizement. He takes the tribute money from Jews on the basis of the jungle law
that might is right but never pays this tribute to the Turks. In order to sell a cargo of the
Turkish slaves, the Spanish vice admiral Del Bosco inculcates in Fernezes mind the idea of
breaking the treaty between Malta and Turks. The condition of church authorities is not
different because they are also found worshipping the manner of gold. Barnardine is
only sorrow at Abigails death.
Ay, and a virgin too; that grieves me most.
The most important features of the Malta society are religious fanatics and ethane
prejudice. Katherine advises her son to avoid Barabas because he is a Jew.
Converse not with him; he is cast off from heaven.
In short the word of Malta is devoid of such virtues as love, warmth, charity,
pity and patience. Each character whether high or low is certainly low and mean in
mentality.
As Harry Levis remarks:
Morally, all of them operate on the same level and that is precisely what
Marlowe is pointing out.