Tragedy and Trauma in the Plays of Christopher Marlowe

Mathew R. Martin is Professor of English Language and Literature at Brock University, Canada. He is author of Between Theatre and Philosophy: Skepticism in the Major City Comedies of Ben Jonson and Thomas Middleton (2001), co-editor of Staging Pain, 1580-1800 (Ashgate, 2009), and author of articles on Marlowe, Shakespeare, Jonson, Middleton, and Ford. He has also edited Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, Edward the Second, The Jew of Malta, and Tamburlaine the Great Part One and Part Two for Broadview Editions.

• Introduction: Tragedy and Trauma1 Trauma, Faith, and Epic History in Dido, Queen of Carthage2 Trauma and Tragedy in Tamburlaine the Great Part One3 Tamburlaine the Great Part Two and the Refusal of Tragedy4 Tragedy and Psychopathology in The Jew of Malta5 Pain, History, and Theater in Edward II6 The Traumatic Realism of The Massacre at Paris7 Doctor Faustus and the Fundamental Fantasy

'The chapters treat individual plays and are insightful and convincing throughout, but of particular interest are Martin's interpretations of Dido, Queene of Carthage and The Massacre at Paris, the two least-studied of Marlowe's plays...Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.' - B. E. Brandt, South Dakota State University, CHOICE"Martin offers challenging readings that rethink Marlowe’s plays. His pervasive use of psychoanalysis should also renew the importance of this literary tool. Tragedy and Trauma in the Plays of Christopher Marlowe will appeal to undergraduates and academics studying these disciplines." – Frank Swannack, University of Salford, UK