tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post853312631357734971..comments2024-03-25T09:56:16.164+00:00Comments on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure: My literary hero - by Cecilia BusbyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-65200905834927913032016-02-07T18:17:20.426+00:002016-02-07T18:17:20.426+00:00Hi Penny - yes, I'd love to see it. Currently ...Hi Penny - yes, I'd love to see it. Currently trying to get my local arts centre to book it!C.J.Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12288574235370421625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-11696461859484920922016-02-06T16:57:48.984+00:002016-02-06T16:57:48.984+00:00Dud you know that Ros Barber & Nicky Hayden ma...Dud you know that Ros Barber & Nicky Hayden made The Marlowe Papers into an one-person play, Celia? It's just finished a run in Brighton(ended Jan30th)and is currently planning to tour. I've heard good reports so it might be worth watching out for, and you can find details on Ros's website:http://rosbarber.com/play/<br /><br />Thought it might be worth spreading the word, especially as a tour of the south is often more likely for such things than a northern trip, bar Edinburgh.(Guess where I am!)Penny Dolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16386668303428008498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-23509853284606017582016-02-06T10:08:58.828+00:002016-02-06T10:08:58.828+00:00Marlowe makes an appearance in children's fict...Marlowe makes an appearance in children's fiction in "The Player's Boy" by Antonia Forest, when he semi-abducts the 10 year old protagonist - it's a very intriguing and ambivalent portrait, and she doesn't downplay the bits of his character and beliefs that might be considered strong meat for young readers.<br /><br />I also enjoy the scene in "Shakespeare in Love" where various actors are auditioning in front of Shakespeare, and almost all of them choosing Marlowe's speech "Was the the face that launched a thousand ships..." much to Shakespeare's disgust!<br /><br />The Marlowe papers sound fascinating.<br /><br />Emma Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02718171070716804800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-65334252446547721322016-02-06T08:42:06.579+00:002016-02-06T08:42:06.579+00:00No, I haven't read that - will have to check i...No, I haven't read that - will have to check it out. I'm not sure I am convinced by the Marlowe is Shakespeare argument, but I would love it to be true. I do think, though, that comparing Jew of Malta to Merchant of Venice is a red herring - the second was written much later, by an older, wiser man. Early Shakespeare (the Henry VI plays) are very close to Marlowe. And what we have of the Jew of Malta is quite corrupt. I still enjoy the absolute villainy of Barabas though - the totally unrestrained evil – as well as his perfectly valid criticisms of the hypocritical Christians. It's a younger man's play - more black and white, and comic, more of a satire. Actually I think Richard III is a dead ringer for that kind of out and out comic villainy.C.J.Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12288574235370421625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-57753848254371750172016-02-06T05:58:49.323+00:002016-02-06T05:58:49.323+00:00Yes, I've read some fiction indicating that Ma...Yes, I've read some fiction indicating that Marlowe wrote Shakespeare's work, including one in which "Shakespeare" returns home late in his life and it turns out that the real Shakespeare was a nasty piece of work who was the one who died at Deptford, and the Shakespeare who returns home - a decent man - is in fact Marlowe. I doubt it, frankly; their styles were so different. Even the differences between The Jew Of Malta and The Merchant Of Venice, for example. Shakespeare just couldn't create a two dimensional villain - couldn't! Shylock is diddled, no matter what you think of him, such as his daughter running off and exchanging her mother's ring for a monkey(as my uni tutor suggested, she symbolically exchanges chastity for lechery). He has some redeeming qualities. Whereas Barabas is - truly horrible. And two dimensional as far as I'm concerned. <br /><br /> Richard III may be a villain, but he has the charm to suck you in, even as he tells you what he's planning, and even he, at the end, has some loyal followers.<br /><br />I think Shakespeare's early work was inspired by Marlowe, but later - different. <br /><br />Still, Marlowe is fascinating for his lifè alone(I researched it for my children's book about spies)and I know what you mean - I think I was discovering Shakespeare around the same age you were discovering Marlowe, from my sister's old school copy of Julius Caesar. <br /><br />Have you ever read Harry Turtledove's Ruled Britannia? In it, the Spanish Armada succeeded and nine years later Marlowe is still alive and writing plays.Sue Bursztynskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09362273418897882971noreply@blogger.com