401 short notes

1-About author

Christopher Marlowe biography

Christopher Marlowe was born in Canterbury in 1564, the same year

as his great rival William Shakespeare. Though his father was only a
shoemaker, Marlowe was educated at King's School and awarded a
scholarship to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. While at Corpus
Christi he studied philosophy, history, and theology.

At this point, Marlowe disappeared from university, and later

speculation was that he was recruited by the government for
espionage work. When he returned to Cambridge, Marlowe was
refused his M.A. degree due to suspected Catholic sympathies, until
the Queen's Privy Council intervened on his behalf.

In 1587 Marlowe left Cambridge again, this time for the life of a
London playwright. His first major work, Tamburlaine the Great,
was performed in that year.

Christopher Marlowe was a quick-tempered man, quick to anger and

quick to make enemies. He spent two weeks in Newgate Gaol in
1589, charged with murder, though he was later acquitted. Although
suspected of a variety of crimes ranging from heresy to
homosexuality, it seems clear that Marlowe's unknown government
connections kept him out of serious trouble.

Marlowe's dramatic career was only to span six short years. In that
time he wrote The Jew of Malta, The Tragical History of Doctor
Faustus, The Queen of Carthage, Edward II, and The Massacre at
Paris. His work ranged from tragedy to historical drama, but he also
wrote popular poetry such as Hero and Leander, and The Passionate
Shepherd ("Come live with me and be my love; and we shall all the
pleasures prove...").

The difficulty in evaluating Marlowe's work is that so few good copies

exist. None of his plays was ever properly published. His great
contribution to English theatre must lie in his influential use of blank
verse in writing his dramatic works. Marlowe was the first to use
blank verse in drama, but William Shakespeare soon followed his
example to great acclaim.

Christopher Marlowe's death in 1593 was as shrouded in mystery as

his life was clouded by controversy.

DR.FAUSTUS
Dr. Faustus is a play by Christopher Marlowe. It can be easily mistaken for the Thomas
Mann novel sharing the same name. The poem was composed at a time between 1589
and 1592. It is the story about a doctor who decides to study the dark arts and ends up
pawning the devil his soul.

A Brief View of the Story

Dr. Faustus sits in his study, wondering what was worthy for him to major in. The man
dismisses Theology, Medicine, even Law. Finally, he thinks of magic. Faustus decides to
talk to magicians Cornelius and Valdes about what he desires. The two provide
guidance. Faustus sees that he is ready to try out his acquired gifts. Faustus starts by
summoning Mephistopheles and wants this devil to serve him. However,
Mephistopheles is currently under Lucifer and does not intend to rebel against his
master. So, Faustus fashions a deal which involves him getting Mephistopheles to serve
him for twenty-four years, and his soul to go the other way.

They make this deal, and the man signs it with blood. Several such agreements are
taking place in their town involving other residents. Even the servant of Faustus called
Wagner had acquired a familiar disguised as an apprentice called Robin.

Faustus starts regretting the decision to give the soul up. The man even starts thinking
about repenting. The devils around him inform him of his already damned path. They
manage to create distractions for Faustus with some talk and even present a show that
involves life’s deadly sins. Mephistopheles woes the man with adventure all over the
globe in a chariot. They stop in Rome where Pope Adrian is placing judgment on Bruno,
a Pope from Germany. Faustus rescues Bruno and flies him home. He later torments
him through stealing his food at a feast.

Robin, in the company of Dick, another devil, had been caught stealing a cup from some
tavern. The two cry out to Mephistopheles for help. Furious, the latter transforms the
two into animals.

The Germany Emperor is happy because Bruno was saved. Faustus shows off his
mastery in sorcery and even humiliates Benvolio in front of everyone. The latter, who is
a member of the court, plots to kill him for it. He succeeds in having Faustus’ head
chopped off after having him ambushed. Faustus cannot die. Mephistopheles drags
Benvolio and those involved away.

Faustus continues angering more people, and it gets to a point where many want
revenge. Faustus uses sorcery and calms them all. Coming to his last years, Faustus
encounters an older man who feels Faustus should try repenting. He instead has the
man tormented by Mephistopheles. On his last day, he brings his sins to the light in
front of some scholars. When his time came, the devils arrive to take Faustus soul.
2.Arcadia Summary

Arcadia
Tom Stoppard
SAVE

Arcadia Summary

Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Plot Summary of “Arcadia” by Tom Stoppard. A modern
alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that
feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay
topics.

“Arcadia” is a 1993 play by the acclaimed British-Czech playwright Tom Stoppard. Set in two
different time periods--1809 and 1993--the tragicomedy concerns a nineteenth-century
student of science and nature named Thomasina Coverly and the modern scholars
investigating her fate. In 2006, London's Royal Institution named it one of the best works of
literature ever written about science.

Act I, Scene 1 begins in 1809 at Sidley Park, a Derbyshire-based country house. The audience
meets Thomasina Coverly, a highly-intelligent 13-year-old student partially based on the real-
life computing pioneer Ada Lovelace. Thomasina and her tutor, Septimus Hodge, discuss a
wide range of topics including Fermat's Last Theorem, determinism, carnality, and chaos
theory. They read a poem titled "The Couch of Eros" by a man named Ezra Chater who is
staying at the house. The poet Lord Byron is also staying at the house, but his character is
never seen by the audience.

When Chater enters, he is angry at Septimus and wishes to have a duel with him for having
engaged in said "carnality" with Chater's wife. Septimus pretends to like Chater's poetry, which
calms the vain poet down considerably. Shortly thereafter, the audience is introduced to three
more characters: Thomasina's mother, Lady Croom; Lady Croom's brother, Captain Brice; and
the house gardener, Richard Noakes. Thomasina sketches a hermit on a drawing of proposed
changes Noakes wishes to make to the garden.

In the next scene, the setting is the same house but the narrative now takes place in
the present day, nearly 200 years in the future. The lead character in the present-day
scenes is Hannah Jarvis, a scholar of Romantic literature researching the house, the
garden, and the hermit of Thomasina's drawing. The characters in many ways mirror
those in the 1809 section: There is an older scholar named Bernard Nightingale who,
like Septimus, is critical of one of the character's works--in this case, one of Hannah's
older books. Also like Septimus, Bernard wishes to gain favor with the target of his
criticism, though not to avoid a duel but so that Hannah will share her research with
him. After looking at her research, Bernard proposes a theory that Lord Byron killed
Ezra Chater in a duel. There are also two descendants of Thomasina in the house:
Chloe Coverly, an 18-year-old who is similarly forward-thinking as Thomasina in her
ideas about science and sex; and her brother Valentine Coverly, a mathematics
graduate student interested in the local population of grouse, a type of bird.

Back in the nineteenth century, Septimus tutors Thomasina in Latin. Chater is once
again angry with Septimus because, according to the off-stage Lord Byron, Septimus
wrote a savage review of one of Chater's earlier poems, "The Maid of Turkey." This
time, Chater does not back down from his vow to fight Septimus in a duel. In 1993,
Hannah uncovers a paper written by Thomasina about chaos theory which suggests
her thinking was more rigorous and ahead of its time than most scholars ever
considered it to be. This act also references an earlier conversation between
Thomasina and Septimus about the loss of knowledge in the burning of the Library of
Alexandria, and how knowledge--once created--is never truly lost to the world.
Thomasina's work on chaos theory and iteration also bears relevance to Valentine's
research.

The second of two acts keeps the action in 1993, for the time being. Despite Hannah's
and Valentine's protestations to the contrary, Bernard is so convinced of his theory
about Lord Byron killing Ezra Chater that he refuses to hear the pair's convincing
counter-arguments. He departs angrily to deliver a lecture proposing the likely false
theory to a live audience. Hannah also learns more about her hermit. Apparently, he
espoused many of the same ideas pioneered by Thomasina, leading Hannah to
suspect that Septimus is the hermit.

The following scene, set back in 1809, confirms to the audience that Bernard's theory
is wrong. Chater never duels anybody. In fact, he becomes a botanist instead, leaving
on an expedition to the West Indies with his wife and Captain Brice, who are having an
affair with one another. Meanwhile, Lady Croom discovers two letters Septimus wrote
in the event that he should not return alive from a duel. The first, addressed to
Thomasina, concerns rice pudding which Thomasina had used as an example of
chaos theory, in that one can never completely mix jam into rice pudding. The second
is a love letter to Lady Croom. When Septimus returns from hunting rabbit, Croom and
Septimus make love.

The last scene is the play's most experimental section. It features characters from
both timeframes onstage, acting out their parts concurrently. For the nineteenth
century characters, some time has passed; the year is now 1812. All characters are
dressed in similar attire, however, because the 1993 characters are getting ready for a
fancy party. Hannah and Valentine discuss Bernard's erroneous Lord Byron duel
theory, which is all over the newspapers. They also discuss whether the
groundbreaking theories uncovered at the house originated from Thomasina or
Septimus. Here, the audience learns that Thomasina died just before turning
seventeen years old in a fire.

Meanwhile, Thomasina and Septimus dance a waltz while discussing the theory of
entropy, which relates to chaos and the idea of the universe ending by winding down.
They also discuss the irreversibility of heat, in terms of thermodynamics, which gains
added irony when considering that Thomasina dies in a fire. Back in the present, the
group learns that Septimus became a hermit after Thomasina's death. Also, Bernard is
fully disgraced after a letter discredits his theory and he is caught in a "carnal
embrace" with Chloe. The play ends as Septimus, now a hermit, devotes the rest of his
life to trying to prove Thomasina's theories.

Since its inaugural performance in 1993, the play has been performed regularly around
the world, including on Broadway in New York. The Times of London described
"Arcadia" as "the perfect marriage of ideas and high comedy."

About author
Sir Philip Sidney

Sir Philip Sidney was born on November 30, 1554, in Kent, England. His
father, Sir Henry Sidney, was the lord president of Wales, and his uncle,
Robert Dudley, was the Earl of Leicester and Queen Elizabeth’s friend and
advisor. Sidney attended Oxford University’s Christ Church College from
1568 to 1571, but he left to travel Europe before completing his studies.
Sidney returned to England in 1575 and was appointed cupbearer to
Queen Elizabeth, a prestigious position. In 1577, he was sent to Germany
as an ambassador, and when he returned to England soon after, he
became a patron of the arts, notably encouraging the poet Edmund
Spenser. He also continued his involvement in politics, opposing the
queen’s planned marriage to the French heir and serving as a Member of
Parliament in the early 1580s.
Sidney penned several major works of the Elizabethan era,
including Astrophel and Stella, the first Elizabethan sonnet cycle,
and Arcadia, a heroic prose romance. He was also known for his literary
criticism, known as The Defense of Poesy. Although he shared his writing
with his close friends, he did not allow his work to be published during
his lifetime.
In 1585, Sidney was appointed governor of the Dutch town of Flushing.
He fought in a battle against the Spanish at Zutphen in 1586 and died of
his wounds several days later. He was buried at St. Paul’s Cathedral in
London on February 16,

3.The Spanish Tragedy Summary

The Spanish Tragedy is an Elizabethan tragedy produced by
Thomas Kyd sometime in the last two decades of the sixteenth
century. It was widely acclaimed in the English theatre,
recapitulating the model of the revenge tragedy. The play
includes a number of violent murders, looked on partly by a
character who personifies Revenge. The novel was later referred
to, both directly and implicitly, by other Elizabethan playwrights,
including Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, and William
Shakespeare. Its similarity to Shakespeare’s Hamlet has led
some scholars to believe that Shakespeare used Kyd’s play as a
template for his work.

The play is backgrounded in the war between the Viceroy of

Portugal and the ruling Spanish nation, particularly a famous
battle in which the Portuguese lost. In combat, the Viceroy’s son
Balthazar killed the leading Spanish officer, Andrea, and was
consequently taken hostage. The ghost of Andrea and the ghost
of Revenge are on the stage throughout the entire play, their
voices comprising a chorus that responds to the main
characters.

The play begins as the King’s nephew Lorenzo argues with

Andrea’s friend Horatio over who took Balthazar hostage.
Though it is obvious that Horatio beat Balthazar and that
Lorenzo is trying to wrongly claim the credit, the King puts
Lorenzo in charge of Balthazar and divides the spoils of war
between them. Horatio consoles Bel-imperia, Lorenzo’s sister,
who had been in love with Andrea despite her family’s
opposition. Bel-imperia soon moves on from Andrea and falls in
love with Horatio. She says that part of the reason she loves
Horatio is a desire for revenge, knowing that she can leverage
the relationship to torment Balthazar, Andrea’s murderer.

At the same time, Balthazar is falling for Bel-imperia. The king of Spain proclaims that
Balthazar and Bel-imperia should get married in order to restore peace between Spain
and Portugal. Hieronimo, Horatio’s father and a prominent marshal, sets up a party for
the ambassador from Portugal. Lorenzo suspects that Bel-imperia has found a lover
and coerces her servant, Pedringano, to reveal Horatio’s identity. Hieronimo and
Isabella come upon their son’s body hanged and pierced, which drives Isabella mad.

Lorenzo imprisons Bel-imperia, but she still manages to send a message to Hieronimo
by writing with her blood. It tells him that Lorenzo and Balthazar killed Horatio.
Hieronimo tries to visit her in prison, causing Lorenzo to suspect that he knows who
killed Horatio. Suspicious that Seberine, Balthazar’s servant, leaked the information, he
gets Pedringano to murder Seberine, cleverly setting up Pedringano’s arrest so that he
will be unable to speak about the crime. Hieronimo is appointed a judge and gives
Pedringano a death sentence. Pedringano anticipates that Lorenzo will pardon him,
having seen a fake pardon letter drafted by Lorenzo. Lorenzo betrays him and
Pedringano is hanged.

Lorenzo successfully stops Hieronimo from sorting out the crimes by telling the King
that Horatio remains alive. He also prevents Hieronimo from seeing the king by
pretending that he is too busy. When his wife commits suicide, Hieronimo goes
insane, saying incoherent sentences and gouging at the ground with his dagger.
Lorenzo goes to his uncle and tells him that Hieronimo is acting strangely because he
is jealous of his son Horatio’s huge wealth obtained from the Viceroy at the end of the
battle. Hieronimo returns to his full faculties and, joining up with Bel-imperia,
strategically pretends to reconcile with the murderers. He invites them to help him
stage a play called Soliman and Perseda as entertainment for the royal court.

The play is put on and Hieronimo replaces the prop daggers with real ones, intending for
Lorenzo and Balthazar to die in the view of the King, the Viceroy, and the Duke, who is the
father of Lorenzo and Bel-imperia. His plan also results in Bel-imperia’s character
inadvertently committing suicide when she stabs herself at a dramatic moment. The murders
and suicides play out as plotted. The crowd is aghast; Hieronimo takes the stage, explaining
the purpose behind the murders. He bites off his own tongue to make him unable to reveal
any more information under torture, then murders the Duke and commits suicide. In the
background, Revenge and Andrea announce that they are content with the outcome of the
tragedy. They vow to punish the guilty characters for the rest of eternity, suggesting that one’s
moral life continues outside the scope of the story he is embedded in.

A play that contrasts the motivations and moral ills of its characters against the superseding
judgments that are levied against them by the audience, The Spanish Tragedy casts the plight
of the Spanish and Portuguese as ultimately a product of the individual choices of the
protagonists and antagonists. Though one can achieve momentary victory in battle, the force
of time erodes these seizures of power and looks at the underlying moral fabric of each story
to determine everyone’s fates.

About author .
Thomas Kyd (baptised 6 November 1558; buried 15 August 1594) was an
English playwright, the author of The Spanish Tragedy, and one of the most important
figures in the development of Elizabethan drama.
Although well known in his own time, Kyd fell into obscurity until 1773 when Thomas
Hawkins, an early editor of The Spanish Tragedy, discovered that Kyd was named as its
author by Thomas Heywood in his Apologie for Actors (1612). A hundred years later,
scholars in Germany and England began to shed light on his life and work, including the
controversial finding that he may have been the author of a Hamlet play pre-dating
Shakespeare's, which is now known as the Ur-Hamlet.