Christopher Marllowe Violence

Christopher Marllowe Violence

The Violence of Christopher Marlowe's The Jew of Malta



Christopher Marlowe's The Jew of Malta is a violent, bloody, destructive play that literally jars the senses. Part of this is due to the modern reader's background: we see the characters through modern eyes, with distinct views of "low class" and "high class." It would be easy, as such, to discount The Jew of Malta as only appealing to the base interests of its time, and it would be only slightly less easy to protest that it has meaning beyond any crude first glance, and that the extreme acts presented are merely metaphors for deeper social commentary. Steane writes:



There is a general feeling that this is a play of distinctive character, and an ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...As a true black–hat villain (almost mentally complete with greasy mustache and cape, tying poor Abigail to the railroad tracks of his house–cum–abbey), Barabas has no superior, only flunkies and enemies. And, like a true villain, he casts off the first patsy, Abigail, at the traditional moment, when she's about to betray him, for the second, Ithamore, who, also following tradition, after aiding him, turns traitor. Of course, the fact that Ithamore double–crosses Barabas is not surprising. Even though the story leads you to believe that Barabas will get his comeuppance, the main proof of Ithamore's inferiority is in his introduction: he brags openly about how evil he is, violating the first rule of the truly wicked (much like the "first rule of cool"), that "if you have to prove it, it's not true" (II.iii.204–214). While Barabas has already proved his evil and can therefore talk of his crimes, the unknown Ithamore has to convince the audience of his lowliness by listing his crimes, and so he is doomed to fall prey to Bellamira's lusty wiles before becoming just another notch on Barabas' belt of vengeance. Barabas continues making alliances, being betrayed, and exacting revenge on his betrayers, proving true the axiom "the enemy of my enemy is my

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