Christopher Marlowe, The Jew of Malta

Lisa Hopkins (Sheffield Hallam University)
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The Jew of Malta

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Doctor Faustus

 clear uneasiness about conventional forms of religion and sharp-eyed observation of the hypocrisies which can be committed in its name. On the small Mediterranean island of Malta, the Turks attack the Catholic Knights of St John, and Jews suffer and are demonised as a result. The events are based partly on the historical siege of the island in 1565, but Marlowe has departed from fact in a number of instances, most notably in allowing the Turks, however temporarily, to triumph, and in giving a central role to the Jew Barabas, a character whom Marlowe has invented (though the name is obviously derived from the thief whose life the Jews asked Pilate to spare in preference to Jesus's). Barabas is so thoroughly (albeit enjoyably)…

1580 words

Citation: Hopkins, Lisa. "The Jew of Malta". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001; last revised 01 March 2021. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=474, accessed 19 March 2024.]

474 The Jew of Malta 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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