Friday, June 24, 2011

Massacre at Paris by Christopher Marlowe - Very Underrated!

Elizabethan drama based on the St. Bartholomews Day Massacre of Protestants by Catholics in Paris. According to Wikipedia: Christopher Kit Marlowe (1564 – 1593) was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. The foremost Elizabethan tragedian next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his magnificent blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his own mysterious and untimely death.

Very Underrated!
Some of you probably remember this as the play Marlowe managed to complete before he was killed in "Shakespeare In Love." It is interesting that even though many critics do not see this as one of Marlowe's better plays, Marlowe (in the movie) said that this was even better than his "Dr. Faustus." The play begins with the Protestant Prince Navarre marrying a Catholic Princess. While some are hoping this will make peace between the Catholics and Protestants in France, many see the approaching war as inevitable. Anjou (the eventual King Henry III) teams up with the overly ambitious Guise and they decide to eliminate the Protestants. Most of the scenes that follow are short murder scenes, but Marlowe knew what he was doing. By keeping the scenes short, he emphasizes that murder is a vile act. (Hollywood has always looked for ways to justify and even glorify killing.) Well, action movies are here today and gone tomrrow, while the classics from Marlowe, Shakespeare, and Dickens will survive time. Quoting a bit of Shakespeare: 'the truth should live from age to age.' Moving on, King Charles IX is understandably sad at the bloodshed. Upon his death, Anjou is crowned King Henry III. Marlowe keeps the tension as the Protestants (under Navarre) start to strike back. Then, there comes a rift between Henry III and Guise. And should we be surprised about this? Ambition seldom knows loyalty. Henry III realizes that Guise is popular, so a secret murder is his best bet. And Navarre is sharp enough to realize that if he helps bring down Guise, he may win Henry III's gratitude. It is interesting that someone even tries to warn the ego maniac Guise of the danger he is in, but Guise compares himself to Caesar and foolishly walks into the death trap. (Undoubtedly Shakespeare had this in mind when he wrote his "Julius Caesar.") Moving on, Henry III plots the murder of a cardinal who he sees as dangerous. (But as in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," some enemies are more powerful after their death.) The death of this cardinal brings about a successful attempt on Henry III's life. And we can see that Henry III's death was revolving in Shakespeare's mind as he wrote his "Hamlet." If we accept Marlowe's words (in "Shakespeare In Love") that this is even better than "Dr. Faustus," we'll have to fight many critics. But the argument is that this play is historical and completely plausible. And the more believable something is, the more scarey it is likely to be. In the movie, Shakespeare choked a bit when Marlowe just said the title. It's sad that this play will probably never get the attention it deserves.

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