NPR Book of the Day

“Dark Renaissance” Historian on How Christopher Marlowe Paved the Way for Shakespeare

Date: September 24, 2025
Host: Ari Shapiro (for All Things Considered, as featured on Book of the Day)
Guest: Stephen Greenblatt, historian and author of Dark Renaissance

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the life and legacy of Christopher Marlowe, the enigmatic 16th-century playwright often seen as Shakespeare’s greatest rival. Historian Stephen Greenblatt discusses his new biography Dark Renaissance, painting a portrait of Marlowe as a boundary-breaking figure whose art, politics, and personal risk-taking transformed English theater and culture—ultimately laying groundwork for Shakespeare’s success. The conversation explores Marlowe’s boldness, the dangerous world he inhabited, his possible career as a spy, and the enduring relevance of rebellion against censorship.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Marlowe: More Than Shakespeare’s Rival

• Reframing the Narrative
  • Greenblatt argues that calling Marlowe Shakespeare’s “rival” is limiting; instead, Marlowe paved the way for Shakespeare and much of the culture valued today.
    • “He actually paved the way for Shakespeare and for much that we actually care about in the culture of our language and our civilization.” — Stephen Greenblatt [02:15]

The Danger and Daring of Marlowe’s Art

• A Life on the Edge
  • Marlowe’s world was one of severe censorship—criticizing government or religious authority often led to brutal punishment or death.
  • Despite this, Marlowe spoke truths so daring, they were “what no one who wanted to live a long life would even venture to whisper.”
    • “If you mumbled unpleasant words about the ruler or about the policies of the state, you could get your ears cut off, you could get your nose sliced, or very likely, you could get yourself killed.” — Stephen Greenblatt [02:58]
  • Marlowe took “crazy risks,” both with the subjects he tackled and the ways he flouted social and political boundaries.
    • “Marlowe took crazy risks...he broke through by exploiting...the first great public entertainment industry in English culture, which was the theater.” — Stephen Greenblatt [03:30], [04:09]

Theater as a Vehicle for Radical Ideas

• The Power of the Stage
  • The newly flourishing English theater provided a unique space where forbidden ideas could be aired under the guise of fiction or allegory.
  • Marlowe’s play Tamburlaine thrilled audiences with its story of a “nobody who conquers the world,” while Dr. Faustus transformed a simple morality tale into a complex, seductive exploration of ambition, knowledge, and sexuality.
    • “He took a rather cheesy account of a German magician and turned it into a fable...central...to us of what it means to make a deal with the devil in order to escape the little box that you were in.” — Stephen Greenblatt [05:37]
    • “Was this the face that launched a thousand ships and burned the topless towers? Of course, about Helen of Troy. This is the kind of thing that Christopher Marlowe did and as they say, transformed popular culture, English culture, our culture.” — Stephen Greenblatt [06:21]

Marlowe the Spy

• Cambridge Cafeteria Records and Secret Service
  • Greenblatt discusses painstaking research—using 16th-century university beer and food records—to track Marlowe’s absences from Cambridge.
  • Absences nearly cost Marlowe his degree, until a mysterious royal letter instructed the university to award it—suggesting Marlowe was in service to the state (i.e., espionage).
    • “The university kept track of the students’ consumption of beer and food. And you can follow...whether he was there at Cambridge...that issue came up when he tried to get his degree...then a month later, a letter was sent signed by the most important people in the kingdom on behalf of a nobody...saying Her Majesty would be unhappy that someone who’s done the state such important service should not be given his degree.” — Stephen Greenblatt [07:01]

Parallels to the Present: Free Expression and Repression

• Marlowe’s Lessons for Today
  • Greenblatt draws parallels between the repressive regime of Marlowe’s day and societies today where free speech is threatened.
  • Marlowe as “the supreme example of the rule breaker in every way—politically, religiously, sexually” shows how extraordinary individuals can force change even in closed societies.
    • “Even when a culture looks like it's shut down and we look around in our world at places in which there’s ferocious repression for the freedom of expression, there will come along someone who will break through...Human beings can't actually, for long periods of time, be shut in the tight boxes of censorship.” — Stephen Greenblatt [08:39]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Marlowe’s influence:
  "He actually paved the way for Shakespeare and for much that we actually care about in the culture of our language and our civilization." — Stephen Greenblatt [02:15]
• On the risks of Marlowe’s truth-telling:
  "Marlowe took crazy risks. We don't fully understand those levels of risk now because we can say basically in our society what we want...But that was not the case in Marlowe's world." — Stephen Greenblatt [03:30]
• On the sexuality and sensuality in Faustus:
  "Marlowe's version comes along, and it looks enticing and sexy and almost homoerotic, with all kinds of themes and nuances that were unheard of in this story..." — Ari Shapiro [05:13]
• On uncovering Marlowe’s secret service career:
  "They refused to give him his degree...then a month later, a letter was sent signed by the most important people...saying Her Majesty would be unhappy that someone who's done the state such important service should not be given his degree. Give him his degree." — Stephen Greenblatt [07:01]
• On relevance to today:
  "Marlowe is the supreme example of the rule breaker in every way, politically, religiously, sexually, who breaks through the enclosures that authoritarian regimes build around free expression." — Stephen Greenblatt [09:14]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:15] – Greenblatt on Marlowe’s importance and legacy
• [02:58] – The risks and repression facing artists in Marlowe’s England
• [05:13] – Marlowe’s radical reworking of Dr. Faustus
• [07:01] – Cambridge records and the case for Marlowe as a spy
• [08:39] – Parallels between Marlowe’s era and the present day

Conclusion

Greenblatt unpacks the magnetic, dangerous legacy of Marlowe: a rebel whose bravado and artistry not only shaped Shakespeare but continues to echo in ongoing struggles for free expression. Marlowe’s story is one of genius, risk, espionage, and resistance—a timely reminder that culture is changed by those bold enough to break society’s silences.