The Complete Plays

by Christopher Marlowe

  54 poison of the city: This is not convincingly explained.

  55 white leprosy: White scales on the skin are a symptom of leprosy.

  56 a foil: ‘A thin leaf of some metal placed under a precious stone to increase its brilliancy’ (OED 5).

  57 foiled: I.e. set by a jeweller.

  58 foiled: Defiled, dishonoured (punning on the previous line).

  60 pointed: Referring to how the diamond was cut.

  61 Pointed: Appointed (punning on the previous line).

  it: (i) The diamond, (ii) Abigail, (iii) Barabas’s vengeance.

  74 in catechizing sort: In the manner of the catechism.

  84–5 doing… fruit: The fruit Barabas has in mind are the offspring of nuns’ and friars’ illicit sexual activity.

  87 glance not at: Don’t make slighting remarks about.

  91 have a saying to: Have something to say to.

  93 no price… part: (i) We won’t quarrel over the price, (ii) you won’t get out alive.

  103 new trick… purse: New method of stealing a purse.

  105–6 So… the gallows: If he is bought, he could steal the city’s seal, and issue pardons for himself under it.

  107–8 The sessions… purged: To thieves, the day of the trial is like the day of crisis in a disease – fatal for most of them.

  being purged: (Metaphorically) executed.

  113–14 philosopher’s stone: In alchemy, a stone that would turn base metals to gold.

  116 shaver: (i) Chap, fellow, (ii) swindler, trickster.

  118 youth… Lady Vanity: Two characters from the Morality-play tradition.

  121 colour: Pretence.

  125–6 an’t be: If it be.

  133 for my turn: For my purposes.

  135 mark: Brand.

  136 mark: Observe.

  157 comment on… Maccabees: The two apocryphal books of Maccabees which recount the emancipation of the Jewish people from the Syrians in the second century BC. No Renaissance commentary on them is known.

  167 condition: Status.

  171 teach thee that: Q omits thee.

  176 your nose: Barabas may have worn a large false nose.

  179 poison wells: Jews were often caricatured as well-poisoners.

  180–83 cherish… my door: I.e. Barabas lets Christian thieves steal from him for the pleasure of seeing them punished.

  187 in ure: In practice.

  190–91 wars… Charles the Fifth: Alluding to the conflict between Francis I of France and the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, which was initiated in 1519 and continued until 1558.

  194 forfeiting: ‘Exacting a fine or forfeit because a borrower of money has been unable to fulfil his obligations’ (Bawcutt 1978).

  195 brokery: Financial broking; here, commercial malpractice is implied.

  197 And with… hospitals: And supplied the almshouses with orphans.

  198 moon: Month (the moon was thought to produce lunacy).

  199 one hang: I.e. caused one to hang.

  201 with interest: I.e. interest charged at usurious rates.

  214 a-good: Heartily.

  223 walk in with me: Barabas and Ithamore have arrived at Barabas’s house in the course of their conversation.

  231 Philistine: Biblical adversaries of the Jews.

  239 made sure: Betrothed.

  243 factor’s hand: Agent’s handwriting.

  245 The account is made: I.e. settled, reckoned (with pun on the previous line).

  251 manna: The food which fell upon the Jews from heaven (cf. Exodus 16).

  272 rouse: Drive out (like an animal from hiding).

  293 hold my mind: Conceal my thoughts and feelings.

  299 golden cross: Gold coin stamped with a cross.

  300 Christian posies: Pious maxims engraved onto contemporary coins and rings.

  304 offspring of Cain: I.e. Lodowick is a wicked descendant of Cain, the first person to commit murder in the Old Testament.

  Jebusite: The tribe of Canaanites who were expelled from Jerusalem by King David in II Samuel 5.

  305 Passover: The Jewish observance which celebrates the liberation of the Jews from Egypt in Exodus 12.

  306 Canaan: The land promised to the Jews as part of their covenant with God in Genesis 17:8.

  307 Messias: Messiah.

  308 gentle: Punning on ‘gentile’. ‘Gentle’ was also the common name for a maggot.

  338 made thee sure to: Assured you of your engagement to.

  365 put her in: Make her enter the house.

  385 spirit: Demon, devil.

  ACT 3

  Scene 1

  3 ducats: Venetian gold coins.

  8 liberal: (i) Well-educated, (ii) generous.

  16 go hard: See 1.3.27n

  21 hooks: Gear used by thieves to snatch valuables from windows, or to scale walls.

  28 by her attire: I.e. by the red taffeta dress commonly worn by prostitutes.

  Scene 2

  2.1 SD reading: Lodowick is reading the challenge from Mathias delivered to him by Ithamore. This is inconsistent with 2.3.72–86 and 3.3.19–21.

  5 home: Mortally.

  7 tall: Brave (said sardonically).

  18 lively: Life-giving.

  34 reveal: Supplied to correct the absence of a verb in Q.

  Scene 3

  3 held in hand: Tricked.

  flatly: Completely.

  10 bottle-nosed: Big-nosed.

  to: For.

  20 imprimis: Latin, first of all (a comic misuse by Ithamore).

  22–3 And then… days: The archaic-sounding couplet parodies the ending of an old ‘story’.

  22 and: Omitted in Q.

  31 Saint Jacques: I.e. the Dominican friars, who had their headquarters in the Church of St Jacques, Paris. Cf. 3.4.76n.

  35 feeling: Earnest (punning on the idea of sexual groping).

  Sport: I.e. sexual intercourse.

  37 sirrah sauce: Impudent (saucy) fellow.

  43 sire: For Q’s sinne.

  53 Virgo, salve!: Latin, Greetings, maiden!

  54 When, duck you?: Perhaps Ithamore expresses surprise at Abigall’s reverence to the friar.

  68 Son: Son of God, with a pun on ‘sun’.

  74 heavy: Grievous.

  Scene 4

  6 Spurcal: Latin, filthy!

  pretendeth: Portends.

  15 self: Q’s life is probably a corruption from the previous line.

  31 within my gates: Cf. Exodus 20:10, and Deuteronomy 14:21.

  33 Like Cain by Adam: Barabas adapts Genesis 4 (where Cain was, in fact, cursed by God, and not Adam, for murdering his brother) to his own situation.

  37 ’less: Unless.

  51 hold: Bet.

  55 husht: Shush.

  59–60 the proverb… spoon: Cf. Tilley S771.

  65–6 mess of rice porridge: Recalls Genesis 25 in which Esau sells his birthright for a mess of pottage (mess = helping).

  70 an Italian: The Elizabethans considered Italians accomplished poisoners.

  71 bind: Cause constipation.

  76 This even they use: The custom on this evening is. This observance of a vigil for the saint’s day (2.5 July) seems to be invented. The Elizabethan liturgy for the day following St James’s includes a reference to ‘a boiling pot’ from Jeremiah 1:13, which may be relevant both to the pot of porridge and to the cauldron in which Barabas dies (5.5). One tradition recalled that the besieged Knights of Malta expected relief (which did not come) on St James’s day (Bonnie Blackburn and Leofranc Holford-Strevens, The Oxford Companion to the Year (1999), p. 306). In The Massacre at Paris, ‘a friar of the order of the Jacobins’ (23.23–4) invokes the saint as he murders King Henry (24.33).

  85 pot: For Q’s plot.

  92 ’tis better… spared: It’s better to do this than to spare (them).

  93 by the eye: ‘In unlimited quantity’ (OED 4b).

  98 great Alexander… died: According to Plutarch, Alexander the Great was poisoned.

  9
9 Borgia’s wine: It was commonly thought that Pope Alexander VI was poisoned by his son, Cesare Borgia, in 1503.

  101 In few: In short.

  103 Stygian pool: The Styx, one of the rivers of the underworld.

  104 fiery kingdom: I.e. hell.

  112–13 Flanders mares: Belgian horses; also, a euphemism for promiscuous women, which Ithamore directs at the nuns. with a powder: Quickly, at once (punning on the poisoned powder).

  114 horse-pestilence: (?) A horse disease.

  Scene 5

  11 shalt: Thou shalt.

  32 profitably: (i) For a good cause, (ii) for financial gain.

  Scene 6

  5 fair Maria: A ‘ghost’ character whose introduction hints at the friars’ lasciviousness.

  12 ghostly father: Spiritual confessor.

  18 desperate: I.e. have no hope of salvation.

  22 contract: Betroth.

  29 Set down at large: Written down in full.

  31 work my peace: Obtain absolution.

  35 degraded: Defrocked.

  36 sent to the fire: The prospect of being burnt alive for transgressing canon law is an elaboration invented by Marlowe (Bawcutt 1978).

  42 exclaim on: Denounce.

  49 crucified a child: An example of the anti-Semitic myth that Jews crucified Christian children as part of a ceremony which derided the crucifixion.

  50 in shrift: In confession.

  ACT 4

  Scene 1

  1 to: Compared with.

  6 swell: I.e. become pregnant.

  14 royal: Splendid.

  21 Cazzo, diabole: Two Italian oaths, meaning ‘penis’ and ‘devil’.

  22–3 caterpillars: I.e. parasites.

  25 God-a-mercy, nose!: Ithamore is ironically impressed by Barabas’s sense of smell.

  30–46 Barabas… Lodowick: Barabas keeps interrupting the friars until they hint at the murder of Mathias and Lodowick.

  58 A hundred… ta’en: I.e. I have charged 100 per cent interest on a loan.

  61 lost: Damned.

  78 banco: I.e. bank. The Italian form suggests the institution was still exotic.

  99 rogue: Q’s goe is plausible, but the emendation seems necessary in light of the next line.

  115 the Turk: I.e. Ithamore.

  123 turned: Converted.

  138 order: Religious practice.

  144 see him… heels: I.e. see him hanged.

  146 girdle: A friar’s rope belt.

  150 Confess… hanged: Tilley C587.

  152 have: For Q’s save.

  155 print: Marking (caused by the noose).

  165 proceed: Prosper.

  182 on;’s: Of his.

  208 particular: Detail.

  Scene 2

  7 man of another world: Ghost.

  14 critical aspect: Malign influence, as of a star.

  16 freehold: I.e. pitch (where Pilia-Borza picks pockets).

  17 conning: Memorizing.

  neck-verse: One could escape hanging by claiming ‘benefit of clergy’, which involved the reading of a verse from the Vulgate Bible (usually Psalm 51).

  17–18 friar’s execution: I.e. Jacomo’s.

  18 hempen: Alluding to the hangman’s noose.

  19 Hodie… tnihi: Latin, today your turn, tomorrow mine.

  20 exercise: Act of devotion, at the execution.

  23–4 hempen tippet: An ironic allusion to the priest’s stole, i.e. the rope.

  25 cure: Parish.

  39 Turk of tenpence: A poor Turk (apparently Marlowe’s coinage).

  44 family: Household.

  stand or fall: Here used with sexual innuendo.

  47 foully: Punning on the sense ‘dirty’, not ‘clean’.

  59 partridges… eggs: Cf. Pliny, Historia Naturalis X, 100.

  8 3 use him in his kind: Treat him according to his nature; also meaning, ‘to treat harshly’, from the proverb, to ‘use someone like a Jew’ (Tilley J52).

  91–101 Content… my love: A parodie invitation to love, ending with a quotation of Marlowe’s own lyric, ‘The Passionate Shepherd to his Love’.

  94 painted carpets: Bright flowers (the metaphor is comically literalized).

  108 beard: Q’s sterd looks like a corruption from stared, line 107.

  118 grey groat: Small silver coin worth about fourpence.

  119 ream: Approximately 500 sheets of paper (punning on ‘realm, kingdom’).

  133 runs division of: I.e. Bellamira is well practised in kissing; here, ‘division’ refers to the exquisite musical variations created by dividing the long notes into short ones.

  Scene 3

  5 coupe de gorge: French; i.e. I’ll cut his throat.

  12 catzerie: Cheating, trickery (apparently Marlowe’s coinage from cazzo: cf. 4.1.21n).

  14 husband: I.e. a pimp.

  19 want’st… thy tale?: Is anything missing from the sum you demanded?

  28 what… for you: I.e. the 100 crowns that Ithamore has demanded

  (4.2.123) for the bearer of the letter.

  31 make… away: Kill him.

  51 as unknown: As befits one to whom I have not been introduced (ironic politeness).

  63 demand: Not in Q.

  Scene 4

  1 pledge thee: Drink to you.

  4 Of: On.

  5 Nay… none: Q ascribes the line to Pilia-Borza.

  10 Rivo Castiliano!: Italian, River of Castile!; possibly used here as a drinker’s cry, calling out for Spanish wine.

  A man’s a man: Proverbial (Tilley M243)

  23 snickle hand too fast: Since a snickle is a snare or noose, this difficult phrase seems to mean ‘with the quick hand of a poacher (or hangman)’.

  30 Love… long: Proverbial (Tilley L559).

  31 incony: Fine, delicate, sweet (with a bawdy pun on ‘cunny’ = female genitalia).

  40 A vôtre commandement: French, at your command.

  46 cat’s guts: Lute strings.

  48 Pardonnez-moi: French, pardon me.

  49 now all be in: All the strings are now in tune.

  54 fingers very well: Plays the lute with skill (punning on ‘filching’).

  56 runs: Plays a rapid sweep of notes.

  73–4 the elder… hanged himself: Judas reputedly hanged himself from an elder tree.

  75–6 Great Cham: The Great Khan, the title applied both to the ruler of the Tartars and Mongols, and to the emperor of China.

  77 masty: (?) Fattened on mast (pig food).

  87 The meaning… meaning: Ithamore is drunkenly knowing.

  ACT 5

  Scene 1

  4 hovered here: I.e. Calymath’s ships are anchored offshore.

  20 cannot out-run… constable: Proverbial (Tilley C615).

  29 he: Not in Q.

  41 I’ll: Q reads I, which fails to emphasize Barabas’s continuing defiance.

  49 passed: Passed judgement.

  61 Well fare, sleepy drink: Barabas gives thanks to the effectiveness of the sleeping potion.

  80 poppy… mandrake: Soporific drugs (cf. Shakespeare, Othello 3.3.334–7)

  86 sluice: The island’s drainage sewers; Q’s truce is clearly incorrect.

  91 vault: I.e. the underground drainage system.

  Scene 2

  0.1 SD Alarms: Sounds of battle, trumpet calls.

  22 entrance: The first step.

  33 Whenas: Seeing that.

  40–42 ass… thistle tops: Not from the Fables of Aesop (N), but from the emblem tradition, where it symbolizes the rich man who does not benefit from his riches.

  42 snap: Feed.

  44 Occasion’s bald behind: In Renaissance iconography, Occasion or Opportunity was depicted as a bald-headed woman with a long forelock of hair which one had to seize as she passed by.

  63 for me: As far as I am concerned.

  68 got my goods: Acquired my wealth.

  73 remediless: In a hopeless state (qualifying ‘Malta’).

  81 outhouse… city: Building outside the city walls.


  84 pretendest: Intend, offer.

  cast it: I.e. formulate a plan.

  106 Ottoman: Turkey.

  107 about this coin: Undertake to collect this money.

  121 My policy… prevention: ‘I hate to have my cunning plots revealed in advance’ (Bawcutt 1978).

  Scene 3

  8 countermured: For Q’s countermin’d. Cf. 1.3.21.

  9 toward Calabria… Sicily: I.e., Sicily protects die eastern approach to Malta.

  10 Where: For Q’s When.

  Dionysius: (N) Here recalled as anodier island tyrant.

  11 Two lofty turrets: Probably the forts of St Angelo and St Elmo which stood at the entrance of the harbour of Valletta.

  16 great Ottoman: The Sultan.

  Scene 4

  3–4 culverin… kindled thus: The Governor lights die taper (‘linstock’) which will fire the signal cannon (‘culverin’).

  9 adventure: Risk.

  Scene 5

  3 levelled… mind: (i) Designed to achieve my purpose, (ii) smoothly finished to my specifications.

  9 die: This may be a simple curse urging the carpenters to drink themselves to death; or Barabas may have poisoned the wine.

  10 so: Provided that.

  38 blithely set: Cheerfully seated.

  39 warning-piece: A gun fired as a signal.

  49 Now tell me, worldlings: Barabas adopts the guise of the medieval stage-villain and Morality Vice, directly addressing the audience and appealing to their own sense of mischief.

  62 charge: Trumpet-call to signal an attack.

  62.1–2 SD The Governor cuts the rope securing the trapdoor from the gallery and Barabas falls into the hot cauldron which is simultaneously revealed in the discovery-space.

  77 breathe forth… fate: ‘Breathe out the last moments of life allotted to you by fate’ (Bawcutt 1978).

  90 train: Trap.

  98 all’s one: It would make no difference.

  115 meditate: ‘to arrange by thought and discussion’ (Bawcutt 1978).

  118 come all the world: I.e., if you summon all the world.

  EPILOGUE SPOKEN AT COURT

  1 dread sovereign: Charles I.

  4 Thus low dejected: I.e. bowing.

  EPILOGUE

  4 outgo: Surpass.

  5 prize was played: Match was contested (a fencing term).

  DOCTOR FAUSTUS

  Many of the questions we ask about Doctor Faustus – questions of date, text and interpretation – cannot be answered with certainty. The play can be variously dated 1588–9 and 1591–2. Two early versions of it (known as the A- and B-texts) survive, but there is general agreement that neither text represents exactly what was first performed. Both show signs of theatrical adaptation. Many have suspected that someone else (Thomas Nashe?) wrote at least some of the clowning scenes. So complex are the textual problems that they are discussed in a separate note below. The text of this edition is based on the A-text.