The Collected Poems of Christopher Marlowe

This unique anthology offers a more comprehensive look at the poems of Christopher Marlowe, England’s first great poet and playwright, than any other volume currently in print. Bringing together the complete body of Marlowe’s poetry–including Ovid’s Elegies, The Passionate Shepherd to His Love, Lucan’s First Book, Hero and Leander, and a Latin epitaph on the jurist Sir Roger Manwood–the book also incorporates related works by other writers. These ancillary selections include Sir John Davies’s Epigrams, Renaissance response poems to The Passionate Shepherd, and continuations of Hero and Leander by George Chapman and Henry Petowe. By presenting Marlowe’s works in the collaborative literary context of Renaissance England, the editors reveal his considerable influence on the literature of that period and on future writings. Patrick Cheney, a leading authority on Marlowe’s work, provides a clear, informed, and in-depth introduction that is firmly grounded in modern criticism and current scholarship, while classical and Renaissance scholar Brian J. Striar offers a helpful exploration of the practice of verse translation in Marlowe’s work. Extensive annotations throughout give readers background on both the individual poems and on the cultural context in which they were produced. Ideal for courses in Renaissance poetry, The Collected Poems of Christopher Marlowe is an essential resource for students and other readers striving to understand Marlowe’s role as a pioneering poet-playwright.