The Jew of Malta (Dover Thrift Editions: Plays) Paperback – August 5, 2003

This is Christopher Marlowe's version of one of Will's story's, The Merchant of Venice. Both are great. Dover Thrift Editions are always good quality, first-rate translations well annotated and cited. You can't go wrong. And the price beats scrounging through used book stores--unless that's your thing. I, personally, have spent many an hours perusing such stacks. But if you want it now--Dover it.

My first reading of Marlowe's work. Look forward to reading his other works.

I purchased this book for a religious studies class I was taking. It is interesting to ready. A little hard to follow especially with the language. I had to read some passages more than a few times to understand what was going on. But the content was incorporated very well with the other reading material that was assigned with this book. Very interesting.

I actually read an online version of this text provided by my teacher as part of my Introduction to Drama course, so this is not the same version I'm writing about, but is the same work. In many ways, this is the predecessor to The Merchant of Venice, which is a distinction that would already make it notable, but it also has a great amount of value in its own right. While perhaps not as powerful or seemingly progressive as its counterpart, there are very good dramatic speeches, powerful characters, and a tragic ending to consider, and it is certainly a great glimpse into the society from which it came. I certainly would suggest it to anyone that has an interest in dramatic works.

Interesting read.

A+

Among the comments late in the introductory notes are two important thoughts.1 That there may be no original manuscripts of Marlowe’s plays,2. The Jew of Malta might be a farce rather than a tragedy.This edition The Dover Thrift Edition of Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta is sufficiently over wrought to be farcical, but too much of the language is flat and dull. The net result lacks enough life to sustain a laugh. Scenes transition poorly and plot development is so … whatever is the opposite of seamless that this could easily be chopped together from many earlier versions with changes made by many writers looking to serve many audiences.I came to this play hoping to see an artist who was the mentor to and possible superior of William Shakespeare. Very little of the dialogue ever achieves the beauty of the Bard.The foot notes asked us to consider the following Marlowe line against the Shakespeare version:“But stay what light shines yonder in the EastThe loadstar of my life, If Abigail.First the speaker is Abigail’s father, and not her lover.“if Abigail” reads like a transcription error from some earlier draft.Those are minor problems.The entire first line is leaden and unhappy.And finally “Loadstar” sounds too much like mill stone or concrete overshoes, just not anything to suggest that the daughter is the light or delight of her father’s soul,Consider what Shakespeare does with the line I do not doubt he stole:“But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. “‘Lo’ rather than ‘stay’, surprise rather than a command to stop. In the original ‘Yonder’ leaps out as something that would fit better in a bad country western song. The later use fits in naturally and sounds softer in the ear. Juliet is light, lighting Romeo’s life and warming his heart. The comparison is clearly one an inspired lover might invent, not some creepy old man talking about his daughter.Numerous footnotes take the place of missing stage directions. Scene shifts are frequently lost or obviously missing. Plot development seem layered on rather than deliberately designed in. Ultimately this is a mess and unpleasant to read. The script at barely 59 pages was a struggle to finish.I refuse to believe that this edition is what made Christopher Marlowe’s reputation. Over 40 years ago I read The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. Perhaps it is time I revisited it if only to give the man with Kit’s reputation a chance to be better represented

Great story if you are up on you Shakespearean English. If not, it is very difficult to follow. If it came with a modern English translation it would be much better. Getting the Shakespearean "flavor" is one thing but it needs to be readable.