Barnet, Sylvan, ed.,
Doctor Faustus
. New York: New American Library, 1969.
For your own use, look at:
Boas, F.S., ed.,
Doctor Faustus
. New York: Gordian Press, 1966.
The notes and references on words, historical details and necromantic bits in the text are quite adequate without being overwhelming.
I found a number of articles especially useful for an understanding of the many issues
Doctor Faustus
raises as a play, dramatic text and theater piece, as well as a literary work:.
Barba, Eugenio, “
Dr. Faustus
: Textual Montage,” in Jerzy Grotowski,
Towards a Poor Theater
(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1968), pp. 79-87.
This article offers a good look at what a contemporary director might do with a classical play to make a completely new statement. For his production Grotowski rearranged scenes and cut characters, but kept the original text, in order to emphasize Faustus’ martyrdom in the face of an unyielding God.
Brown, John Russell, “
Doctor Faustus
at Stratford-upon-Avon, 1968,” in Christopher Marlowe,
Doctor Faustus
, ed., Sylvan Barnet (New York: New American Library, 1969), pp. 194-206.
For an account of a different production this is a nice contrast to Grotowski. The performance Russell describes emphasized the demonic aspects of Marlowe’s play.
Greg, W.W., “The Damnation of Faustus,” in Clifford Leech, ed.,
Marlowe: A Collection of Essays
(Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1964), pp. 92-107.
The most straight-forward, concise explication of Faustus’ deterioration after his bargain with the devil. Greg quotes extensively from the play and pays scrupulous attention to what the text means.
Kernan, Alvin, ed.,
Two Renaissance Mythmakers: Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson
. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1977.
This volume contains four articles of importance:
Garber, Marjorie, “Infinite Riches in a Little Room: Closure and Enclosure in Marlowe “ pp. 3-21; Goldman, Michael, “Marlowe and the Histrionics of Ravishment,” pp. 22-40; Greenblatt, Stephen J., “Marlowe and Renaissance Self-Fashioning,” pp. 41-69; and Snow, Edward A., “Marlowe’s
Dr. Faustus
and the End of Desire,” pp. 70-110.
Analysing recurrent images, metaphors and key words in Marlowe’s plays, these articles represent close, sensitive readings. Although they’re more traditionally academic than the articles above, they make for fascinating reading. They all attribute the energy of the plays to their central characters’ efforts to forge an identity for themselves.
General works on Christopher Marlowe’s exciting life and death:
Hotson, J. Leslie,
The Death of Christopher Marlowe
. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1925.
Includes the deposition concerning Marlowe’s death, which Hotson discovered in 1913. A xerox copy of the document might provide an interesting addition to class discussions of Marlowe’s life.
Rowse, A.L.,
Christopher Marlowe: A Biography
. London: MacMillan and Co., 1964.
A pleasant, witty biography; probably the easiest way to get an overview of Marlowe’s life.
Tannenbaum, Samuel A.,
The Assassination of Christopher Marlowe
. Hamden: The Shoestring Press, 1928.
The political conspiracy theory of Marlowe’s death, based on young Christopher’s involvement with Walsingham’s spy service. Tannenbaum builds his case on tenuous evidence and seemingly convoluted arguments. But who knows? The original claims for conspiracy in Job F. Kennedy’s assassination were based on evidence just as circumstantial.
Wraight, A.D.,
In Search of Christopher Marlowe: A Pictorial Biography
. New York: The Vanguard Press, 1965.
Brimming with pictures, documents and photos of the places where Marlowe lived and worked. The text becomes cumbersome, but the documentation is wonderful. Best used as a picture-book supplement to Rowse.