1564-1593
Biography
Elizabethan poet, dramatist, and actor Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593), one of Shakespeare’s contemporaries, was stabbed to death under rather mysterious circumstances at the age of 29. Marlowe is noted for his contribution to the development of blank verse—which employs a regular metre without rhyme—in English drama. His best work ranges from love poems like “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” to tragedies like Dr. Faustus.