英美文学简明教程(华中科技大学出版社)
（1）Life：
Born two months before Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe was the son of a poor Canterbury shoemaker, but he was much better educated than Shakespeare. He was educated at the town grammar school and then at Cambridge.
When he came to London in 1584, his soul was surging with the ideals of the Renaissance, which later found expression in The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus.
While in London, Marlowe became an actor and associated himself with the Admiral’s Men, a company of actors for whom he wrote most of his plays.
In 1587, when he was only twenty-three years old, he produced his tremendously successful play Tamburlaine the Great, which brought him instant recognition.
From the time of his first great success, Marlowe had only six years to live and he produced all his great works while Shakespeare was serving his apprenticeship.
（2）Major Works:
Plays：
Tamburlaine the Great / Timur 《帖木儿》
The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus 《浮士德博士的悲剧》
The Jew of Malta 《马耳他的犹太人》
Edward the Second 《爱德华二世》
Poems:
Hero and Leaner 《海洛与勒安德尔》 The Passionate Shepherd to His Love 《激情的牧人致心爱的姑娘》
5. William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
（1）Life:
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and baptised there on 26 April 1564.
His father, John Shakespeare, was a successful glover and alderman originally from Snitterfield, and his mother, Mary Arden, was the daughter of an affluent landowning farmer.
Although no attendance records for the period survive, most biographers agree that Shakespeare probably was educated at the King’s New School in Stratford.
At the age of 18, Shakespeare married the 26-year-old Anne Hathaway.
After the marriage Anne gave birth to a daughter, Susanna, and twins, son Hamnet and daughter Judith. Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11. It is not known exactly when Shakespeare began writing, but contemporary allusions and records of performances show that several of his plays were on the London stage by 1592.
From 1594, Shakespeare’s plays were performed only by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a company owned by a group of players, including