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INTRODUCTION
his version of Hero and Leander), Drayton, and together
with them the most observant and wide· hearted
'shepherd' in all Arcady. That there was no foundation
for the charges of atheism and blasphemy brought
against him by an embittered controversialist, and
unctuously repeated by others, it would be impossible
to :1ffirm; but the imputation of 'vices sent from
hell' to men of genius (and others) is in itseH often
thc result of thoughtlessness. In any case it would
be idle to bring Marlowe's supposed aberrations into
any sort of connexion with his second play, which
was in all probability completed between four and five
years before his death.
The external evidence for the conclusion that The
Tragica1 History of Doctor Faustus was first performed
some time before February, 1589, and very possibly
in 1588, is not absolutely convincing; but it is borne
out by the internal evidence of certain historical
allusions in the text of the play, and more especially
by the character of its versification. In this respect
Doctor Faustus stands midway between Tamburlaine
and Edward II, neither rigidly adhering to the rule
of terminating each line by a single syllable, nor
admitting the free use of double· endings characteristic
of Marlowe's latest, and maturest, play. The success
of Doctor Fau.stus on the stage, where the title· part
was acted by Alieyn, can hardly have been inferior
to that of Tamburlaine, and Greene, as has been seen,
again acknowledged it by producing an imitation.
That Marlowe's second tragedy holds an enduring place
among the great works of the English drama-a description
which can hardly be applied to Tamburlaine-was
not only due to the felicitous choice of a theme almost
unique in its human significance and interest. Marlowe's
classical training and the enthusiasm for classical
mythology and poetry no doubt facilitated his wonderfully
rapid acquisition of a mastery over a form which
he established as that of English dramatic poetry, and
which in his own hands proved itself capable of a further
progress towards varied perfection. But he was born
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