The author of such renowned plays as doctor Faustus(1593?); Tamburlaine, parts I and II (1587-88); The Jew of Malta (1590?); and Edward II(1592-93), Marlowe was the first English dramatist to reveal the full potential of blank verse poetry. He made significant advances in the genre of english tragedy through keen examinations of Renaissance morality. Although his achiements have been generally overshadowed by his exact contemporary, William Shakespeare, many critics contend that had he not died young, MarloweÕs reputation would certainly have rivaled that of the more famous playwright.

When one looks back on the sixteenth century thoughts of religion, the reformation of Luther, Calvinism, and Catholicism arise. The thought of theater in the sixteenth century is dominated by Shakespeare, but many look over the boisterous works of Christopher Marlowe. During this time of religious change, marlowe made fun of and mocked the various new religious movements and beliefs. Many dismiss him simply as a radical atheist. But Marlowe was not just someone who attacked religion from the outside. Like most young men of this time, he was raised with a religious background and even attended Corpus Christi College in Cambridge.

After completing his early schooling at KingÕs School of Canterbury, he was awarded a scholarship to Corpus Christi College in Cambridge(Henderson 8). It was here at Cambridge where Marlowe was introduced to the many current theological debates that so strongly influenced his work. Before his admittance into Cambridge the most heated debate between Calvinst and anti-Calvinist was of matters concerning church ritual and ceremony. But, at the time of MarloweÕs enrollment at Cambridge the controversy between the two groups shifted to a much more philosophical issue of salvation and the manner in which it was attained. During the time at Cambridge, Marlowe met an interesting guy named Perkins. Perkins established himself as the prominent spokesman for the extreme Calvinists. Perkins recieved and B.A. and M.A. from Cambridge and was immediately elected a fellow of Christ. Perkins maintained the doctrine of absolute predestination. This claim asserted that before time God predestined each man to a fate of either heaven or hell. Furthermore, his postion held stance that there was nothing a person condemned to hell could do to avoid his/her flaming destiny. Of course, this position was greatly disputed between the Calvinist and anti-Calvinist. The University saw very little opposition to this doctrine. Therefore, the views of Perkins represented the majority of what young Marlowe recieved in the are of theology for the time being. On top of this , Perkins was excellent at rhetoric which caused his strong Calvinist positons to appear very convincing. The result of this fear caused a massive counter attack by the anti-Calvinist. This put Marlowe right in the middle of a bitter debate between the two sides. This tremendous controversy between the Calvinist and anti-Calvinist was prevalent in Dr. Faustus(Pinciss 251-254).

The background of the salvation and predestination issue accounts for only part of the sources that Marlowe used for Dr. Faustus. There is possibilty that Marlowe took many elements found in the play from an early sermon by Heinrich Bullinger . Bullinger was known to have great influence on MarloweÕs life. Bullinger published sermon titled ÒOf Good and Evil SpiritsÓ which closely resembles Dr. Faustus. Sense Bullinger published his sermon prior to MarloweÕs entrance into college, the possibility that Marlowe studied the sermon while at Corpus Christi was likely. The sermon referenced good and bad angels that closely resembles those that appeared in MarloweÕs play. Surpassing;y Lucifer and Mphistophilis also have strong ties to the sermon. Not only did the various evil spirits appear in the sermon but Bulllinger spoke of their attempts to deceive man much the same in which Faustus was decieved. However, the closet similarity between the to works is the Doctor himself. Bullinger claimed in his sermon that the damnation of men is ultimately manÕs own fault and can not be placed somewhere else(Eliver 303-306).

Marlowe was born the same year as Skakespeare, 1564, in the midst of Elizabeth I reign. England, as all of Europe, was in flux. Ancient Greek and Roman scholarly works revived lively philosophical and religious debate. Ancient humanist philosophies argued for artistic eloquence and scientific inquiry, for man's involvement in society. The monastic ideal of a life of solitary sorrow and contemplation was rejected by those men who questioned the assumption that a life was to be rewarded in Heaven. The Renaissance was a time of renewed intellectual inquiry marked by worldly optimism. Asceticism was replaced by an active delight of he natural world, a celebration of individual joy. Uneasy tension existed between this new enlightened movement and the old powers.

The war between the different religions played an important part of society and how people felt religiously. The influence of the Roman catholic church, dominant in European politics throughout the Middle ages, deteriorated under leadership of hedonistic, corrupt Popes. Luther's prodigious assaults on the churh questioned not only the authority of the Pope, but tenants of catholic belief and unscrupulous church practices. Calvin introduced his idea of a frightening vengeful God from whom man had no hope of salvation and to whom man owed utter adoration and obedience. The growth of Protestantism resulted in brutal power struggles among monarchs who wished to impose their church as state religion. Elizabeth I reestablished Anglican Protestantism after the short rule of her Catholic sister Mary. Elizabethan rule affirmed and consolidated the orthodoxy of the Anglican Church and thus the legitimacy of the monarchy. Deviation from Anglican orthodoxy was controlled by a brutal court sanctioned espionage system. Paradoxically, the stifling insistence on conformity bred ever moer intellectual questioning. This was a dangerous time for a brillant, rebellious poet to publicize his skepticism about the traditional ideas of man's place in the universe.

Marlowe did not randomly choose any city in which to to set his play. The signifigance of the city lies in the fact that Whittenberg is the city associated with Luther and his theses. Whittenberg also identified with the Reformation and the Protestant movement, the city houses the cathedral on which Luther posts his theses about Protestism(Pinciss 73). By linking Faustus to Whittenberg, Marlowe is ultimately connecting Faustus with the ides of Protestism. Using Whittenberg to denote the religious uncertainty of th time, Marlowe gives his audience the background of theology that Faustus uses to come up with his ideas that relate sin, death, and religion. One view of christianity that affects his outlook is Luther's Protestantism, which views faith, not the value of man's works and deeds, as the only way one can achieve salvation(Pinciss 74). The other is calvin's claim of predestination tha says, "all men are born either Elect or Damned, denied the exisitence of purgatory, the possibility of achieving salvation at some time after death"(Pincess 74). According to Pinciss's analysis of Dr. Faustus Marlowe's inclusion of the distinctly non-catholics beliefs of the new Protestant faith may well have afeected the play(Pinciss 73).