The Stratfordian belief that the rustic, slenderly educated actor from Stratford, has done nothing to illuminate these great works. In truth, it has crippled studies into the deeper meanings of these matchless plays, since it is not likely the rustic actor, motivated by momentary pecuniary gains, would have included a deeper, more meaningful level into these works. Harold Bloom, for example, who openly acknowledges the greatness of these works and is constantly pointing us towards their classical and neoclassical sources, is frequently ridiculed by the consensus holders, who have labeled him a bardolater or worse.
On the other hand, the Marlowe thesis explains the philosophical and psychological depths of these marvelous works by noting first and foremost they were the result of the Herculean effort of "the realm's highest mind." Once grasped at this level, the rest falls quickly into place.
Consider that most of the English based works are Kentish in their locale and allusions, Kent being the home of record of Marlowe. Stratford does not appear at all in the plays, but Marlowe's native city, Canterbury, is frequently featured or alluded to by the writer. Moreover the allusions are at such a depth that it is, according to Marlowe's biographer, William Urry, former archivist of Canterbury, "unlikely any one other than a native of Kent" wrote several of these works, including the entire Henriad and Merry Wives of Windsor.
A registration trail has been discovered in these works and Marlowe's that link them to days of importance to Marlowe's life and the life of his patrons, as well as to historical events in the plays. For example Midsummer Night's Dream, entered history on 8 October 1600. Its not just any day, but the day set aside by Athenians to honor Theseus, the leading or at least reigning character in this play.
The registration proves the intentionally of the Author and negates the Stratfordian claim that the Author took no interest in the publication of his works, as stated by Greg and many others of this ilk.
The Sonnets, Anthony and Cleopatra and Pericles all entered on 20/30 May in consecutive years at the hands of different publishers. They mark Marlowe's last official appearance before the Privy Council and or his official date of death, depending on which notation is used, i.e., Gregorian or Julian.
This registration trail does not end until 1654, the year Marlowe's last known work, the lost Maiden's Holiday, appeared on 8/18 April. Or the same day Venus and Adonis had appeared on in 1593 and Two Noble Kinsmen, said the last work of Shakespeare, had appeared in 1634. Its an astonishing 65 year registration cycle. We know Marlowe could have lived this long, since two of his sisters, despite the rigors of primitive childbearing conditions, survived nearly as long, proving Marlowe had the genes for longevity.
Marlowe came from a lowly cobbler's family, which would explain the references to cobblers in these works, including the brilliant aural pun that opens Julius Caesar. There the old man is asked his occupation and replies "I'm a mender of old soles...I work with awl." And indeed the Author was a mender of old souls and he worked with us all.
Marlowe's known diplomatic work ends up in these plays, writ large and suggest that he continued to work in covert English diplomatic affairs at the highest levels. Indeed the Marlovian school sees these remarkable dramas as "diplomatic docudramas."
Marlowe's impoverished family conditions and early childhood experiences, which seem to have included domestic violence, incest, child abuse, rape and perhaps infanticide is known to fuel similar personalities and would help explain why these works targeted the Crown, it being the public authority figure.
In Rape of Lucrece the poet pledges to "wrong the wronger, until he renders right[s]" and to do so "until the state government changes from kings to counsels." It was a dangerous political manifesto in that distant age before the rights of a free press and free speech had been established by the blood of many a brave reader of these marvelous texts. Indeed Thomas Paine, who signed himself "an Englishman" in Common Sense drew his argument against the divine right of kings directly from Midsummer Night's Dream, which in turn had lifted its materials from Plato and Montaigne. Montaigne having argued that the highest of earthy kings is still "sitting on his Bottom." Paine argument against the divine right of kings, which chortled that it must be false, since nature so often places a horses ass in the place of a lion, draws directly on Bottom, who was turned into an ass in Midsummer Night's Dream. Not to mention, Macbeth and Richard II.
Lastly the plays constantly deal with the theme of exile and repatriation as evidenced by the very early Two Gentlemen of Verona and the quite late The Tempest. The Author does not seem to ever have been repatriated. The Folio's hoax suggests the Author alive, since if he had been dead, as Oxford was, the works could have been attributed to him as easily as to the dead actor, since dead men cannot be tortured, at least not by the Crown of England.
Some Marlovians pointout that the principles of the hoax were all still alive, Southampton, Pembroke and Blount, not to mention Sir Thomas Walsingham. So it is possible that the Author was dead in 1623 and the FF was designed to cover for them. We still don't know for sure, since this was a criminal enterprise and no confessions have been discovered.
Against this is a clear registration record that persists until 1654 the year Marlowe would have turned ninety. Two of his sisters made it nearly that far proving he carried the genes for longevity. Time may tell. New leads are still turning up. But the overall case is clear: Christopher Marlowe appears to have survived 1593 and wrote the works later attributed to William Shakespeare by ads in the First Folio, published seven years after his death.
Return to John Baker's Home Page