On Saturday 27 April Corpus Christi College, Cambridge hosted a day-long symposium exploring the life, times and work of one of its most famous literary alumni - the Elizabethan playwright and poet Christopher Marlowe.
On Saturday 27 April Corpus Christi College, Cambridge hosted a day-long symposium exploring the life, times and work of one of its most famous literary alumni - the Elizabethan playwright and poet Christopher Marlowe.
Marlowe, who attended Corpus Christi from 1580 to 1587, is believed by scholars to have written some of his finest work during his time at Cambridge, including the blank verse drama Tambourlaine the Great.
The symposium brought together experts on Marlowe's work and his place in history. The event attracted 70 participants including academics, students and members of the public, reflecting the current high level of interest in this previously underrated playwright.
Jude Law's sell-out performances in the West End production of Dr Faustus have contributed greatly to a reassessment of Marlowe's work. Coincidentally, last week the BBC broadcast a documentary on Marlowe by the acclaimed film-maker Mike Rubbo. Much Ado About Something explored the claims that Marlowe wrote a number of the plays traditionally attributed to Shakespeare.
In July Marlowe will finally be recognised for his contribution to English Literature with a memorial in Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey.
The symposium lectures were held in the modern McCrum Lecture Theatre, just behind the Old Court of the College where Marlowe's rooms are still used by undergraduates. Delegates were able to see the only existing portrait of Marlowe, which hangs in the Parker Library.
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