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Olivia Tharpe

Dr. Tom Robson

Theatre History

25 September 2018

The Jew of Malta

Do not be deceived by the title, this play is anything but a biography. It is an action-packed

adventure filled with interesting themes and strange characters. The Jew of Malta is centered

around religion, race, wealth, and power. This play is very relevant for today’s audience. More

and more people today are questioning what they believe and why they believe it. There is and

has always been a lot of corruption in the church, however much of that corruption is being

brought to the light, today. Both the corruption of the Jewish character, Barabas and the Christian

character, Ferneze is “brought to the light.” There are people in power today that claim to be

“Christian,” but publicly act in the most hypocritical ways. Similarly, Barabas cares only about

maintaining his status, and wealth. He holds people to a double standard and would rather die

than have his wealth taken away. In the Jew of Malta, we get to see how Barabas responds to

having everything taken away from him. It becomes his downfall, or his “tragedy.”

The Jew of Malta was also known as The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Jew of Malta.

Although Shakespeare and Marlowe were born in the same year, Marlowe was Shakespeare’s

predecessor. The Jew of Malta was even written in blank verse. Christopher Marlowe was

stabbed to death at the ripe age of twenty-nine. If he had lived longer who knows if his works

would have overshadowed Shakespeare’s (Negri 4). The humor of Marlowe’s characters is

incredibly dark and expertly woven into their dialogue. Marlowe pokes fun at the hypocrisy of

the religious characters in the show. Barabas is incredibly hypocritical. He gives the impression
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that he is a moral Jew. However, he does many things that go against his supposed morals, like

killing two characters. He states that he would rather be a wealthy Jew than a poor and pitied

Christian. He thinks that it takes “malice, falsehood, and excessive pride” to be a Christian

(Marlowe 6). Likewise, the politician Ferneze spews his Christian morals but also tells Barabas

that Jews are “accursed in the sight of Heaven” (Marlowe 10). He then goes on to say that

because they are cursed, they should have heavier penalties. Ironically, Barabas’ daughter

Abigail converts to Christianity during the play and ends up dying.

The action in The Jew of Malta is intense. There are many subtleties in the dialogue. This

play would be exciting to produce because of the colorfulness of the characters, and the

importance of the subject matter. The entire production would really have to read between the

lines to decode the humor. It could be cool to reflect the corruption of the characters, in the set

design, or dress the characters in colors that symbolize their actions. There is some spectacle!

Barabas’ home gets turned into a convent. Not only that, but all the nuns, including Barabas’

daughter, end up dying. At the end of the play, Barabas dies from being boiled in a caldron. This

would be a crazy scene to tackle for the production team.

Although it is a little hard to read at times, The Jew of Malta is packed with adventure. I

would really like to see it realized on the stage. Marlowe’s characters are insane. They are fiery

and interesting. I think Marlowe’s personality is reflected in some of his characters. Some

commentators say that Marlowe single-handedly invented the Elizabethan tragic drama (Negri

4). Those who appreciate Shakespeare would be interested to see the similarities and differences

between Shakespeare and Marlowe. Marlowe even introduced blank verse to the stage.

Audiences today want to see a play that has relevance to them, and although it was written

hundreds of years ago, humans still experience the same emotions that are in the play.
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Millikin usually produces one Shakespeare play per year. I think it would be interesting to

shake it up a little bit and put the spotlight on Christopher Marlowe. The Jew of Malta would fit

well in Albert Taylor Theater because the set would not require much. It would be cool to put the

emphasis on the costumes of the characters and have a barer set. It would also be good for the

students of Millikin to see a play where religion, wealth, revenge, and power are challenged. So

much of our lives are consumed with worrying about money and worrying that we are not

successful enough or good enough. The “want” to be the best or most successful can fuel us, but

it can also become our downfall if we refuse to be open-minded to other possibilities and

viewpoints.

This play was unlike other plays that I have read. You know when you have a favorite singer

or band and you find a band that is very similar to them, but different at the same time? That is

what it was like to read The Jew of Malta. It was like Shakespeare but more over-the-top.

Marlowe was not afraid to point out the short-comings of his characters. He was not afraid to

make fun of religion or make fun of his characters. This play is really the epitome of a

tragicomedy.
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Works Cited

Marlowe, Christopher. The Jew of Malta, edited by Paul Negri, Dover Thrift Editions, 2003.