Topic > Analysis of Marlowe - 1804

Stratfordians still cannot obtain hard evidence that Marlowe died in 1593. They claim that the inquest and burial documents confirm that he died even though both documents share questionable validity. Those who support Shakespeare's side claim that the coroner's inquest report, an official document stating that Marlowe died while defending himself in a bar brawl, confirms that Marlowe could never have written the plays. Many scholars disagree with this. Marlowe's murder remains a popular belief, and most scholars deem the document fallacious. Their reason for dismissing this possible evidence may lie in the aforementioned body-switch theory. If Marlowe had used a body resembling his own, then obviously the coroner would have put Marlowe's name on the report (Barber 83-84). Relatedly, the burial records of St. Nicholas Church in England verify the burial of a body. The documentation states that the body belonged to Marlowe. This statement comes from the testimony of three skilled liars. In an era when science couldn't identify someone based on DNA, the men who examined the body might have misidentified it. Since the men who claimed the identity of the body often lied (one worked for the Elizabethan Secret Service), they could have provided false testimony as to whether or not Marlowe was dead (84). Due to scholars deeming the evidence regarding Marlowe's death to be false and the tenable argument that he staged the entire incident, Marlowe's qualifications for Shakespeare's authorship continue with the irrefutable evidence of his education and travels. Anti-Stratfordians propose Marlowe's authorship because of existing information regarding his travels and education. Before going to school, Marlowe could... in the middle of the paper... test." Skeptic 11.3 (2005): 10. eLibrary. Web. 18 June 2014. .Ribner, Irving. "Marlowe and Shakespeare." Shakespeare Quarterly 15.2 (1964): 41-53. Web. 21 June 2014. .Rubinstein, “Who Was Shakespeare Today?” 28-35 , Robin P. Sweet Swan of Avon: Did a Woman Write Shakespeare Berkeley, CA: Wilton Circle, 2006. Print.