DiscoverNPR's Book of the Day Plus‘Dark Renaissance’ historian on how Christopher Marlowe paved the way for Shakespeare
‘Dark Renaissance’ historian on how Christopher Marlowe paved the way for Shakespeare

‘Dark Renaissance’ historian on how Christopher Marlowe paved the way for Shakespeare

Update: 2025-09-24
Share

Description

The Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe is known as Shakespeare’s greatest rival. But in his new book Dark Renaissance, historian Stephen Greenblatt makes the case that Marlowe paved the way for Shakespeare. In today’s episode, Greenblatt joins NPR’s Ari Shapiro for a conversation about what made Marlowe a “lost soul,” how the playwright navigated a world of intense censorship, and evidence that points to his role as a spy.


To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Comments 
In Channel
loading
00:00
00:00
x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

‘Dark Renaissance’ historian on how Christopher Marlowe paved the way for Shakespeare

‘Dark Renaissance’ historian on how Christopher Marlowe paved the way for Shakespeare