The Jew of Malta is a play by Christopher Marlowe, written in 1589 or 1590. The plot primarily revolves around a Maltese Jewish merchant named Barabas. The original story combines religious conflict, intrigue, and revenge, set against a backdrop of the struggle for supremacy between Spain and the Ottoman Empire in the Mediterranean that takes place on the island of Malta. There has been extensive debate about the play's portrayal of Jews and how Elizabethan audiences would have viewed it.
“Love me little, love me long.”
Ithamore, Act IV. Quoting John Heywood, "Love me litle, love me long," in Proverbes (c. 1538), Part ii, Chapter ii.
The Jew of Malta (c. 1589)
“Now will I show myself to have more of the serpent than the dove”
Barabas, Act II, scene iii. Marlowe is referencing Jesus, "Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves," in Matthew 10:16.
The Jew of Malta (c. 1589)
Context: Now will I show myself to have more of the serpent than the dove; that is, more knave than fool.
“Thou hast committed—
Fornication: but that was in another country;
And besides, the wench is dead.”
Friar Barnardine and Barabas, Act IV, scene i
The Jew of Malta (c. 1589)
“Things past recovery
Are hardly cured with exclamations.”
Barabas, Act I, scene ii
The Jew of Malta (c. 1589)
“So, march away; and let due praise be given
Neither to fate nor fortune, but to Heaven.”
Ferneze, Act V
The Jew of Malta (c. 1589)
“I count religion but a childish toy,
And hold there is no sin but ignorance.”
Machiavel, Prologue
The Jew of Malta (c. 1589)
Barabas, Act I, scene i. Paraphrasing John Heywood, "Here lyeth muche rychnesse in lytell space," in The Foure PP https://books.google.com/books?id=LbkVAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source#v=onepage&q&f=false (c. 1530).
The Jew of Malta (c. 1589)
