- 234 - SUMMARY The classic interpretation of the Renaissance explains the movement as the first chapter of modern history, the attainment of the self-conscious freedom by the human Spirit, the revolt of the individual against the authoritari anism, collectivism and dogmatism of the Middle Ages. The Italian humanists laid the foundations for this concept, and their use of the metaphor `rebirth` has been immortalized until very recently. However, this interpretation has undergone some revisions, when the growth of Medieval research has tended to blur the lines between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, The Renaissance, it should be admitted that, coincided with the decline of medieval institutions, and with social, economic and political developments. In consequence, the individual asserted himself in trade, seafaring, literature, nmsic etc; and became critical of the assumptions of the Middle iges. Hence, what actually occured was a change in the extension of the energies towards secular values, and the discovery of the new means of insight in almost every aspect of experience., It does not follow however, that the Renaissance mind did not inherit the main forms of Medieval conceptions. Some of the medieval beliefs and traditions operated morally and spiritually, as well as physically and socially. The Renaissance man was thus, both the inheritor of the past and an innovator o- 235 - In England, the scene was set for a remarkable national culture, with the establishment of Tudor reign, with patri otic self-confidence culminating by the defeat of Spanish Armada, and with the growing sense of pride in the potantialities of the nation. The rich soil was fertilized, when the intellectual achievements of the Renaissance reached England. The outcome was Elizabethan drama, the main characteristic of which was an exceptional energy of the spirit» Marlowe is the most eloquent spokesman in England, for such an energyo His fascinated interest for knowledge, learning, power, beauty, and the arts of persuasion brings him close to the echoes of the Renaissance on Elizabethan drama. Meanwhile, his plays bear the traces of medieval concepts, miracle-mystery and morality tradition of the late Middle Ages and early Tudor stage. There is much in his style to suggest the influence of Seneca or Machiavelli, together with the immediate impact of his contemporaries, like E. Spenser. This aspect illustrates his true affinities with the characteristics of Elizabethan drama, which was composed of variety of influences under the spell of the Renaissance 0 Marl owe* s contributions to Elizabethan drama are too complex to be s.ummed up in a paragraph. Mainly his achievements are two: he developed the medium of blank-verse, and he created the Renaissance hero for the stage. This hero marks the difference between the Middle Ages and the- 236 - Renaissance, The men in the Middle Ages would have preferred a crown in heaven, whereas the Marlowian hero considers an earthly power as the 'sole felicity'. Yet, Marlowe is aware of the cost of this aspiration. In almost all of his plays, pride in man's potantialities is reversed to despair at his limitations. This points to his awareness of Elizabethan sensitiveness to the destructive effect of human passions <, Marlowe's heroes are exhilarated by their new confidence in the reach of the human mind and powers, but the pride which shapes them also destroys them. As such, his creations embody the lust for limitless power, so characteristic of the Renaissance, while depicting the boundaries set to the accomplishment of men. Finally Marlowe, a born poet, proved himself to be a master playwright all through the ages, both due to the conditions of his time which was exceptionally favourable, and to the fact that he was a veritable incarnation of the genious of the Renaissance 0
