Introductory
The full-length title of the very play reads as thus: "The Tragedy of the Rich Jew of Malta.", [Who uses full stops after titles? Well, this is a well-crafted literary fashion. 🤣] thus indicating us that we are about to enter into the gnomish realm of tragedy. But the question arises, is it really a tragedy or just Marlowe randomly chose this title for his play. To answer this question, we first need to define what tragedy actually is. Oxford dictionary defines tragedy as thus, "a serious play with a sad ending, especially one in which the main character dies."
A Typical Marlowian Tragedy
Before Christopher Marlowe took to writing plays, mystery (mystery plays originated in the Middle Ages to showcase religious plays for example, showcasing the resurrection of Christ and other Biblical events) and morality (as the name suggests, morality plays were performed to depict and advertise Christian morals) plays were popular among the masses. When the first ray of Renaissance shined forth, Masques and Pageants (An elaborate representation of scenes from history etc; usually involves a parade with rich costumes) were introduced, thus adding a touch of comedy in dramas. Then the University Wits (a group of university graduates), including Marlowe came ahead and started innovating in dramas by moving from the mere imitation of Senecan tragedies (ancient Roman Tragedies). A critic remarks, "Before him [Marlowe] there was neither genuine blank verse nor a genuine tragedy in our language. After his arrival the way was prepared, the paths were made straight, for Shakespeare."
How is Marlovian Tragedy different from the Ancient Medieval Tragedies?
The ancient Medieval tragedies dealt with the downfall of princely and kingly figures. Marlowe seems to deny this rule. His heroes belong to the humble families but they attain a higher position through their heroic qualities and struggles. For instance, Barabas (our protagonist in the play, The Jew of Malta) is not a son of a king but an ordinary Jew, who retains his "counting-house", ships and gold through hard work and policy.
Another major hallmark of Marlowian tragedy is the implication of Machiavellism. [For the folks who don't know who Machiavelli is? He was a famous Italian philosopher and the curator of The Prince. His morality was cynical and was based on realism. ] The soul of Machiavelli fly beyond the Alps to present a tragedy of the Jew who accumulated his wealth through the means of Machiavelli and using every character to serve on his ends. Barabas is seen practicing Machiavellian principles of attainment of power and wealth which steadily leads to his tragedy.
Unlike the ancient tragedies, which "blamed" fate for the suffering of the hero, here in Marlowian tragedy and especially in Mr. Jew of Malta, we see a mental conflict [more technically speaking inner conflict]. Ferneze takes an unjust hold of Barabas' property and Mr. Jew vows in verbal solitude to seek vengeance on the Governor but in the end, to curb the core problem, Turks, he makes Ferneze his confidential who makes the Jew fall down in the burning caldron which he made to "surprise the Turks". This all happens due to the inner conflict to get his lost wealth.
A Dark Comedy
The dramatic flow in The Jew of Malta is somewhat stained by comic remarks of Barabas, Ithamore as well as the comic ending. We often consider comedy a thing which makes us laugh but in dramatic terms, comedy means a story which ends happily and all problems are solved. The ironical aside of Barabas, when he is to speak with Lodowick, "One that I love for his good father's sake" makes us laugh a bit while alerting us that something terrible is going to take place. And the drama proceeds with a number of bloodsheds. For Christians, Jews and Turks are major problems which are exterminated at the end when Selim Calymath is captured and Barabas falls a victim to his own policy. Thus poetic justice is done because "Heavens are just". [which totally is not the case]
Conclusion
The Jew of Malta is neither a complete tragedy not an absolute comedy. T.S. Eliot sums the whole debate by denoting to a new genre called Tragic Farse because the tragedy is presented without a sombre or gloomiest but rather comic tone.
Sources, References and Citations
- The Jew of Malta - Textbook by Famous Production
- Lecture(s) of Sir Hassan Akbar
- https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/jew-malta/analysis
- http://www.cssforum.com.pk/css-optional-subjects/group-v/english-literature/10308-jew-malta-typical-marlovian-tragedy.html
- https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/tragedy
- https://sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/mystery-and-morality-plays/
- https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Senecan_tragedy#:~:text=Senecan%20tragedy%20refers%20to%20a,Troades
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