accountable for much in the future Marlowe, for he was a mystic, and was
burnt for heresy in 1589. After a short and extremely violent life, the
pupil followed his master four years later to the grave, having been
killed in a brawl under very disgraceful circumstances. He only lived
twenty-nine years, and yet he, along with Kyd, changed the literature of
England. Lyly's Pastorals had been the favourite reading of the people
until these men came, keen and audacious, to lead and sing their "brief,
fiery, tempestuous lives." When they wrote their plays and created their
villains, they were not creating so much as remembering. Marlowe's plays
were four, and they were all influential. His _Edward the Second_ was
the precursor of the historical plays of Shakespeare. His other plays
were _Tamburlaine the Great_, _Dr. Faustus_, and _The Jew of Malta_
(Barabbas). These three were all upon congenial lines, expressing that
Titanism in revolt against the universe which was the inspiring spirit
of Marlowe. But it was the character of Faust that especially fascinated
him, for he found in the ancient magician a pretty clear image of his
own desires and ambitions. He was one of those who loved "the dangerous
edge of things," and, as Charles Lamb said, "delighted to dally with
interdicted subjects." The form of the plays is loose and broken, and
yet there is a pervading larger unity, not only of dramatic action, but
of spirit. The laughter is loud and coarse, the terror unrelieved, and
the splendour dazzling. There is no question as to the greatness of this
work as permanent literature. It has long outlived the amazing
detractions of Hallam and of Byron, and will certainly be read so long
as English is a living tongue.

The next stage in this curious history is a peculiarly interesting one.
In former days there sprang up around every great work of art a forest
of slighter literature, in the shape of chap-books, ballads, and puppet
plays. By far the most popular of the puppet plays was that founded upon