Marlowe's Dr. Faustus, first performed in 1594, concentrates on a forceful and eloquent main character who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. It is one of Marlowe's most sophisticated achievements.

Tamburlaine the Conqueror (1964), by Hilda Hookham, is an eloquent account of the historical Tamerlane and a thorough, definitive treatment of his career.

Shakespeare's Henry V, first performed about 1599, deals with an ambitious and charismatic king who penetrates further into France than any other English monarch. It is an example of further accomplishments in elegant rhetoric and blank verse in the years after Marlowe's death.

In addition to his plays, Marlowe wrote a number of poems including the delightful Hero and Leander (1598), a treatment of the ancient Greek story of two lovers who can meet only when Leander swims across the Hellespont strait.

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's...