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Secondary sourceBook1589 or 1590, printed 1633

The Jew of Malta

Christopher Marlowe · 1589 or 1590, printed 1633

An Elizabethan play by Christopher Marlowe whose prologue is spoken by a ghostly character called 'Machevil', based on Machiavelli's name and reputation.

This play's prologue character 'Machevil' shows how Machiavelli's name became an Elizabethan stage symbol of amoral cunning.

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Title page of a 1633 printed edition of The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Jew of Malta, as it was played before the King and Queene in his Majesties Theatre at Whitehall by her Majesties Servants at the Cock-pit. Written by Christopher Marlo. Printed in London by I.B. for Nicholas Vavasour, and are to be sold at his shop in the Inner Temple, near the Church. 1633.
Christopher Marlowe, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Jew of Malta, printed 1633 edition.

About this source

What it is

This is a printed play by Christopher Marlowe, written around 1589-1590, shown here in a 1633 printed edition. The prologue is spoken by a character named Machevil, a ghost based on Niccolò Machiavelli, who introduces the story with cynical lines about power and religion.

Why it matters

The play reveals how Machiavelli's name had become, within a generation of his death, a byword in England for cunning and immorality in politics — the stock figure of the 'Machiavellian' villain. It shows how reputations can be simplified and exaggerated for dramatic effect, often losing the complexity of the real person's ideas.

Look closer

  • Why might Marlowe have chosen Machiavelli's name for this cynical prologue character rather than inventing a new one?
  • What does the use of 'Machevil' suggest about how English audiences understood (or misunderstood) Machiavelli's real writings?
  • How might this stage caricature differ from what Machiavelli actually argued in his own works?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Niccolo Machiavelli on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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