tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6942147318185235475.post3583630216334398804..comments2024-03-05T10:34:30.182-05:00Comments on The Marlowe-Shakespeare Connection: Christopher Marlowe's Early Life: What If? by Samuel BlumenfeldUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6942147318185235475.post-49012612348545478582012-01-04T12:02:31.817-05:002012-01-04T12:02:31.817-05:00Marlowe serving as a page is hardly more speculati...Marlowe serving as a page is hardly more speculative than the assertion that William Shakespeare attended the Stratford Grammar School. As you point out, so much time and money has been invested investigating the life of the Stratford man that it is unlikely much remains to be uncovered. With Marlowe, however, the reverse is true; who knows what discoveries await?daver852https://www.blogger.com/profile/06067533090226229731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6942147318185235475.post-23753157243299886702011-12-30T00:27:48.233-05:002011-12-30T00:27:48.233-05:00Thanks Anthony for your encouragement. Considering...Thanks Anthony for your encouragement. Considering the liberties that Stratfordians take in speculating about Shakespeare, I think my venture into the unchartered waters of Marlowe's early life deserves the same consideration that Shakespeare's biographers get. I read several books on Philip Sidney and his sister Mary, and found nothing in them that would have cancelled out the idea of young Marlowe being a page to Sidney's chief servant. But it is my hope that some sort of evidence will be found by present and/or future scholars that will confirm my hunches. If we believe that Marlowe was the greatest poet and dramatist in all of literary history, then it is important for us to find out as much about him as possible.Sam Blumenfeldnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6942147318185235475.post-30248604091617905702011-12-29T04:18:21.563-05:002011-12-29T04:18:21.563-05:00Sam,
I know you have received some criticism, for...Sam,<br /><br />I know you have received some criticism, for continuing to espouse this theory. First, I would like to say that you have never implied you have evidence for it; and that it is merely a possibility, to explain some connected events. As such, I believe it is perfectly valid. Moreover, I believe it is a practice essential to our search for new evidence. Without such speculation, and by continuing to explore only those ideas which traditional scholarship highlights, we are destined to progress at snails pace; if everyone, who is prepared to share a theory, is condemned for not complying with academic sensibilities.<br /><br />This is not a criticism of traditional scholarship; far from it. When formulating and proposing specific theories, for general acceptance, proper evidence is essential. However, the search for that evidence will be greatly advanced by such speculations that may cause investigation in areas, otherwise left untouched. These ‘new’ arenas may provide new facts which disqualify certain theories; and so remove them from consideration. That, in itself, is a useful step-forward. However, the possibility exists that these theories may be advanced by those findings; which would be very rewarding indeed.<br /><br />At the end of the day, in searching for evidence, we cannot rely on evidence. We must use intuition, in order for us to root out where it lies. This is how we found ‘relativity’, which was decades away from a practical proof, when it was proposed; it is how we found Tutankhamen’s tomb; and we might be about to find Odysseus’ Ithaca, by similar means.<br /><br />I have been spending time on another theory, regarding Venus and Adonis, recently. Subsequently, I discovered that it is not a new idea (as usual); but the previous proposer had some (in my opinion) flawed ideas behind their particular interpretation. Unfortunately, this does nothing but perpetuate your theory of ‘Marlowe as Sidney’s Page’, without actually doing much to prove it; since my idea is nothing but more guesswork. However, as more and more conjectures (as long as they are not based on each other) coalesce, we may build a probability that is difficult to ignore. None may prove to be correct, but we will only know that when we find the truth; which may be precipitated these ‘wild imaginings’.<br /><br />I say, “Carry on Speculating”, Sam; and I encourage more people to do so.Anthony Kellettnoreply@blogger.com