Dualisms in the plays of Christopher Marlowe

Indeterminacy of meaning is an inherent feature of language. Since the meaning, to use a Derridean term is "deferred" forever , it becomes pointless to impose any unified meaning on any genre in literature as has been done by the traditional critics since ages. Each play speaks with more than one voice. This makes the undercurrent of the plays very strong and teasing for the critics. The present study re-examines, from a deconstructionist perspective, different layers of meanings which are consciously or unconsciously embedded in Marlowe¿s major plays. Critics find Tamburlaine an embodiment of the glorious Renaissance figure as well as a sadistic and megalomaniac bully. It shows for example how The Jew of Malta leaves the reader in considerable doubt as to who is the Jew of the title-Barabas, the titular Jew or Ferneze the governor who swears in the name of Christ and goes on to commit heinous crimes. The baffling free play of Christian doctrines in Doctor Faustus not only lead the hero to his death but also make the hero look like a Promethean rebel against God and a fool in the hands of Lucifer.