Unit-2.

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William Shakespeare y el teatro renacentista

4º Grado en Estudios Ingleses

Facultad de Filosofía y Letras

Universidad de Málaga

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No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
 No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
UNIT 2: CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE AND THE JEW OF MALTA

• CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

• BIOGRAPHY
He was born in 1564 and died in 1593. He was a contemporary and central influence on

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Shakespeare. Marlowe influenced Shakespeare and his works. He was born in Canterbury, he
studied at Cambridge University. He belonged to the University Wits. He was a playwright, but
he was also a poet.
He had a life that was full of events. People loved inventing legends about him, so there are
many speculations about his life. They tend to describe him as a very rebellious and violent man.
From the religious perspective, he was very sceptic to the point that Thomas Kyd described him
as an atheist. It seems that he worked as a secret agent, he was a sort of spy. He was killed when
he was very young, he was only 29. There was a fight, and in the course of that fight, he was
killed.
He wrote in verse. He developed blank verse as a medium for the theatre. He wrote some of the
best tragedies in English. He wrote plays such as:
• Dido, Queen of Carthage. The tragic story of a mythical woman that killed herself.
• Tamburlaine the Great I, II
• Doctor Faustus
• The Jew of Malta
• Edward II
• The Massacre at Paris
Tamburlaine the Great was so successful to the point that Marlowe decided to write a second
part. The theme of the tragedy is power. The protagonist was a shepherd who almost conquers
the Oriental world (an overreacher). It is based on the life of the Central Asian emperor
Tamerlane/Timur.
The typical Marlovian hero is very individualistic and fights against the universe. They always
search for fame, power and immortality.
In Doctor Faustus what we find is another overreacher, in this case an intellectual overreacher.
He wanted knowledge, he was an intellectual, he had studied everything but he wanted more. It
was a central myth in the European culture. It has its origin in Germany, and the most famous
version is the one made by Goethe. Goethe’s Faustus is saved by love. In the case of Marlowe’s
Doctor Faustus, there is no way out. Doctor Faustus has to die and will have to be taken to hell.

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 Faustus makes a pact with the evil. He sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge. We
find the presence of a chorus that is an element of fate typical of tragedies.
• THE JEW OF MALTA, CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

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The Jew of Malta was written and first performed in the period of 1590-1593. The setting of the
play is in the Mediterranean world, which was considered exotic. Malta had a strategic position
on the old trade routes and in the new struggle for markets. At the time, we could find a mixture
of cultures. We had on the one hand the Christians, then we had the presence of the Jews and
also the Turks. In the play there is a conflict between Christians and Turks.
• CONTEXT

A year after Marlowe’s death, the Jewish physician, Roderigo Lopez, was executed for plotting
against the Queen. The sphere of the play is in-between the microcosm of Doctor Faustus and
the macrocosm of Tamburlaine. The play in general plays with the topic of conspiracy. One of
the key words in the play is “policy”. “Policy” with a meaning of plotting. We will see

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conspiracy in all the different levels of the play.
We find that the play has a main plot that is the one where we find the protagonist, Barabbas. If
we think about the theme, it is greed and self-interest. He is very individualistic, he is interested
in himself. The play has three main plotlines: a main plot, with Barabbas, an over plot where we
find the power of politics, the interrelationship between Christians, Jews and Turks, and an
underplot where we find the blackmail.
• CHARACTERS

The protagonist is Barabbas. The name is significant because it was the name of a criminal
whom the Jews preferred to Jesus, when Pilate offered to release a prisoner. Barabbas is an
outcast who resorts to his cunning and hypocrisy to challenge the Christian community. He is
very proud of not belonging to the Christian society. He is resourceful and tireless. Barabbas is
all the time thinking and plotting and even uses his people for his own benefit, including Abigail,
his daughter. It seems that he never tires, to the point that at the end of the play we find a
grotesque Barabbas. He becomes a sort of caricature at the end of the play. He is all the time led
by greed, ambition and thirst for revenge.
At the beginning we tend to empathise with Barabbas because he is trying to protect himself but
later on he discovers himself as a villain or even as a sort of monster. There is a line summarising
his greed that says, “infinite riches in a little room” (formal symmetry + Marlovian notion of
containing the uncontainable). There is an association of Barabbas with poison. The caldron
where he dies was the standard punishment for the poisoner. He is an individualistic, to the point
of being an egoist who cannot live with others or without them (unus contra mundum).
Barabbas is under the protection of Machiavelli (‘Machevill’). In the prologue we find that
Machiavelli appears, introduces Barabbas and tells the audience not to have prejudices about the
protagonist. The fact that Marlowe designs Barabbas as the villain, is Marlowe strategy to
criticise not just Barabbas but the hypocrisy in Christian society. Christians are not different

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 from Barabbas. The play has an ironic ending: “let due praise be given / neither to Fate nor
Fortune, but to Heaven”.
Barabbas is a good example of Marlower’s overreacher. In his case, what he wants more and
more is money and revenge. He speaks for himself, speaking more lines than any of Marlowe’s

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other characters. Barabbas is not a static character, he is a character that has a development. He
does not stay the same. At first, he gets the sympathy of the audience. He is seen as a revenger.
He ends up as a caricature, as we said before, a grotesque victim of his own Machiavellian plans.
He is seen as a villain.
The first character for whom Barabbas seems to feel any kind of affection is Ithamore, who is
his slave. He is his accomplice. He becomes a sort of artificial son. They are well aware, from
their first meeting, of what they have in common: “we are villains both… we hate Christians
both” (ll. iii). Even it seems that there is a close relationship between each other, we will see
how they make use of each other. Barabbas will make use of Ithamore. He will be one of his
resources or tools. Ithamore will blackmail Barabbas.

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Another character is Abigail, who is the only disinterested character. She is the only character
that is presented in a positive light. Her first words are “not for my self…” (l.ii). She is a very
positive character. She has a true genuine vocation. She becomes a nun and dies being a
Christian. She embodies honesty, in the Elizabethan sense of chastity and sincerity.
The Jew of Malta had an influence on Shakespeare’s plays, like for example:
• Romeo and Juliet
• The Merchant of Venice. In Shakespeare’s comedy, the Jew’s daughter is given a happy
ending. Legalism humanises Shylock. Barabbas lives outside the law.

• ANALYSIS OF THE JEW OF MALTA

• PROLOGUE
Albeit the world think Machiavel is dead,
Yet was his soul but flown beyond the Alps;
And, now the Guise is dead, is come from France,
To view this land, and frolic with his friends.

Machiavel enters and introduces himself. He is explaining that although he is dead, his soul is
still alive. At the time, there was a belief that the soul changed from one body to another, like we
saw in Doctor Faustus.
To some perhaps my name is odious;
But such as love me, guard me from their tongues,
And let them know that I am Machiavel,

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 And weigh not men, and therefore not men's words.
Admir'd I am of those that hate me most:
Though some speak openly against my books,
Yet will they read me, and thereby attain

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To Peter's chair; and, when they cast me off,
Are poison'd by my climbing followers.
He knows that he has many enemies, but he has also followers. He is proud of being Machiavel
and he does not care about what people could think. He is self-confident, he knows that what he
is doing should be admired. He has that feeling of arrogance and security. There is a criticism
against the church and the Pope. The Pope is there because he has followed Machiavel’s
principles. The presence of poison is very important in the play. In this part of the play, the
reference of poison is also associated with members of the church. The members of the church
have used poison and the use of poison is one of the similarities between Barabbas and the
Machiavellian principles.

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I count religion but a childish toy,
And hold there is no sin but ignorance.
Birds of the air will tell of murders past!
I am asham'd to hear such fooleries.
Many will talk of title to a crown:
What right had Caesar to the empery?

We can see that he has a negative statement against religion. There is a very clear connection
between Machiavel and religion. “And hold there is no sin but ignorance. There are historical
references. He will refer to different historical figures that have followed what he calls his
principles. He talks about people who have become powerful, putting into practice immoral
strategies.
Might first made kings, and laws were then most sure
When, like the Draco's, they were writ in blood.
Hence comes it that a strong-built citadel
Commands much more than letters can import:
Which maxim had Phalaris observ'd,
H'ad never bellow'd, in a brazen bull,
Of great ones' envy: o' the poor petty wights
Let me be envied and not pitied.
He talks about people that have reached power forced. According to him, laws had no mercy.
Phalaris was a ruler from Cecil who was very cruel, and who roasted his enemies. Machiavel
wants to be admired.
But whither am I bound? I come not, I,
To read a lecture here<15> in Britain,
But to present the tragedy of a Jew,
Who smiles to see how full his bags are cramm'd;

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 No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
Which money was not got without my means.
I crave but this,--grace him as he deserves,
And let him not be entertain'd the worse
Because he favours me
He ris saying that he has not come to give a lesson but to talk about Barabbas. This is the first
description of Barabbas before we see him on stage. He is a very wealthy man. In the line that
says, “Which money was not got without my means”, the use of the double negation is used by
Machiavel to say that Barabbas has managed to become rich using immortal means, following
Machiavel principles. Barabbas has economic power and this power, has been gained by

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Machiavel means. Machiavel asks the audience not to have prejudices against Barabbas. The
prologue is an introduction of the protagonist.
• ACT I, SCENE I

• First soliloquy
We see Barabbas for the first time and we see how important soliloquies are for the
characterisation of the protagonist.
BARABBAS discovered in his counting-house, with heaps
of gold before him.
From the beginning the play introduces an association between the Jews (Barabbas) and money.
Barabbas is a merchant, he is a business man. He has lots of money because he invested the
money in trade. We find a prototype that was that Jews were moneylenders. Barabbas was not a
moneylender, unlike Shylock in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.
BARABBAS. So that of thus much that return was made;
And of the third part of the Persian ships
There was the venture summ'd and satisfied.
As for those Samnites, and the men of Uz,
That bought my Spanish oils and wines of Greece,
Here have I purs'd their paltry silverlings.
Fie, what a trouble 'tis to count this trash!
He is thinking about how much money he has gained with trade. He feels pressure when thinking
about money and wealth. He has wine from Spain and Greece and he trades with different
countries, and this is what has made him rich. He calls his fortune trash because he wants more
and more money. He gives us an idea of how Barabbas is not satisfied, he is the overreacher for
money and wealth.
Well fare the Arabians, who so richly pay
The things they traffic for with wedge of gold,
Whereof a man may easily in a day
Tell that which may maintain him all his life.

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 He wants infinite riches, he wants more and more, he wants to get more wealth every single day.
Therefore, the first image that we get from him is the image of an overreacher, a man that is not
satisfied with what he has.

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This is the ware wherein consists my wealth;
And thus methinks should men of judgment frame
Their means of traffic from the vulgar trade,
He continues thinking about how to make more and more money, how to make his wealth bigger
and bigger.
And, as their wealth increaseth, so inclose
Infinite riches in a little room.
This line summarises the image of Barabbas as an overreacher with money. He wants to have
infinite riches in a little room. This line was very symmetrical with the two nouns beginning with
“r” and the two contradictory terms “infinite” and “little”. With these symmetrical lines,

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Marlowe wants to provide an image of Barabbas greed, how he wants more and more money.
But now how stands the wind?
Into what corner peers my halcyon's bill?
Ha! to the east? yes. See how stand the vanes--
East and by south: why, then, I hope my ships
I sent for Egypt and the bordering isles
Are gotten up by Nilus' winding banks;
Mine argosy from Alexandria,
Loaden with spice and silks, now under sail,
Are smoothly gliding down by Candy-shore
To Malta, through our Mediterranean sea.--
But who comes here?
He has ships for all the Mediterranean and the image of the wind makes him think of where are
his ships. Marlowe’s intention is giving the idea of Barabbas being greed. He is thinking on the
geographical extension of his business. His soliloquy focuses on his wealth and possessions, on
how he is all the time getting more and more money. The soliloquy will be interrupted by the
entering of a merchant announcing that his ships have arrived, but Barabbas is not satisfied.
MERCHANT. Barabbas, thy ships are safe,
Riding in Malta-road; and all the merchants
With other merchandise are safe arriv'd,
And have sent me to know whether yourself
Will come and custom them.
• Second soliloquy

BARABBAS. Thus trolls our fortune in by land and sea,

And thus are we on every side enrich'd:

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 These are the blessings promis'd to the Jews,
And herein was old Abraham's happiness:
What more may heaven do for earthly man
Than thus to pour out plenty in their laps,

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Ripping the bowels of the earth for them,
Making the sea[s] their servants, and the winds
To drive their substance with successful blasts?

Barabbas is very happy with the good news because he knows that he is wealthier than before.
He feels special, he feels as part of the chosen nation. He feels like he is being rewarded by God.
All the elements are helping Barabbas because he is a Jew and he is being rewarded by God. He
believes in the idea that being a Jew means being special and having the help of heaven.
Who hateth me but for my happiness?
Or who is honour'd now but for his wealth?
Rather had I, a Jew, be hated thus,
Than pitied in a Christian poverty;
For I can see no fruits in all their faith,

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But malice, falsehood, and excessive pride,
Which methinks fits not their profession.
The Jewish community and the Christian community are confronted with each other. Even if he
is not part of the society of Malta he has money and that makes the difference on him. He is
proud of being an outsider, of not belonging to the Christian society because it means that he is
different and rich. He despises Christian people, he feels superior to them. He is hated by the
Christians, but he is proud of not belonging to their society.
Haply some hapless man hath conscience,
And for his conscience lives in beggary.
They say we are a scatter'd nation:
I cannot tell; but we have scambled up
More wealth by far than those that brag of faith:

He prefers not having conscience and keep being rich. We can see that there appears the idea that
Jews have no land and that they were spelled from different countries. They had not land but
they have possessions, wealth. Barabbas is in a difficult position because he does not have a
place, he does not belong to Malta, he does not belong to the society, but at this point in the play
he is not afraid because his money and wealth protect him.
There's Kirriah Jairim, the great Jew of Greece,
Obed in Bairseth, Nones in Portugal,
Myself in Malta, some in Italy,
Many in France, and wealthy every one;
Ay, wealthier far than any Christian.
I must confess we come not to be kings:
That's not our fault: alas, our number's few!
And crowns come either by succession,

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 Or urg'd by force; and nothing violent,
Oft have I heard tell, can be permanent.
Give us a peaceful rule; make Christians kings,

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The common characteristic of all these Jews that lead at different points in Europe is that all of
them are wealthy, they are wealthier further every Christian. There is no possibility for them of
getting political power. Barabbas does not mind that the Christians have the power as long as he
has the money. He is contracting the political power with the economic power. Barabbas is very
proud of being a Jew.
That thirst so much for principality.
I have no charge, nor many children,
But one sole daughter, whom I hold as dear
As Agamemnon did his Iphigen;
And all I have is hers.--But who comes here?
There is a classical reference that is very interesting because in classical history, Agamemnon

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killed Iphigen, and this is what will happen before with Abigail, she will be killed by Barabbas.
This anticipates Abigail’s fate. This simile is very telling. Some Jews enter, and they will create
some sort of worry in the climax of the play, because what we will see is that the Jews will
introduce the idea that perhaps the political power of the Christians may be somehow interested
in the Jews money.
Enter three JEWS

FIRST JEW. Tush, tell not me; 'twas done of policy.

SECOND JEW. Come, therefore, let us go to Barabbas;

For he can counsel best in these affairs:
And here he comes.
BARABAS. Why, how now, countrymen!
Why flock you thus to me in multitudes?
What accident's betided to the Jews?
The over plot is the conflict between the Christians and the Turks, because the Christians have
been asked by the Turks to pay for a number of debts, and the Christians do not have money, so
they will take the Jews money.
BARABBAS. Why, how now, countrymen!
Why flock you thus to me in multitudes?
What accident's betided to the Jews?
It seems that here is a political conflict between the Turks and the Christians.
BARABBAS. Why, let 'em come, so they come not to war;
Or let 'em war, so we be conquerors.--
Nay, let 'em combat, conquer, and kill all,
So they spare me, my daughter, and my wealth.

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 No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
FIRST JEW. Were it for confirmation of a league,
They would not come in warlike manner thus.
SECOND JEW. I fear their coming will afflict us all.
BARABBAS. Fond men, what dream you of their multitudes?
What need they treat of peace that are in league?
The Turks and those of Malta are in league:
Tut, tut, there is some other matter in't.
We see that Barabbas is very selfish because he is interested only in himself. We see him as an

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extremely selfish character. The Jews behave very worried about what can happen. Barabbas
tries to comfort the other Jews.
FIRST JEW. Why, Barabbas, they come for peace or war.

BARABAS. Haply for neither, but to pass along,

Towards Venice, by the Adriatic sea,
With whom they have attempted many times,
But never could effect their stratagem.

THIRD JEW. And very wisely said; it may be so.

This is where Barabbas begins to worry.
BARABAS. Hum,--all the Jews in Malta must be there!
Ay, like enough: why, then, let every man
Provide him, and be there for fashion-sake.
If any thing shall there concern our state,
Assure yourselves I'll look--unto myself.
[Aside.]
He only worries about himself, this is another sign that points about how selfish Barabbas is.
FIRST JEW. I know you will.--Well, brethren, let us go.
SECOND JEW. Let's take our leaves.--Farewell, good Barabbas.
BARABBAS. Farewell, Zaareth; farewell, Temainte.
The Jews leave, and we have this Act I, Scene I closed with this small soliloquy.
And, Barabbas, now search this secret out;
Summon thy senses, call thy wits together:
These silly men mistake the matter clean.
Long to the Turk did Malta contribute;
Which tribute all in policy, I fear,
The Turk has let increase to such a sum
As all the wealth of Malta cannot pay;
And now by that advantage thinks, belike,
To seize upon the town; ay, that he seeks.
Howe'er the world go, I'll make sure for one,

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 And seek in time to intercept the worst,
Warily guarding that which I ha' got:
Ego mihimet sum semper proximus:
Why, let 'em enter, let 'em take the town.

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Barabbas suspects that Malta has not enough money, that the Christians do not have enough
money as to pay the debts to the Turks, so now at this point Barabbas is worried about the
consequences. He is getting ready for what will happen. Barabbas is very resourceful, he
anticipates what will happen and he prepares for what is about to happen, indeed, when it seems
that he has lost everything, he still has one last resource. He is prepared, he will take his wealth
and he will be ready for whatever they do. The line, “Ego mihimet sum semper proximus” means
that he is always close to himself.
• ACT I, SCENE II
BARABBAS. Alas, my lord, we are no soldiers!
And what's our aid against so great a prince?

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Barabbas begins to be converted in a sort of victim of Christian society. At this point in the play,
Barabbas will be the victim and we will feel sympathy and pity for him. The Christian
governor is looking for his help, and he says that he cannot help because he is not a soldier.
FIRST KNIGHT. Tut, Jew, we know thou art no soldier:
Thou art a merchant and a money'd man,
The only thing that makes him powerful is his money, that’s why Christians are interested on
him. They are not interested in Barabbas as a soldier but as a merchant.
BARABBAS. How, my lord! my money!

FERNEZE. Thine and the rest;

For, to be short, amongst you't must be had.

FIRST JEW. Alas, my lord, the most of us are poor!

FERNEZE. Then let the rich increase your portions.

BARABBAS. Are strangers with your tribute to be tax'd?

Now there is a confrontation between the Christians and the Jews.
SECOND KNIGHT. Have strangers leave with us to get their wealth?
Then let them with us contribute.

BARABBAS. How! equally?

FERNEZE. No, Jew, like infidels;
For through our sufferance of your hateful lives,
Who stand accursed in the sight of heaven,
These taxes and afflictions are befall'n,

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 And therefore thus we are determined.--
Read there the articles of our decrees.

OFFICER. [reads] FIRST, THE TRIBUTE-MONEY OF THE TURKS

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SHALL ALL BE LEVIED AMONGST THE JEWS, AND EACH OF THEM TO PAY
ONE HALF OF HIS ESTATE.
The Christians will attack on the Jews to justify the fact that the Jews have to give their money.
Because they have a different religion, now that they are interested in their money, they take it.
We see the hypocrisy of the Christian society, how they attack the Jews when they want to take
their money. The Christians have a debt with the Turks, and they will pay it with Jews’ money.
BARABBAS. How! half his estate!--I hope you mean not mine.
[Aside.]

FERNEZE. Read on.

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OFFICER. [reads] SECONDLY, HE THAT DENIES TO PAY, SHALL
STRAIGHT-BECOME A CHRISTIAN.
We see the idea of a forceful conversion. It was an outrage, or punishment for Jews, to be
converted into Christians if they did not want to do it.
BARABBAS. How! a Christian!--Hum,--what's here to do?
[Aside.]
OFFICER. [reads] LASTLY, HE THAT DENIES THIS, SHALL ABSOLUTELY
LOSE ALL HE HAS.
The third step if they did not want to become Christians, was to give the whole of their fortune.
THREE JEWS. O my lord, we will give half!

BARABBAS. O earth-mettled villains, and no Hebrews born!

And will you basely thus submit yourselves
To leave your goods to their arbitrement?

FERNEZE. Why, Barabbas, wilt thou be christened?

BARABBAS. No, governor, I will be no convertite.

FERNEZE. Then pay thy half.

BARABBAS. Why, know you what you did by this device?

Half of my substance is a city's wealth.
Barabbas is very proud of his wealth, he feels self-confident of how rich he is.
BARABBAS. Why, know you what you did by this device?
Half of my substance is a city's wealth.

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 Governor, it was not got so easily;
Nor will I part so slightly therewithal.
Barabbas will fight against this situation, he will rebel against it.

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FERNEZE. Sir, half is the penalty of our decree;
Either pay that, or we will seize on all.

BARABBAS. Corpo di Dio! stay: you shall have half;

Let me be us'd but as my brethren are.

FERNEZE. No, Jew, thou hast denied the articles,

And now it cannot be recall'd.

Barabbas must give all of his money.

BARABBAS. Will you, then, steal my goods?
Is theft the ground of your religion?

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FERNEZE. No, Jew; we take particularly thine,
To save the ruin of a multitude:
And better one want for a common good,
Than many perish for a private man:
Yet, Barabbas, we will not banish thee,
But here in Malta, where thou gott'st thy wealth,
Live still; and, if thou canst, get more.
Christian charity is that Barabbas will be allowed to stay in Malta and the Christians tell
Barabbas that if he stays perhaps he will be able to become rich again. It is something very
hypocritical. This is not an act of charity but of selfishness. Christians are very selfish and greedy,
the same as Barabbas.
Barabbas will feel contempt against the Christians, against Abigail and Ithamore, and also about
himself. He will despise himself. One of the words he uses to show this contempt is the word
“slave”.
BARABBAS. Ay, policy! that's their profession,
And not simplicity, as they suggest.--
The plagues of Egypt, and the curse of heaven,
Earth's barrenness, and all men's hatred,
Inflict upon them, thou great Primus Motor!
And here upon my knees, striking the earth,
I ban their souls to everlasting pains,
And extreme tortures of the fiery deep,
That thus have dealt with me in my distress!

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a64b0469ff35958ef4ab887a898bd50bdfbbe91a-4551269
 No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
“Policy“ is applied to the Christians. It refers to getting power without moral principles. He is
showing his hatred against the Christians, telling the divine forces to fall and attack the
Christians. He is cursing them.
FIRST JEW. O, yet be patient, gentle Barabas!
BARABBAS. O silly brethren, born to see this day,
Why stand you thus unmov'd with my laments?
Why weep you not to think upon my wrongs?
Why pine not I, and die in this distress?

Reservados todos los derechos.

FIRST JEW. Why, Barabas, as hardly can we brook
The cruel handling of ourselves in this:
Thou seest they have taken half our goods.

BARABBAS. Why did you yield to their extortion?

You were a multitude, and I but one;
And of me only have they taken all.
Barabbas now feels contempt for the other Jews. He is feeling hatred for the Christians but also
for the other Jews because he feels that he is alone. If Jews had been together, they would have
been strong against the Christians. Barabbas is now the only one who has lost everything. He
feels that he has not been supported by the other Jews. Barabbas has the ability of becoming
powerful even in this difficult situation. He does not feel fragile, just the contrary, he feels strong
enough as to face the other Jews and face the Christians. This is what we will see in the
following soliloquy.
[Exeunt three JEWS.]

See the simplicity of these base slaves,

Who, for the villains have no wit themselves,
Think me to be a senseless lump of clay,
That will with every water wash to dirt!
No, Barabbas is born to better chance,
And fram'd of finer mould than common men,
That measure naught but by the present time.
A reaching thought will search his deepest wits,
And cast with cunning for the time to come;
For evils are apt to happen every day.
He calls the other Jews slaves because he feels contempt for them. He is an overreacher and he
will go all the obstacles, he will overcome all the obstacles as an overreacher and he will recover
very quickly. He feels special, he is ready to do whatever is necessary to become rich again. Now,
we have the presence of Abigail.
Enter ABIGAIL.

But whither wends my beauteous Abigail?

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 O, what has made my lovely daughter sad?
What, woman! moan not for a little loss;
Thy father has enough in store for thee.

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ABIGAIL. Nor for myself, but aged Barabbas,
Father, for thee lamenteth Abigail:
But I will learn to leave these fruitless tears;
And, urg'd thereto with my afflictions,
With fierce exclaims run to the senate-house,
And in the senate reprehend them all,
And rent their hearts with tearing of my hair,
Till they reduce the wrongs done to my father.
He has lost everything, but he calls this “little loss” because he feels powerful. Notice her first
words, “nor for myself”. She is the only character in the play who is not selfish. She wants to do
what is legal, she wants to appeal to the powerful people feelings. She wants to move the Senate
house, so that they give Barabbas his money back. She is not thinking about any policy, she just

Reservados todos los derechos.

wants to go the legal way.
BARABBAS. No, Abigail; things past recovery
Are hardly cur'd with exclamations:
Be silent, daughter; sufferance breeds ease,
And time may yield us an occasion,
Which on the sudden cannot serve the turn.
Besides, my girl, think me not all so fond
As negligently to forgo so much
Without provision for thyself and me:
Ten thousand portagues,
besides great pearls,
Rich costly jewels, and stones infinite,
Fearing the worst of this before it fell,
I closely hid.
Barabbas does not accept this solution, he wants to do something else. Barabbas is very witty,
and he goes one step forward. He had the intuition that something was about to happen and then
he kept part of his money hidden. He had anticipated to the situation and he has hidden an
important part of his wealth.
ABIGAIL. Where, father?
BARABBAS. In my house, my girl.

ABIGAIL. Then shall they ne'er be seen of Barabbas;

For they have seiz'd upon thy house and wares.

BARABBAS. But they will give me leave once more, I trow,

To go into my house.

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a64b0469ff35958ef4ab887a898bd50bdfbbe91a-4551269
 ABIGAIL. That may they not;
For there I left the governor placing nuns,
Displacing me; and of thy house they mean
To make a nunnery, where none but their own sect

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Must enter in; men generally barr'd.
BARABBAS. My gold, my gold, and all my wealth is gone!--
You partial heavens, have I deserv'd this plague?
What, will you thus oppose me, luckless stars,
To make me desperate in my poverty?
And, knowing me impatient in distress,
Think me so mad as I will hang myself,
That I may vanish o'er the earth in air,
And leave no memory that e'er I was?
No, I will live; nor loathe I this my life:
And, since you leave me in the ocean thus
To sink or swim, and put me to my shifts,

Reservados todos los derechos.

I'll rouse my senses, and awake myself.--
Daughter, I have it: thou perceiv'st the plight
Wherein these Christians have oppressed me:
Be rul'd by me, for in extremity
We ought to make bar of no policy.
For the first time in the play it seems that he is lamenting the situation, but as we know, he will
recover very quickly, and he will think about the strategy to recover his money using his power
over Abigail. It seems that he is lost and worried about the situation. We have to notice the use of
the modal “will” that portrays his determination. Very quickly he has a plan. He has the strategy
to recover himself using no moral principles.
ABIGAIL. Father, whate'er it be, to injure them
That have so manifestly wronged us,
What will not Abigail attempt?
Abigail is very loyal to his father and will do anything to help him.
BARABBAS. Why, so.
Then thus: thou told'st me they have turn'd my house
Into a nunnery, and some nuns are there?

ABIGAIL. I did.
BARABBAS. Then, Abigail, there must my girl
Entreat the abbess to be entertain'd.

ABIGAIL. How! as a nun?

BARABBAS. Ay, daughter; for religion

Hides many mischiefs from suspicion.

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a64b0469ff35958ef4ab887a898bd50bdfbbe91a-4551269
 ABIGAIL. Ay, but, father, they will suspect me there.
BARABBAS. Let 'em suspect; but be thou so precise

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As they may think it done of holiness:
Entreat 'em fair, and give them friendly speech,
And seem to them as if thy sins were great,
Till thou hast gotten to be entertain'd.
Abigail must obey his father. Abigail becomes Barabbas instrument to recover the wealth. She
will pretend that she wants to become a nun, and once she is inside the convent she will recover
all the fortune. For a Jew, being a nun was something shameful. Here we see that Marlowe
describes religion as a way to hide practices of mischief. This connects with the prologue of
Machiavel where we find a criticism to religion. Abigail, due to the obedience to his father will
pretend something that she does not want. The principle of obedience is stronger than the
principle of not taking lies or pretending what you are not.

Reservados todos los derechos.

BARABBAS. [coming forward] Why, how now, Abigail!
What mak'st thou 'mongst these hateful Christians?

FRIAR JACOMO. Hinder her not, thou man of little faith,

For she has mortified herself.
BARABBAS. How! mortified!

FRIAR JACOMO. And is admitted to the sisterhood.

BARABBAS. Child of perdition, and thy father's shame!
What wilt thou do among these hateful fiends?
I charge thee on my blessing that thou leave
These devils and their damned heresy!
ABIGAIL. Father, forgive me—

BARABBAS. Nay, back, Abigail,

And think upon the jewels and the gold;
The board is marked thus that covers it.—
[Aside to ABIGAIL in a whisper.]
Away, accursed, from thy father's sight!
She has decided to become a nun and Barabbas is pretending all this behaviour in this scene. It is
all part of the policy. This is a moment in which the asides are crucial. There is like a double
conversation. Barabbas is pretending that he is very surprised with the idea that Abigail wants to
become a nun. At the same time, he is giving Abigail all the information to find the fortune. He
wants to take revenge of the Christians.
FRIAR JACOMO. Barabbas, although thou art in misbelief,
And wilt not see thine own afflictions,

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 No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
Yet let thy daughter be no longer blind.
BARABBAS. Blind friar, I reck not thy persuasions,--
The board is marked thus that covers it--
[Aside to ABIGAIL in a whisper.]
For I had rather die than see her thus.--
Wilt thou forsake me too in my distress,
Seduced daughter?--Go, forget not.--
[Aside to her in a whisper.]
Becomes it Jews to be so credulous?--

Reservados todos los derechos.

To-morrow early I'll be at the door.--
[Aside to her in a whisper.]
No, come not at me; if thou wilt be damn'd,
Forget me, see me not; and so, be gone!--
Farewell; remember to-morrow morning.--
[Aside to her in a whisper.]
Out, out, thou wretch!
[Exit, on one side, BARABBAS. Exeunt, on the other side,
FRIARS, ABBESS, NUN, and ABIGAIL: and, as they are going
out,]
The characters leave and a new one appears: Mathias. He is in love with Abigail. Mathias will be
used by Barabbas to take revenge on the Christians and the Christian people.
MATHIAS. Who's this? fair Abigail, the rich Jew's daughter,
Become a nun! her father's sudden fall
Has humbled her, and brought her down to this:
Tut, she were fitter for a tale of love,
Than to be tired out with orisons;
And better would she far become a bed,
Embraced in a friendly lover's arms,
Than rise at midnight to a solemn mass.
He is showing the love that he feels for Abigail.
At this point, Barabbas is ready to revenge. He is ready to recover his money and he has
introduced this topic of policy that applies not just to Barabbas himself but also to the Christians.
Barabbas will see how he feels contempt for the Christians and the other Jews using the word
“slave”. At this point in the play we are prepared to see how Barabbas goes up on different levels
of revenge and becoming rich again. He will go up to the point in which the tragedy will stop as
an overreacher he will want too much money and exercise of revenge, and at this point he will
fall down and he will become a sort of grotesque character.
• ACT II, SCENE I
Abigail appears as obedient and submissive to his father. It opens with a typical scene in the
Renaissance drama, a balcony scene. Typically, this is a romantic scene, but in this case, it is not
romantic because here the interest is money.

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 BARABBAS. Thus, like the sad-presaging raven, that tolls
The sick man's passport in her hollow beak,
And in the shadow of the silent night
Doth shake contagion from her sable wings,

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Vex'd and tormented runs poor Barabbas
With fatal curses towards these Christians.
The incertain pleasures of swift-footed time
Have ta'en their flight, and left me in despair;
And of my former riches rests no more
But bare remembrance; like a soldier's scar,
That has no further comfort for his maim.--
O Thou, that with a fiery pillar ledd'st
The sons of Israel through the dismal shades,
Light Abraham's offspring; and direct the hand
Of Abigail this night! or let the day
Turn to eternal darkness after this!--
No sleep can fasten on my watchful eyes,

Reservados todos los derechos.

Nor quiet enter my distemper'd thoughts,
Till I have answer of my Abigail.
He is complaining about the situation to which the Christians have led him. He feels pity of
himself. The images of darkness signify Barabbas’ state of mind. It is a situation of injustice and
it makes him sad and moody. He hates the Christians, but he appeals to god. He is appealing to
the god of the Jews to help Abigail. Barabbas wants to know if Abigail has been able to recover
the fortune. At this point Barabbas is angry and tormented feeling pity of himself. The simile of
the raven is a very dark image and it portrays his psychological situation.
Enter ABIGAIL above.

ABIGAIL. Now have I happily espied a time

To search the plank my father did appoint;
And here, behold, unseen, where I have found
The gold, the pearls, and jewels, which he hid.
Abigail has been successful in finding the money.
BARABBAS. Now I remember those old women's words,
Who in my wealth would tell me winter's tales,
And speak of spirits and ghosts that glide by night
About the place where treasure hath been hid:
And now methinks that I am one of those;
For, whilst I live, here lives my soul's sole hope,
And, when I die, here shall my spirit walk.
ABIGAIL. Now that my father's fortune were so good
As but to be about this happy place!
'Tis not so happy: yet, when we parted last,
He said he would attend me in the morn.

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a64b0469ff35958ef4ab887a898bd50bdfbbe91a-4551269
 Then, gentle Sleep, where'er his body rests,
Give charge to Morpheus that he may dream
A golden dream, and of the sudden wake,
Come and receive the treasure I have found.

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She does what her father has asked her to do. She has good wishes towards her father, she does
not complain and even she does not like what she is doing, she is obeying his father.
BARABBAS. Bueno para todos mi ganado no era:
As good go on, as sit so sadly thus.--
But stay: what star shines yonder in the east?
The loadstar of my life, if Abigail.--
Who's there?

ABIGAIL. Who's that?

BARABBAS. Peace, Abigail! 'tis I.

Reservados todos los derechos.

ABIGAIL. Then, father, here receive thy happiness.

BARABBAS. Hast thou't?

ABIGAIL. Here. [throws down bags] Hast thou't?

There's more, and more, and more.
A balcony scene is usually the moment in which the lovers greed each other. Abigail says, “here
receive thy happiness”, so we get to know that Barabbas’ happiness is his money, not seeing
Abigail. Abigail gives a clue about how big Barabbas’ fortune is.
BARABBAS. O my girl,
My gold, my fortune, my felicity,
Strength to my soul, death to mine enemy;
Welcome the first beginner of my bliss!
O Abigail, Abigail, that I had thee here too!
Then my desires were fully satisfied:
But I will practice thy enlargement thence:
O girl! O gold! O beauty! O my bliss!
[Hugs the bags.]
Notice how the girl comes first, but, the stage direction is Barabbas hugging the bags. This action
is signal that his love is being given to the money and no to this daughter.
ABIGAIL. Father, it draweth towards midnight now,
And 'bout this time the nuns begin to wake;
To shun suspicion, therefore, let us part
.
BARABBAS. Farewell, my joy, and by my fingers take
A kiss from him that sends it from his soul.

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a64b0469ff35958ef4ab887a898bd50bdfbbe91a-4551269
 [Exit ABIGAIL above.]
Now, Phoebus, ope the eye-lids of the day.
And, for the raven, wake the morning lark,
That I may hover with her in the air,

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Singing o'er these, as she does o'er her young.
Hermoso placer de los dineros.
[Exit.]
The scene ends with a feeling of happiness that contrasts with the beginning of the scene. With
his money he is completely happy.
• ACT II, SCENE II

In the marketplace, Barabbas can demonstrate his power.

FERNEZE. So will we fight it out: come, let's away.

Proud daring Calymath, instead of gold,

Reservados todos los derechos.

We'll send thee bullets wrapt in smoke and fire:
Claim tribute where thou wilt, we are resolv'd,--
Honour is bought with blood, and not with gold.
• ACT II, SCENE III
In this part, Barabbas is in the market and he buys a slave, Ithamore. There is a dramatic irony as
we know more than the character in the play. He has bought a house as he has recovered his
wealth. Lodowick will be an instrument for Barabbas.
Barabbas uses other people for his own benefit. One of the meanings of this conversation is that
the stone is not the real diamond, but Abigail.
LODOWICK. How shews it by night?
LODOWICK. No, Barabbas, I will deserve it first.

BARABBAS. Outshines Cynthia's rays:--

You'll like it better far o' nights than days.

LODOWICK. And what's the price?

BARABBAS. Your life, an if you have it [Aside].--O my lord,

We will not jar about the price: come to my house,
And I will give't your honour--with a vengeance.
[Aside.]

BARABBAS. Good sir,

Your father has deserv'd it at my hands,
Who, of mere charity and Christian ruth,
To bring me to religious purity,
And, as it were, in catechising sort,

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 No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
To make me mindful of my mortal sins,
Against my will, and whether I would or no,
Seiz'd all I had, and thrust me out o' doors,
And made my house a place for nuns most chaste.
LODOWICK. No doubt your soul shall reap the fruit of it.
We have to notice Barabbas irony, the way in which he describes what Lodowick’s father has
done to him. It shows Barabbas’ anger. We also notice Lodowick’s hypocritical answer.
BARABBAS. Ay, but, my lord, the harvest is far off:

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And yet I know the prayers of those nuns
And holy friars, having money for their pains,
Are wondrous;--and indeed do no man good;--
[Aside.]
And, seeing they are not idle, but still doing,
'Tis likely they in time may reap some fruit,
I mean, in fullness of perfection.
The aside has again a double meaning. Apparently, Barabbas is praising the beauty of the prayers
and the nuns, but the true meaning is that he is criticizing the holy orders. The line “tis likely
they in time may reap some fruit” refers to nuns’ pregnancy. Christians did not follow the
principle of poverty and they were no chaste. They acted against the principle of chastity.
LODOWICK. Good Barabbas, glance not at our holy nuns.

BARABBAS. No, but I do it through a burning zeal,--

Hoping ere long to set the house a-fire;
For, though they do a while increase and multiply,
I'll have a saying to that nunnery.
[Aside.]

Again, we see Barabbas as a villain. We see the idea of nuns having children, becoming pregnant,
in the word “nunnery”.
As for the diamond, sir, I told you of,
Come home, and there's no price shall make us part,
Even for your honourable father's sake,--
It shall go hard but I will see your death.--
[Aside.]
But now I must be gone to buy a slave.
Very explicitly, Barabbas is showing the audience how he is interested in killing Lodowick. He
has a very strong desire for revenge. After this conversation, we see one of the fragments in
which this anti-Semitic message is very clear. It is one of the most famous passages in the play
and it is the conversation between Barabbas and Ithamore.
BARABBAS. Hast thou no trade? then listen to my words,

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 And I will teach [thee] that shall stick by thee:
Compassion, love, vain hope, and heartless fear;
Be mov'd at nothing, see thou pity none,
But to thyself smile when the Christians moan.

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ITHAMORE. O, brave, master! I worship your nose for this.

BARABBAS. As for myself, I walk abroad o' nights,

And kill sick people groaning under walls:
Sometimes I go about and poison wells;
And now and then, to cherish Christian thieves,
I am content to lose some of my crowns,
That I may, walking in my gallery,
See 'em go pinion'd along by my door.
Being young, I studied physic, and began
To practice first upon the Italian;
There I enrich'd the priests with burials,

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And always kept the sexton's arms in ure
With digging graves and ringing dead men's knells:
And, after that, was I an engineer,
And in the wars 'twixt France and Germany,
Under pretence of helping Charles the Fifth,
Slew friend and enemy with my stratagems:
Then, after that, was I an usurer,
And with extorting, cozening, forfeiting,
And tricks belonging unto brokery,
I fill'd the gaols with bankrupts in a year,
And with young orphans planted hospitals;
And every moon made some or other mad,
And now and then one hang himself for grief,
Pinning upon his breast a long great scroll
How I with interest tormented him.
But mark how I am blest for plaguing them;--
I have as much coin as will buy the town.
But tell me now, how hast thou spent thy time?

ITHAMORE. Faith, master,

In setting Christian villages on fire,
Chaining of eunuchs, binding galley-slaves.
One time I was an hostler in an inn,
And in the night-time secretly would I steal
To travellers' chambers, and there cut their throats:
Once at Jerusalem, where the pilgrims kneel'd,
I strewed powder on the marble stones,
And therewithal their knees would rankle so,
That I have laugh'd a-good to see the cripples
Go limping home to Christendom on stilts.

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a64b0469ff35958ef4ab887a898bd50bdfbbe91a-4551269
 BARABBAS. Why, this is something: make account of me
As of thy fellow; we are villains both;
Both circumcised; we hate Christians both:

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Be true and secret; thou shalt want no gold.
But stand aside; here comes Don Lodowick.
We see how both Barabbas and Ithamore are involved in the evil. When Barabbas was
confiscated his wealth, we even felt pity for him because we felt that this was unfair. We
understood Barabbas’ anger. Now, when we get to see how obsessed he is with revenge and with
making people feeling pain, we stop seeking that sympathy and we begin to see him as a monster.
Barabbas will teach Ithamore all the evil strategies that he knows. Ithamore stands as a sort
of student for Barabbas. Later, we will see how he becomes a sort of adopted son. In order to be
like Barabbas, he must be strong and not feel emotions. The first step to become a villain is
leaving his feelings aside. Then, Barabbas will describe himself and he will explain what he has
done in his life before the moment in which we got to meet him.

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He tells Ithamore that he went out of the city every night and he killed ill people, people who
were weak and who could not defend themselves. This is the first anti-Semitic stereotype, the
idea that Jews killed Christians. The second stereotype that we can find is the association
between Jews and poison. He tells Ithamore that the following thing he did was poisoning the
pits. The third stereotype that we find is the association between Jews and money.
Then he started explaining his life. Being young he said that he studied Physics, but the truth is
that he referred to Medicine, but he studied Medicine just in order to kill people. There is an
association here with poison as well. We have a direct connection between Barabbas and the
speaker in the prologue, Machiavelli. We see how Barabbas spends some time in Italy and that is
probably where he learned about poison. Then, he was an engineer, but not to help people, but to
create destruction. All his professions are professions of villainy and destruction. All his
professions have been used in order to destroy people. We also see an association between
Machiavelli and Barabbas in the use of policy. And then we get to see another stereotype,
Barabbas as a money lender. Barabbas is a monster, he is the villain in the play. The audience
starts to feel hatred for Barabbas. Barabbas has become rich by killing people and making people
suffer. Ithamore wants to be a monster equal to Barabbas. Ithamore does not kill people in order
to get money but for the pleasure of killing. Barabbas in a direct statement acknowledges that
they are equals, that they are the villains and the monsters in the play. The hatred against the
Christians makes them equal.
There is a triangle between Lodowick, Abigail and Don Mathias. Barabbas wants to create a
conflict between Lodowick and Don Mathias. He uses Abigail as an instrument to awake the
conflict between these two Christian gentlemen.
LODOWICK. Barabbas, is not that the widow's son?
BARABAS. Ay, and take heed, for he hath sworn your death.

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a64b0469ff35958ef4ab887a898bd50bdfbbe91a-4551269
 LODOWICK. My death! what, is the base-born peasant mad?

BARABAS. No, no; but happily he stands in fear

Of that which you, I think, ne'er dream upon,--

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My daughter here, a paltry silly girl.

LODOWICK. Why, loves she Don Mathias?

Barabbas has no problem in insulting Abigail.
BARABBAS. Doth she not with her smiling answer you?

ABIGAIL. He has my heart; I smile against my will.

[Aside.]
She smiles to Lodowick just to please his father’s desire. Abigail’s principle is obedience, she
has to obey his father, and her father has told her to smile at Lodowick, so that he thinks that she

Reservados todos los derechos.

is in love with him. Abigail is the only benevolent character in the play. She is not self-interested.
LODOWICK. Barabbas, thou know'st I have lov'd thy daughter long.
BARABBAS. And so has she done you, even from a child.
He is manipulating Lodowick.
LODOWICK. And now I can no longer hold my mind.

BARABBAS. Nor I the affection that I bear to you.

Barabbas is lying all the time, he is manipulating Lodowick to get his aim.
LODOWICK. This is thy diamond; tell me, shall I have it?

BARABBAS. Win it, and wear it; it is yet unsoil'd.

O, but I know your lordship would disdain
To marry with the daughter of a Jew:
And yet I'll give her many a golden cross<88>
With Christian posies round about the ring.
Barabbas says that the ‘diamond’ is unsoiled because Abigail is a virgin. The problem would be
that Lodowick’s father would not want his son to marry a Jew. We know that Barabbas wants to
take revenge of Lodowick’s father.
LODOWICK. 'Tis not thy wealth, but her that I esteem;
Yet crave I thy consent.

BARABAS. And mine you have; yet let me talk to her.--

This offspring of Cain, this Jebusite,
That never tasted of the Passover,
Nor e'er shall see the land of Canaan,
Nor our Messias that is yet to come;

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 No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
This gentle maggot, Lodowick, I mean,
Must be deluded: let him have thy hand,
But keep thy heart till Don Mathias comes.
[Aside to her.]
Barabbas gives his consent so that Abigail marries Lodowick. He feels content about Lodowick.
Abigail is being used as an object, her father tells him to give her hand to Lodowick but to keep
her heart for Don Mathias.
ABIGAIL. What, shall I be betroth'd to Lodowick?

Reservados todos los derechos.

BARABBAS. It's no sin to deceive a Christian;
For they themselves hold it a principle,
Faith is not to be held with heretics:
But all are heretics that are not Jews;
This follows well, and therefore, daughter, fear not.--
[Aside to her.]
I have entreated her, and she will grant.
He says that there is no problem in lying to a Christian because lying is Christians’ principle.
This is another critic to Christians. Abigail just obeys her father. In the balcony scene, she has
been the instrument to recover Barabbas’ wealth. Now, she is the object so that Barabbas takes
revenge.
• ACT III
In this act, we find the moment of climax. We see the level of the underplot with the two
criminals who will begin to think about policy (‘blackmailing’) to get money from Barabbas, and
the presence of death. Throughout this act we will see a different Barabbas feeling contempt for
other people and also for himself. The most important moment is when he feels contempt for
Abigail. We will find a very significant moment in the relationship between father and daughter.
Even if Abigail has tried to protect her father, it will mean the end of the relationship between
Abigail and Barabbas to the point of taking revenge. He will use poison in order to kill Abigail
and all the nuns.
Marlowe has been seen by some critics as a writer that does not show emotions in connection
with death. This is called Marlovian coldness.
Enters PILIA-BORZA.

PILIA-BORZA.
Hold thee, wench, there's something for thee to spend.
[Shewing a bag of silver.]

BELLAMIRA. 'Tis silver; I disdain it.

PILIA-BORZA. Ay, but the Jew has gold,

And I will have it, or it shall go hard.

a64b0469ff35958ef4ab887a898bd50bdfbbe91a-4551269
 For Bellamira, silver is not enough, he wants gold. He is very greedy like the rest of the
characters in the play. All the characters independently of the social class and religion, want
more and more money and wealth. Bellamira and Pilia-Borza are greedy. They had the
information that Barabbas had recovered economically speaking, and he has the possibility of

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getting money.
BELLAMIRA. Tell me, how cam'st thou by this?
PILIA-BORZA. Faith, walking the back-lanes, through the gardens,
I chanced to cast mine eye up to the Jew's counting-house, where
I saw some bags of money, and in the night I clambered up with
my hooks; and, as I was taking my choice, I heard a rumbling in
the house; so I took only this, and run my way.--But here's the
Jew's man.

BELLAMIRA. Hide the bag.

Enter ITHAMORE.

Reservados todos los derechos.

PILIA-BORZA. Look not towards him, let's away. Zoons, what a
looking thou keepest! thou'lt betray's anon.

[Exeunt BELLAMIRA and PILIA-BORZA.]

ITHAMORE. O, the sweetest face that ever I beheld! I know she

is a courtezan by her attire: now would I give a hundred of
the Jew's crowns that I had such a concubine.
Well, I have deliver'd the challenge in such sort,
As meet they will, and fighting die,--brave sport!

[Exit.]
Very quickly, Ithamore feels physical attraction for the prostitute Bellamira. This attraction will
be used by Bellamira and Pilia-Borza to get Barabbas’ money. Act III contains the first deaths of
the play, the deaths of Lodowick and Don Mathias. Barabbas has become successful. He
managed to take revenge on Lodowick’s father who had confiscated all his money and house,
and at the same time, he got rid of Abigail’s marriage with the Christian gentlemen Don Mathias.
Abigail, who was loved by both Don Mathias and Lodowick, wanted to marry Don Mathias. She
made Lodowick believe that he could marry her, and now that both of them are dead she feels
guilty. Because of this feeling of guilty, she decides to become a nun. This is used by Marlowe
again to criticise the Christian orders. Now we have a plotline that has to do with Abigail
becoming a nun. This plotline will have different implications. One of them will be Barabbas’
desire again of revenge. He will want to take revenge on Abigail. He feels contempt for his own
daughter. This plotline is used by Marlowe to criticise the holy orders.
ABIGAIL. Hard-hearted father, unkind Barabas!
Was this the pursuit of thy policy,

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 To make me shew them favour severally,
That by my favour they should both be slain?
Admit thou lov'dst not Lodowick for his sire,
Yet Don Mathias ne'er offended thee:

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But thou wert set upon extreme revenge,
Because the prior dispossess'd thee once,
And couldst not venge it but upon his son;
Nor on his son but by Mathias' means;
Nor on Mathias but by murdering me:
But I perceive there is no love on earth,
Pity in Jews, nor piety in Turks.--
But here comes cursed Ithamore with the friar.
It is one of the first times that she insults her father. She feels anger and hatred against him. The
idea of policy (being successful without any kind of moral principles) is associated with
Barabbas and Ithamore. She feels in a way, responsible of what has happened to Don Mathias
and Lodowick. She does not understand why Barabbas wanted to kill Don Mathias. She

Reservados todos los derechos.

describes Barabbas as that overreacher for revenge. She discusses the Jewish and the Muslin
religion, and the only way she wants now is following the Christian religion. This is the moment
when Abigail feels that remorse and decides to become a Christian. The effect of this conversion
will be seen at the beginning of scene IV, in which Barabbas will show his contempt for his
daughter. This soliloquy is important for the audience because we will know exactly how Abigail
is feeling.
Enter ITHAMORE.

BARABBAS. O Ithamore, come near;

Come near, my love; come near, thy master's life,
My trusty servant, nay, my second self;
For I have now no hope but even in thee,
And on that hope my happiness is built.
When saw'st thou Abigail?

ITHAMORE. To-day.

BARABBAS. With whom?

ITHAMORE. A friar.

BARABBAS. A friar! false villain, he hath done the deed.

ITHAMORE. How, sir!

BARABBAS. Why, made mine Abigail a nun.

ITHAMORE. That's no lie; for she sent me for him.

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 BARABAS. O unhappy day!
False, credulous, inconstant Abigail!
But let 'em go: and, Ithamore, from hence
Ne'er shall she grieve me more with her disgrace;

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Ne'er shall she live to inherit aught of mine,
Be bless'd of me, nor come within my gates,
But perish underneath my bitter curse,
Like Cain by Adam for his brother's death.

ITHAMORE. O master—

BARABBAS. Ithamore, entreat not for her; I am mov'd,

And she is hateful to my soul and me:
And, 'less thou yield to this that I entreat,
I cannot think but that thou hat'st my life.

ITHAMORE. Who, I, master? why, I'll run to some rock,

Reservados todos los derechos.

And throw myself headlong into the sea;
Why, I'll do any thing for your sweet sake.

BARABBAS. O trusty Ithamore! no servant, but my friend!

I here adopt thee for mine only heir:
All that I have is thine when I am dead;
And, whilst I live, use half; spend as myself;
Here, take my keys,--I'll give 'em thee anon;
Go buy thee garments; but thou shalt not want:
Only know this, that thus thou art to do—
But first go fetch me in the pot of rice
That for our supper stands upon the fire.

ITHAMORE. I hold my head, my master's hungry [Aside].--I go, sir.

Barabbas is exaggerating his reaction. We see how he begins insulting Abigail, showing that
contempt for his own daughter. He calls her false and unkind.
There are critics who consider that Barabbas is manipulating Ithamore. These critics use the final
words by Barabbas to justify this idea:
BARABBAS. Thus every villain ambles after wealth,
Although he ne'er be richer than in hope:--
But, husht!
Ithamore tastes the poison that Barabbas is preparing for Abigail.
BARABBAS. Prithee, do.
[ITHAMORE tastes.]
What say'st thou now?

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 No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
ITHAMORE. Troth, master, I'm loath such a pot of pottage should
be spoiled.
Barabbas enters, reading a letter from Abigail that urges him to repent of his sins. Barabbas fears
that his daughter knows about his hand in the deaths of Mathias and Lodowick. Ithamore enters
to confirm that Abigail sent for the friar herself and voluntarily entered the nunnery.
BARABBAS. Stay; first let me stir it, Ithamore.
As fatal be it to her as the draught

Reservados todos los derechos.

Of which great Alexander drunk, and died;
And with her let it work like Borgia's wine,
Whereof his sire the Pope was poisoned!
In few, the blood of Hydra, Lerna's bane,
The juice of hebon, and Cocytus' breath,
And all the poisons of the Stygian pool,
Break from the fiery kingdom, and in this
Vomit your venom, and envenom her
That, like a fiend, hath left her father thus!

Barabbas has black feelings against Abigail. The feeling that predominates is that feeling of
hatred and revenge to the point that Barabbas becomes a sort of black magician, a sort of evil
conjurer.
Enter ABIGAIL.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. What, all dead, save only Abigail!

ABIGAIL. And I shall die too, for I feel death coming.

Where is the friar that convers'd with me?

FRIAR BARNARDINE. O, he is gone to see the other nuns.

ABIGAIL. I sent for him; but, seeing you are come,

Be you my ghostly father: and first know,
That in this house I liv'd religiously,
Chaste, and devout, much sorrowing for my sins;
But, ere I came—

FRIAR BARNARDINE. What then?

ABIGAIL. I did offend high heaven so grievously

As I am almost desperate for my sins;
And one offense torments me more than all.
You knew Mathias and Don Lodowick?

FRIAR BARNARDINE. Yes; what of them?

a64b0469ff35958ef4ab887a898bd50bdfbbe91a-4551269
 ABIGAIL. My father did contract me to 'em both;
First to Don Lodowick: him I never lov'd;
Mathias was the man that I held dear,

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And for his sake did I become a nun.
FRIAR BARNARDINE. So: say how was their end?

ABIGAIL. Both, jealous of my love, envied each other;

And by my father's practice,<123> which is there
[Gives writing.]
Set down at large, the gallants were both slain.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. O, monstrous villany!

ABIGAIL. To work my peace, this I confess to thee:
Reveal it not; for then my father dies.

Reservados todos los derechos.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. Know that confession must not be reveal'd;
The canon-law forbids it, and the priest
That makes it known, being degraded first,
Shall be condemn'd, and then sent to the fire.

ABIGAIL. So I have heard; pray, therefore, keep it close.

Death seizeth on my heart: ah, gentle friar,
Convert my father that he may be sav'd,
And witness that I die a Christian!
[Dies.]
Abigail dies but before she dies she has to say to the friar what happened with Don Mathias and
Lodowick because she feels guilty, but she does this as a confession, not in order to betray her
father.
FRIAR BARNARDINE. Ay, and a virgin too; that grieves me most.
But I must to the Jew, and exclaim on him,
And make him stand in fear of me.

Re-enter FRIAR JACOMO.

v
FRIAR JACOMO. O brother, all the nuns are dead! let's bury them.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. First help to bury this; then go with me,

And help me to exclaim against the Jew.

FRIAR JACOMO. Why, what has he done?

FRIAR BARNARDINE. A thing that makes me tremble to unfold.

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 FRIAR JACOMO. What, has he crucified a child?<124>

FRIAR BARNARDINE. No, but a worse thing: 'twas told me in shrift;

Thou know'st 'tis death, an if it be reveal'd.

No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
Come, let's away.
We see the idea of the shrift, which means that anything that you tell to a representative of a
religious order or a representative from the church, cannot be revealed. Abigail is so interested in
this shrift because she wants to protect her father to the very end. She is an honest character till
the end. Friar Bernardine was interested in Abigail sexually speaking.
• ACT IV, SCENE I
BARABBAS. There is no music to a Christian's knell:
How sweet the bells ring, now the nuns are dead,
That sound at other times like tinkers' pans!
I was afraid the poison had not wrought,

Reservados todos los derechos.

Or, though it wrought, it would have done no good,
For every year they swell, and yet they live:
Now all are dead, not one remains alive.
Barabbas is happy to know that the nuns have been killed even if one of them is Abigail. His
reaction shows no emotions. Barabbas has no feeling of guilt. We have also Marlowe’s criticism
against the holy orders. “Every year they swell”, this is Marlowe’s implicit reference to the fact
that nuns do not obey the principle of chastity, they have relationships and they become pregnant.
This swelling is Marlowe’s implicit reference to pregnancy, to the nuns becoming pregnant. At
this point we have seen Marlowe’s criticism is directly in terms of chastity.
Marlowe will also criticise the principle of poverty, the way in which the holy orders do not
follow the vow or principle of charity and poverty. He will criticise the friars in an implicit way,
showing how they do not follow the principles of charity and poverty. Marlowe presents the
friars in a very ambitious way in terms of money, they are very greedy. We find this in the
course of act IV, where Barabbas will think again in a way of protecting himself. He suspects
that the friars know the truth and he has to protect himself. He has to take revenge on the friars
and we will see how he places one friar against the other.
BARABBAS. She has confess'd, and we are both undone,
My bosom inmate! but I must dissemble.--
[Aside to ITHAMORE.]
O holy friars, the burden of my sins
Lie heavy on my soul! then, pray you, tell me,
Is't not too late now to turn Christian?
I have been zealous in the Jewish faith,
Hard-hearted to the poor, a covetous wretch,
That would for lucre's sake have sold my soul;
A hundred for a hundred I have ta'en;
And now for store of wealth may I compare
With all the Jews in Malta: but what is wealth?

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a64b0469ff35958ef4ab887a898bd50bdfbbe91a-4551269
 I am a Jew, and therefore am I lost.
Would penance serve [to atone] for this my sin,
I could afford to whip myself to death,--
Barabbas is lying. He will follow Abigail’s example, but in his case he does not want to become

No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
a Christian but just to protect himself. He will play with the anti-Semitic stereotype of Jews
obsessed with money. Barabbas will describe all his wealth so that the two friars feel very greedy
because they will want to get Barabbas’ wealth. We see how he proposes a lot of punishments
for being a Jew. There are different echoes in the course of the play, that is, the repetition of
images and ideas.
ITHAMORE. And so could I; but penance will not serve.

BARABBAS. To fast, to pray, and wear a shirt of hair,

And on my knees creep to Jerusalem.
Cellars of wine, and sollars full of wheat,
Warehouses stuff'd with spices and with drugs,

Reservados todos los derechos.

Whole chests of gold in bullion and in coin,
Besides, I know not how much weight in pearl
Orient and round, have I within my house;
At Alexandria merchandise untold;
But yesterday two ships went from this town,
Their voyage will be worth ten thousand crowns;
In Florence, Venice, Antwerp, London, Seville,
Frankfort, Lubeck, Moscow, and where not,
Have I debts owing; and, in most of these,
Great sums of money lying in the banco;
All this I'll give to some religious house,
So I may be baptiz'd, and live therein.
Barabbas’ business involves the whole Renaissance wealth. His power is everywhere to be
found in the Western world. With the use of “some” he creates the rivalry between the two
friars.
FRIAR JACOMO. O good Barabbas, come to our house!

FRIAR BARNARDINE. O, no, good Barabbas, come to our house!

And, Barabbas, you know—
BARABBAS. I know that I have highly sinn'd:
You shall convert me, you shall have all my wealth.
Now Barabbas is playing one friar against the other, creating a conflict between them because
both of them are greedy. They belong to different orders and both of them want Barabbas’
money because they do not obey the principle of poverty. We see the second dimension of
Marlowe’s criticism, a criticism to the holy orders not just in terms of chastity but also in terms
of poverty. We have physical violence on stage.

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 No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
There is a moment where Friar Barnardine will be strangled and the other friar will be
accused of murder and will be executed. Therefore, Barabbas gets free of both friars and of the
problem of being denounced. Barabbas is being successful as an overreacher for revenge. He is
managing to get rid of all his enemies. He got rid of the friars just in case they knew something
of what he had done with Lodowick and Don Mathias.
Barabbas is very successful, but we will see that the danger comes from the two other
dimensions, from the over plot, with the political problems, and the subplot, with the criminals.
• ACT IV, SCENE II

Reservados todos los derechos.

We find a speech by Ithamore in which we see how he will do anything to get Bellamira’s love.
The danger for Barabbas comes from below and from above.
ITHAMORE. I never knew a man take his death so patiently as
this friar; he was ready to leap off ere the halter was about
his neck; and, when the hangman had put on his hempen tippet,
he made such haste to his prayers, as if he had had another
cure to serve. Well, go whither he will, I'll be none of his
followers in haste: and, now I think on't, going to the
execution, a fellow met me with a muschatoes like a raven's
wing, and a dagger with a hilt like a warming-pan; and he gave
me a letter from one Madam Bellamira, saluting me in such sort
as if he had meant to make clean my boots with his lips; the
effect was, that I should come to her house: I wonder what the
reason is; it may be she sees more in me than I can find in
myself; for she writes further, that she loves me ever since she
saw me; and who would not requite such love? Here's her house;
and here she comes; and now would I were gone! I am not worthy
to look upon her.
He is describing the moment in which the execution of the friar was taking place. Ithamore is the
object of manipulation. Bellamira and Pilia Borza are using Ithamore as an object. We see how
Ithamore, who is a villain, at this point, is playing as a stupid man just for the love of a prostitute.
He will be ready to lose all that he has, just for the physical attraction for a prostitute like
Bellamira.
Ithamore’s role in the blackmailing process, will affect Barabbas. We will see know how the
subplot begins to be a thread for Barabbas due to Ithamore and how he behaves as a stupid. This
is the way in which Ithamore feels in the hands of Bellamira from the point of physical attraction,
and this will be used by her and Pilia Borza to try to get Barabbas’ wealth. The prostitute makes
him believe that he is different and that he is not just a client, but his lover.
• ACT IV, SCENE III
Barabbas is reading a letter by Ithamore in which he asks him for more and more money for
Bellamira and Pilia Borza. This is an echo of Act III, Scene IV, in which Barabbas is reading a
letter and he felt betrayed by Abigail.
Enter BARABBAS, reading a letter.

a64b0469ff35958ef4ab887a898bd50bdfbbe91a-4551269
 BARABBAS. BARABBAS, SEND ME THREE HUNDRED CROWNS;--
Plain Barabas! O, that wicked courtezan!
He was not wont to call me Barabbas;--

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OR ELSE I WILL CONFESS;--ay, there it goes:
But, if I get him, coupe de gorge for that.
He sent a shaggy, tatter'd, staring slave,
That, when he speaks, draws out his grisly beard,
And winds it twice or thrice about his ear;
Whose face has been a grind-stone for men's swords;
His hands are hack'd, some fingers cut quite off;
Who, when he speaks, grunts like a hog, and looks
Like one that is employ'd in catzery
And cross-biting; such a rogue
As is the husband to a hundred whores;
And I by him must send three hundred crowns.
Well, my hope is, he will not stay there still;

Reservados todos los derechos.

And, when he comes--O, that he were but here!
Barabbas wants to take revenge of Ithamore and he wants to kill him. He felt contempt for
Abigail and now he will feels contempt for Ithamore. He has a plan that involves again the use of
poison with a new element, which is the element of disguise. Barabbas will hide his identity, he
will pretend to be a French musician.
• ACT IV, SCENE IV
We will analyse the moment in which Barabbas makes use of the disguise and the poison.
ITHAMORE. Do nothing: but I know what I know; he's a murderer.

BELLAMIRA. I had not thought he had been so brave a man.

ITHAMORE. You knew Mathias and the governor's son; he and I

killed 'em both, and yet never touched 'em.

PILIA-BORZA. O, bravely done!

ITHAMORE. I carried the broth that poisoned the nuns; and he

and I, snicle hand too fast, strangled a friar.

BELLAMIRA. You two alone?

ITHAMORE.
We two; and 'twas never known, nor never shall be for me.

PILIA-BORZA. This shall with me unto the governor.

[Aside to BELLAMIRA.]

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 BELLAMIRA. And fit it should: but first let's ha' more gold.--
[Aside to PILIA-BORZA.]
Come, gentle Ithamore, lie in my lap.

No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
ITHAMORE. Love me little, love me long: let music rumble,
Whilst I in thy incony lap do tumble.

Enter BARABAS, disguised as a French musician, with a lute,

and a nosegay in his hat.
Ithamore wants to impress Bellamira and he tells everything Barabbas and him have done.
Barabbas is in danger because now the criminals have the information and their plan is to tell
everything to the governor. Meanwhile Ithamore does not notice anything and he is just thinking
about Bellamira and her body. At this point we have Ithamore that has confessed everything, so
both Barabbas and he will be in danger. Barabbas will try to save himself as always using poison.
This time the poison will be used against the criminals and Ithamore. In the same way he used
the poison with Abigail, his daughter, he will use now the poison with Ithamore, his adoptive son.

Reservados todos los derechos.

BELLAMIRA. How sweet, my Ithamore, the flowers smell!

ITHAMORE. Like thy breath, sweetheart; no violet like 'em.

PILIA-BORZA. Foh! methinks they stink like a hollyhock.

BARABAS. So, now I am reveng'd upon 'em all:

The scent thereof was death; I poison'd it. [Aside.]
ITHAMORE.
Play, fiddler, or I'll cut your cat's guts into chitterlings.

BARABAS. Pardonnez moi, be no in tune yet: so, now, now all be in.

ITHAMORE. Give him a crown, and fill me out more wine.

PILIA-BORZA. There's two crowns for thee: play.

[Giving money.]

BARABAS. How liberally the villain gives me mine own gold!

[Aside, and then plays.]

PILIA-BORZA. Methinks he fingers very well.

BARABAS. So did you when you stole my gold.

[Aside.]

PILIA-BORZA. How swift he runs!

BARABAS. You run swifter when you threw my gold out of my window.

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 [Aside.]

BELLAMIRA. Musician, hast been in Malta long?

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BARABAS. Two, three, four month, madam.

ITHAMORE. Dost not know a Jew, one Barabbas?

BARABBAS. Very mush: monsieur, you no be his man?

PILIA-BORZA. His man!

ITHAMORE. I scorn the peasant: tell him so.

BARABBAS. He knows it already.

[Aside.]

Reservados todos los derechos.

ITHAMORE. 'Tis a strange thing of that Jew, he lives upon
pickled grasshoppers and sauced mushrooms.

BARABBAS. What a slave's this! the governor feeds not as I do.

[Aside.]

ITHAMORE. He never put on clean shirt since he was circumcised.

BARABBAS. O rascal! I change myself twice a-day.

[Aside.]

ITHAMORE. The hat he wears, Judas left under the elder when he
hanged himself.

BARABBAS. 'Twas sent me for a present from the Great Cham.

[Aside.]

PILIA-BORZA. A nasty slave he is.--Whither now, fiddler?

BARABBAS. Pardonnez moi, monsieur; me be no well.

PILIA-BORZA. Farewell, fiddler [Exit BARABAS.] One letter more

to the Jew.

BELLAMIRA. Prithee, sweet love, one more, and write it sharp.

ITHAMORE. No, I'll send by word of mouth now.
--Bid him deliver thee a thousand crowns, by the same token
that the nuns loved rice, that Friar Barnardine slept in his
own clothes; any of 'em will do it.

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 No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
PILIA-BORZA. Let me alone to urge it, now I know the meaning.

ITHAMORE. The meaning has a meaning. Come, let's in:

To undo a Jew is charity, and not sin.
[Exeunt.]
At this point Ithamore is following Barabbas as an overreacher because he wants more and more,
there is no satisfaction for Ithamore and for the rest of the criminals.
Barabbas is now a victim of blackmailing, and as a victim, he will be asked for more and more

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money by the prostitutes. In this conversation, we see how Barabbas is again playing with the
asides. He has a sort of private conversation with the audience, in which he will tell the audience
information about himself because Ithamore is playing with the anti-Semitic stereotypes, and
Barabbas will be denying all the stereotypes one by one.
The first stereotype has to do with the food that the Jews have. Barabbas compares himself with
the governor when Ithamore says that Barabbas eats mushrooms and grasshoppers. The second
stereotype is the use of dirty clothes. Barabbas denies it again. This is another interesting
moment from the point of view of the anti-Semitic tradition because Barabbas will be denying all
the stereotypes mentioned. Barabbas is worried about the poison not working quick because the
criminals could denounce him.
• ACT V, SCENE I
The danger will come from the over plot because it will be too much for Barabbas as an
overreacher. There will be a moment in which Barabbas gets some political power, but this is
just an illusion. There will be also a moment in which he will be made governor of Malta. In this
Act V, we have the clash between the plot and the over plot, and this has very much to do with
the way in which he will place the whole Christian community against the Turks.
We see how Ithamore and the criminals have time to denounce Barabbas. Before the poison has
its effect, Ithamore and the criminals will denounce him.
Re-enter OFFICERS with BARABBAS and ITHAMORE.

BARABBAS. I'll go alone; dogs, do not hale me thus.

ITHAMORE. Nor me neither; I cannot out-run you, constable.--O, my belly!

BARABBAS. One dram of powder more had made all sure:

What a damn'd slave was I!
[Aside.]

FERNEZE. Make fires, heat irons, let the rack be fetch'd.

FIRST KNIGHT. Nay, stay, my lord; 't may be he will confess.

BARABBAS. Confess! what mean you, lords? who should confess?

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 FERNEZE. Thou and thy Turk; 'twas that slew my son.
ITHAMORE. Guilty, my lord, I confess. Your son and Mathias
were both contracted unto Abigail: [he] forged a counterfeit

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challenge.
This is a crucial point because Barabbas feels contempt for himself. He uses the word “slave”
and he refers to himself with it because he feels contempt for himself. Before, Barabbas felt
contempt for others, and at this point, he feels contempt for himself and this means a change in
the course of his career as an overreacher. Abigail was loyal to his father till the very end. Very
quickly, Ithamore, in contrast, denounces Barabbas. There is a strong contrast between Barabbas
two children, his daughter and his adoptive son. Abigail was the only honest character in the play,
whereas Ithamore very quickly accuses Barabbas.
BARABBAS. Who carried that challenge?

ITHAMORE. I carried it, I confess; but who writ it? marry, even he that

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strangled Barnardine, poisoned the nuns and his own daughter.
Barabbas’ poison has not been successful because Ithamore has had time for accusing him.
FERNEZE. Away with him! his sight is death to me.

BARABBAS. For what, you men of Malta? hear me speak.

She is a courtezan, and he a thief,
And he my bondman: let me have law;
For none of this can prejudice my life.

FERNEZE. Once more, away with him!--You shall have law.

BARABBAS. Devils, do your worst!--I['ll] live in spite of you.--

[Aside.]
As these have spoke, so be it to their souls!--
I hope the poison'd flowers will work anon.
[Aside.]

[Exeunt OFFICERS with BARABBAS and ITHAMORE; BELLAMIRA,

and PILIA-BORZA.]
Barabbas wants to save himself to the very end. He has an ability to recover in very difficult
situations. Barabbas has used some sort of poison with himself and he will pretend that he dies,
and very quickly we will see he will recover.
Re-enter OFFICERS, carrying BARABBAS as dead.

FERNEZE. Wonder not at it, sir; the heavens are just;

Their deaths were like their lives; then think not of 'em.--
Since they are dead, let them be buried:

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 For the Jew's body, throw that o'er the walls,
To be a prey for vultures and wild beasts.--
So, now away and fortify the town.
[Exeunt all, leaving BARABAS on the floor]

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Ferneze gives thanks to heaven that Barabbas is dead. It is typical of Ferneze to give thanks to
heaven when something happens. His message is that the Christians are not better than the Jews.
Barabbas is left on the floor and he rises.
BARABBAS. [rising] What, all alone! well fare, sleepy drink!
I'll be reveng'd on this accursed town;
For by my means Calymath shall enter in:
I'll help to slay their children and their wives,
To fire the churches, pull their houses down,
Take my goods too, and seize upon my lands.
I hope to see the governor a slave,
And, rowing in a galley, whipt to death.

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As soon as he wakes up he thinks about revenge. Calymath is the powerful Turk who wants to
take Malta. Barabbas’ plan will be to support the Turks. To the very end, Barabbas recovers very
quickly. Barabbas will get the political power. It is the last moment of strength before
Barabbas falls.
• ACT V, SCENE II
Barabbas has the political and economic power but he has this just for a very short period. As a
sort of reward for supporting them, the Turks will offer him the supremacy of Malta.
FERNEZE. O villain! heaven will be reveng'd on thee.

BARABBAS. Away! no more; let him not trouble me.

[Exeunt TURKS with FERNEZE and KNIGHTS.]
Thus hast thou gotten, by thy policy,
No simple place, no small authority:
I now am governor of Malta; true,--
But Malta hates me, and, in hating me,
My life's in danger; and what boots it thee,
Poor Barabbas, to be the governor,
Whenas thy life shall be at their command?
No, Barabbas, this must be look'd into;
And, since by wrong thou gott'st authority,
Maintain it bravely by firm policy;
At least, unprofitably lose it not;
For he that liveth in authority,
And neither gets him friends nor fills his bags,
Lives like the ass that Aesop speaketh of,
That labours with a load of bread and wine,
And leaves it off to snap on thistle-tops:
But Barabbas will be more circumspect.

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 Begin betimes; Occasion's bald behind:
Slip not thine opportunity, for fear too late
Thou seek'st for much, but canst not compass it.--
Within here!

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Ferneze is the representative of the Christian community in the play. Ferneze appeals to Heaven
and we have to notice Barabbas reaction. Previously, it was Ferneze the one who had power over
Barabbas but now Barabbas has power over everyone because he has the economic and political
power.
Barabbas is now alone on stage. This is another soliloquy. But, Barabbas knows that his political
and economic power is not permanent, that is why he uses the adverb “now”. He knows that he is
in a very dangerous position because he is the community. He has the power in a community that
hates him: the Christians. That is why he is conscious of how the political power will last for a
very short period of time because he is the “other”, he is different.
Barabbas feels pity for himself, and he describes himself as “poor Barabbas”. He is not satisfied

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with the political power because he knows that it is a dangerous position. We know that
Barabbas is always taking care of himself, but at this moment he feels pity for himself because
he knows that his life is in danger. Again, he has some sort of plan. He knows that he has to save
himself using policy. The policy will be to put the Christians against the Turks, so he will try to
confront the two communities. The idea of talking about the Aesop fable, is that he must take
advantage of the situation. What he must do is make the most of the fact that he is the governor
and protect himself. The aim of his policy is taking advantage of his situation. But Barabbas will
be more careful. Barabbas is constantly plotting and thinking about new plans. This time the plan
will be too much, plotting the Turks against the Christians. Now Ferneze comes into stage.
Enter FERNEZE, with a GUARD.

FERNEZE. My lord?

BARABAS. Ay, LORD; thus slaves will learn.

Now, governor,--stand by there, wait within,--
[Exeunt GUARD.]
This is the reason that I sent for thee:
Thou seest thy life and Malta's happiness
Are at my arbitrement; and Barabas
At his discretion may dispose of both:
Now tell me, governor, and plainly too,
What think'st thou shall become of it and thee?

FERNEZE. This, Barabas; since things are in thy power,

I see no reason but of Malta's wreck,
Nor hope of thee but extreme cruelty:
Nor fear I death, nor will I flatter thee.
Ferneze even if he called Barabbas lord, he does not submit himself to him.

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 No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
BARABAS. Governor, good words; be not so furious
'Tis not thy life which can avail me aught;
Yet you do live, and live for me you shall:
And as for Malta's ruin, think you not
'Twere slender policy for Barabas
To dispossess himself of such a place?
For sith, as once you said, within this isle,
In Malta here, that I have got my goods,
And in this city still have had success,
And now at length am grown your governor,

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Yourselves shall see it shall not be forgot;
For, as a friend not known but in distress,
I'll rear up Malta, now remediless.
Barabbas is telling Ferneze what he intends to do. He has no interest at this point in Malta,
because now he has the power over Malta, so he does not intend to destroy it.
FERNEZE. Will Barabbas recover Malta's loss?
Will Barabbas be good to Christians?

BARABAS. What wilt thou give me, governor, to procure

A dissolution of the slavish bands
Wherein the Turk hath yok'd your land and you?
What will you give me if I render you
The life of Calymath, surprise his men,
And in an out-house of the city shut
His soldiers, till I have consum'd 'em all with fire?
What will you give him that procureth this?
Barabbas is offering a kind of pact. He wants something in exchange for his plan. This is a sort
of business or transaction. He is sharing his policy with Ferneze and he is asking for something
in exchange. To the very end, Barabbas is acting as a business man. This policy, in Scene VI,
will be generalised and we will have another example of the anti-Semitic message in the play
because Barabbas will justify his policy explaining that this is something that Jews always do.
Ferneze will lie to Barabbas and he will play against him. Ferneze who seems to be helping
Barabbas in his plan, very soon he will betray him to the Turks.
BARABAS. Do so; but fail not: now farewell, Ferneze:--
[Exit FERNEZE.]
And thus far roundly goes the business:
Thus, loving neither, will I live with both,
Making a profit of my policy;
And he from whom my most advantage comes,
Shall be my friend.
This is the life we Jews are us'd to lead;
And reason too, for Christians do the like.
Well, now about effecting this device;

a64b0469ff35958ef4ab887a898bd50bdfbbe91a-4551269
 First, to surprise great Selim's soldiers,
And then to make provision for the feast,
That at one instant all things may be done:
My policy detests prevention.

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To what event my secret purpose drives,
I know; and they shall witness with their lives.
[Exeunt.]
This is another soliloquy. Barabbas is using the economical vocabulary to the very end. Now,
Barabbas will manipulate the Turks and the Christians, so that way he will protect himself. This
policy is described as “business” because we have to remember that he is a kind of merchant
during the play. Barabbas is interested in himself, whoever helps him shall be his friend.
Barabbas justifies his policy with the anti-Semitic message that says that that is what Jews are
used to do.
We find the criticism of Marlowe that says that Christians do the same, they use people for their
own interest. Barabbas will attack the Turkish soldiers and he will arrange a sort of feast and

Reservados todos los derechos.

then kill the Calymath. He wants to prepare everything very quickly. It seems that even at this
point Barabbas is in control of everything, and it is due to the fact that Ferneze betrays him, that
Barabbas fails.
• ACT V, SCENE V
We will see the moment of Barabbas death.
BARABAS. Welcome, great Calymath!
FERNEZE. How the slave jeers at him!
[Aside.]
BARABAS. Will't please thee, mighty Selim Calymath,
To ascend our homely stairs?
CALYMATH. Ay, Barabas.--
Come, bassoes, ascend.

Ferneze is using Barabbas’ word, the word “slave”. Ferneze is a sort of Barabbas, they are equals,
the Christians and the villain are very similar to the point that Ferneze himself uses the same
word for contempt that has been used by Barabbas throughout the play. Now we will see the
moment of Ferneze’s betrayal. Till this moment it seems that Barabbas will be successful, but
once Ferneze betrays him, Barabbas will fall down immediately.
FERNEZE. [coming forward] Stay, Calymath;
For I will shew thee greater courtesy
Than Barabas would have afforded thee.
KNIGHT. [within] Sound a charge there!
[A charge sounded within: FERNEZE cuts the cord; the floor
of the gallery gives way, and BARABAS falls into a caldron
placed in a pit.

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 From the point of view of emotions, there are no emotions. This is another moment of Marlovian
coldness.
Enter KNIGHTS and MARTIN DEL BOSCO.

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CALYMATH. How now! what means this?
BARABAS. Help, help me, Christians, help!
FERNEZE. See, Calymath! this was devis'd for thee.
CALYMATH. Treason, treason! bassoes, fly!
FERNEZE. No, Selim, do not fly:
See his end first, and fly then if thou canst.
BARABAS. O, help me, Selim! help me, Christians!
Governor, why stand you all so pitiless?
Nobody does nothing for Barabbas. He asks for help to the Christians and Turks but nobody does
nothing.
FERNEZE. Should I in pity of thy plaints or thee,

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Accursed Barabas, base Jew, relent?
No, thus I'll see thy treachery repaid,
But wish thou hadst behav'd thee otherwise.
Until the very end we see Ferneze’s hatred for Barabbas for being a Jew.
BARABAS. You will not help me, then?
FERNEZE. No, villain, no.
There is no possibility for Barabbas to change.
BARABAS. And, villains, know you cannot help me now.--
Then, Barabas, breathe forth thy latest fate,
And in the fury of thy torments strive
To end thy life with resolution.--
Know, governor, 'twas I that slew thy son,--
I fram'd the challenge that did make them meet:
Know, Calymath, I aim'd thy overthrow:
And, had I but escap'd this stratagem,
I would have brought confusion on you all,
Damn'd Christias dogs, and Turkish infidels!
But now begins the extremity of heat
To pinch me with intolerable pangs:
Die, life! fly, soul! tongue, curse thy fill, and die!
[Dies.]
This is Barabbas’ farewell, the moment in which he will confess all his crimes before dying. To
the very end he feels contempt for the Christians and the Turks. The caldron was the typical
instrument for the poisoners. Barabbas dies as a poisoner. The tragedy ends with the death of the
protagonist and hero. The very last words are given to Ferneze.

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a64b0469ff35958ef4ab887a898bd50bdfbbe91a-4551269
 FERNEZE. A Jew's courtesy;
For he that did by treason work our fall,
By treason hath deliver'd thee to us:
Know, therefore, till thy father hath made good

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The ruins done to Malta and to us,
Thou canst not part; for Malta shall be freed,
Or Selim ne'er return to Ottoman.
In this conversation with Calymath, Ferneze is recovering his political power. Ferneze again is in
control of Malta’s political life, and he will be using Calymath as an instrument. He will be made
a prisoner and until Malta is made free, Calymath will remain a prisoner. He is an instrument in
the hands of Ferneze, in the same way Barabbas used other people as instruments.
CALYMATH. Nay, rather, Christians, let me go to Turkey,
In person there to mediate your peace:
To keep me here will naught advantage you.
FERNEZE. Content thee, Calymath, here thou must stay,

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And live in Malta prisoner; for come all the world
To rescue thee, so will we guard us now,
As sooner shall they drink the ocean dry,
Than conquer Malta, or endanger us.
So, march away; and let due praise be given
Neither to Fate nor Fortune, but to Heaven.
[Exeunt.]
It seems that Calymath will be kept prisoner because Ferneze’s intention is releasing Malta, but
suddenly there is a change. Ferneze changes his mind and instead he will give freedom for
Calymath so that he can give a message. Initially, his plan is keeping Calymath as an instrument.
But in the very last lines, he introduces a change. It is Heaven the one that is responsible for all
that has happened in the play. This is very ironic because what we have seen in the play is that
Christians do not behave properly. They do not follow the supposedly Christians’ principles.
Marlowe’s message is that the Christians are similar to the villain in the play. The villain who is
Barabbas is a very manipulative and obsessed character from the point of view of money and
revenge, but the Christians are the same.

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