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The Jew Of Malta Essay

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The Jew of Malta is a rich with religious themes. From the biblical references in the naming of the characters, to the conflict of the play being entirely religiously motivated. The Jew of Malta reads like a religious history book; Catholics against Jews, Muslims against Catholics, and Jews against pretty much everyone. And although something feels off about reading that many anti-Semitic stereotypes in one place, the work makes sure to criticize every group present in its pages, including the Christians. Protestants are completely absent from this narrative so it could be argued that Marlowe was going for a pro-protestant message by pointing out the hypocrisy and corruption present in the other three major Abrahamic religions of Europe. This …show more content…

Critic Sara M. Deets analyzed the relevance of The Jew of Malta’s rampant biblical references, pointing out that Barabas serves as a mockery of many major characters from Job to the Antichrist. Deets explains, “On Marlowe's great stage of fools and knaves, the protean Jew plays many parts, becoming alternately a mock-Christ, a mock-Job, a mock-Abraham, and a mock-Isaac” (Deets 28). Yet Barabas is very far from a biblical success story, so this observation only strengthens the argument that Marlowe is seeking to reject religion for its short comings and promote a more enlightened world view. Deets further explains Barabas’ function as a Biblical parody, “Barabas continues his mock imitation of Christ: he is betrayed by his supposed heir and leading disciple Ithamore; he is apprehended and condemned to death by the establishment; he undergoes a sham death and a bogus resurrection—like everything in Barabas' life, a purely physical rather than a spiritual ordeal” (Deets 31). This profound parallel with biblical Christ is what leads to the conclusion that The Jew of Malta serves more as a criticism of religion in general than anything else. The members of the religion are being criticized, but the ideology itself is also being

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