Christopher Marlowe - a possible spy with a reputation for atheism who was murdered in mysterious circumstances - courted danger throughout his life. A sense of the dark forces operating in social and political relationships underlies his work. In Dr. Faustus, a man of great intellect and even greater ambition craves knowledge, and is prepared to sell his soul to the Devil to achieve it. Tamburlaine attempts to satisfy his desire for greatness through his domination over an ever-growing empire, while Edward II upsets the delicate balance of power in the land and plants the seed of his own murder. All the plays here show Marlowe's fascination with the tension between weak and strong, sacred and profane.