Family:

Christopher Marlowe's father was a shoemaker in Canterbury.

Education:

In his hometown, Marlowe attended The King's School. He furthered his education by attending Corpus Christi College at Cambridge University on scholarship and got his Bachelor of Arts degree. He would receive a Master of Arts degree three years later.

Works:

Marlowe was a popular playwright during Shakespeare's time. He wrote a total of seven plays: Dido, Queen of Carthage, Tamburlaine the Great, Tamburlaine the Great, Part II, The Jew of Malta, Edward the Second, The Massacre at Paris, and Doctor Faustus. Marlowe also wrote a poem called "Hero and Leander", and popular lyric called "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love."

Possible Influence on "Shakespeare":

Many people who support Marlowe as an alternative to Shakespeare comment on the similarities between the two playwright's styles of writing. They speculate that either Marlowe wrote the plays attributed to Shakespeare or that Shakespeare tried to copy Marlowe's style. This would not have been uncommon at the time because Marlowe was a very popular playwright, and many playwrights emulated other's styles and borrowed ideas from other's works.