“Till heaven dissolvèd be”. Atheism and Apocalypse in Marlowe’s "Tamburlaine the Great"

In order fully to grasp the meaning of Marlowe’s drama, it has always been necessary to address the issue of Marlowe’s religious unorthodoxy. By analysing the attacks he received from his colleagues and the content of the Baines Note in depth, scholars have delved into Marlowe’s notorious atheism, often reaching opposing conclusions, which advocated either for the playwright’s orthodoxy or for his anti-religiosity. By building upon these studies, this chapter will underscore the alternative that Marlowe seems to propose to the warmonger religion of the Christians, which he skilfully hid behind the astounding and outrageous story staged in the two parts of Tamburlaine the Great, the plays which first made him loved (by the audiences) and hated (by his envious colleagues).