General note for Marlowe's dramatic style and concerns

        So you're Christopher Marlowe and you want to write a play about a magician who makes a pact with the Devil to gain power.  What is the "Devil" like?  Unless you've met the Dude, he's like Beowulf's "Grendel" or Everyman's "Death."  The inventions of "Lucifer" and "Mephistophilis" were some of the playwright's most wonderful creations.  Hmm...so Marlowe "created Lucifer"?  Sounds rather like...yes, such is the culture-making power of poets.  See Sidney's "Defense of Poesy."