Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 282 views

    Christopher Marlowe Tamburlaine

    Uploaded by

    dfdf
    Christopher Marlowe's play Tamburlaine the Great consists of two parts that were published in 1587-1588. It depicts the rise of Tamburlaine, a Scythian shepherd, who through military prowess and cunning rises to become a powerful conqueror. In Part 1, Tamburlaine defeats the kings of Persia and Egypt through a series of brutal battles. Part 2 shows Tamburlaine's decline as his victories are achieved by others and his beloved wife dies, culminating in his own death, demonstrating the tragic fall of the once mighty hero. Though brutal in his conquests, Tamburlaine is also portrayed as sensitive, admiring beauty and saddened by his wife's death. The play was

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Christopher Marlowe Tamburlaine

    Uploaded by

    dfdf
    282 views3 pages
    Christopher Marlowe's play Tamburlaine the Great consists of two parts that were published in 1587-1588. It depicts the rise of Tamburlaine, a Scythian shepherd, who through military prowess and cunning rises to become a powerful conqueror. In Part 1, Tamburlaine defeats the kings of Persia and Egypt through a series of brutal battles. Part 2 shows Tamburlaine's decline as his victories are achieved by others and his beloved wife dies, culminating in his own death, demonstrating the tragic fall of the once mighty hero. Though brutal in his conquests, Tamburlaine is also portrayed as sensitive, admiring beauty and saddened by his wife's death. The play was

    Original Description:

    sdsd

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Christopher Marlowe's play Tamburlaine the Great consists of two parts that were published in 1587-1588. It depicts the rise of Tamburlaine, a Scythian shepherd, who through military prowess and cunning rises to become a powerful conqueror. In Part 1, Tamburlaine defeats the kings of Persia and Egypt through a series of brutal battles. Part 2 shows Tamburlaine's decline as his victories are achieved by others and his beloved wife dies, culminating in his own death, demonstrating the tragic fall of the once mighty hero. Though brutal in his conquests, Tamburlaine is also portrayed as sensitive, admiring beauty and saddened by his wife's death. The play was

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    282 views3 pages

    Christopher Marlowe Tamburlaine

    Uploaded by

    dfdf
    Christopher Marlowe's play Tamburlaine the Great consists of two parts that were published in 1587-1588. It depicts the rise of Tamburlaine, a Scythian shepherd, who through military prowess and cunning rises to become a powerful conqueror. In Part 1, Tamburlaine defeats the kings of Persia and Egypt through a series of brutal battles. Part 2 shows Tamburlaine's decline as his victories are achieved by others and his beloved wife dies, culminating in his own death, demonstrating the tragic fall of the once mighty hero. Though brutal in his conquests, Tamburlaine is also portrayed as sensitive, admiring beauty and saddened by his wife's death. The play was

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    You are on page 1of 3

    LITERATURE SURVEY 1 SS 2016 METTINGER SHARTMANN

    Christopher Marlowe
    Tamburlaine the Great

    Two Plays/Parts with 5 acts each with each part having a prologue
    1587-88 (year of Elizabeths victory over Spanish Armada)
    performed at the Rose theatre
    Second part released later due to popularity and demand

    Structure:
    - Prologue (of the first part):
    it informs us about Tamburlaine, his victories but also his racial origin - namely a
    Sythian shepherd, so typically Marlowian = modest hero, not royal descent.
    BUT surprisingly Tamburlaine personifies military and extraordinary linguistic
    excellence.
    We as audience are invited to view his picture in this tragic glass (theatre stage) and
    then applaud his fortunes of his victories. The whole play functions as a mirror. We
    follow him along his path from very humble origins.
    After the prologue 5 clearly marked stages (in part 1)
    -

    Act 1: Content:
    Mycetes, King of Persia sends Theridamas to kill Tamburlaine. Cosroe, the Kings
    brother, wants to be king. Tamburlaine captures the Egyptian princess Zenocrate,
    falls in love with her. Theridamas has an army twice as large as Tamburlaines but
    he joins him and so does Cosroe, who hopes to overthrow his brother.
    Tamburlaine comes in when Mycetes tries to hide his crown, but instead of taking
    it at this moment, Tamburlaine waits until Mycetes is really defeated which does
    happen. Later Tamburlaine also overthrows Crosroe.
    Contrast: Tamburlaines greatness in comparison to Persian Kings. Like
    Tamburlaine, Marlowe was very ambitious coming from simple background.

    Act 3:
    Tamburlaine conquers Turkey, whos king is Bazajeth

    Act 4:
    After defeating Bazajeth and capturing him, Zenocrates father (who is the sultan
    of Egypt remember) vows to stop Tamburlaine with the help of the Arabian King.

    Act 5:
    Tamburlaine conquers Damascus where he condemns the virgins to death (who
    were send to deceive him).

    Critic: Marlowes structure in this play is not weak but also not really sophisticated. Each act
    is a step in his conquest, each step is a victory. Not properly balanced! But then again, this is
    exactly how Marlowe is seen he doesnt care for traditional conventions.

    Part 1 shows Tamburlaines rise to power by bloodshed, brutality, ambition and


    manipulation, reaches the summit of his success.

    LITERATURE SURVEY 1 SS 2016 METTINGER SHARTMANN


    Interestingly, Marlowe introduces the hero Tamburlaine not right at the beginning, but delayed
    entrance (which is later also adapted by Shakespeare) which creates suspense!
    Setting:
    Abroad, more than one country. Exotic places. (Shakespeare does this as well)
    Parallel: Reminder of the voyages of discovery, all the explorations of the visits to the New
    World. Another example of a mirror in this play: in real life, people from the west were
    travelling to the east in order to cultivate/enlighten them. In this play, however, Tamburlaine
    comes from the east and travels west. reversing the direction suddenly makes Europe
    strange. Wherever Tamburlaine goes he is racially different which is a continuous theme in
    the play.
    Parallel: Historical figures
    Tamburlaine is associated with Caesar and Aeneas (founder of Rome).
    Tamburlaines roles:
    Public: From shepherd King Death
    Private: Bachelor Husband Widower
    Critics have read the play in comparison to the British expansion of territory. Situated the
    play very much to the travel reports (Raleigh for instance). Some critics also see it as an
    Armada play due to the year of publication. Marlowe makes frequent use of geographical
    references/maps.
    Greenblatts analysis briefly:
    New historicist analysis: uses this co-text:
    The fourth of November we went on shore to a town of the Negroes, which we found to be but lately
    built: it was of about two hundred houses, and walled about with mighty great trees, and stakes so thick,
    that a rat could hardly get in or out. But as it chanced, we came directly upon a port which was not shut
    up, where we entered with such fierceness, that the people fled all out of the town, which we found to
    be finely built after their fashion, and the streets of it so intricate that it was difficult for us to find the way
    out that we came in at. We found their houses and streets so finely and cleanly kept that it was an
    admiration to us all, for that neither in the houses nor streets was so much dust to be found as would fill
    an egg shell. We found little in their houses, except some mats, gourds, and some earthen pots. Our
    men at their departure set the town on fire, and it was burnt (for the most part of it) in a quarter of an
    hour, the houses being covered with reed and straw.
    (M. John Sarracoll in Richard Hakluyt, ed. The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques & Discoveries
    of the English Nations, qtd. in Stephen Greenblatt, Renaissance Self-Fashioning, 193)

    English merchants report of the burning of a negroes town, authentic expedition that
    really took place.
    Negroes portrayed as strange/unfamiliar
    Unexplained (unbegrndet) fierceness/brutality, burning of the town, cruelty
    NO REASON for the burning- it is completely neglected not mentioned at all! which is
    similar to what Tamburlaine does.
    Greenblatt argues that there are distinct parallels between real voyages and the fictional
    expansion of Tamburlaines conquest.
    Tamburlaine does not show mercy or gives a reason for his violence
    Rejects any other form of authority (doesnt care whether a King or a Sultan), he thinks
    that he is God himself.

    LITERATURE SURVEY 1 SS 2016 METTINGER SHARTMANN


    Rejects traditional geographical authority, in the sense that he even invents new places
    that he can conquer.
    BUT, Tamburlaine also shows a sensitive side when he talks about his wifes beauty. He
    admires beauty. How is this compatible? Torn between those two sides.
    he resembles the typical success of the individual that the Renaissance focuses so much
    on. Becomes the master of the world.

    Part 2
    The most striking difference:
    In the first part there is victory after victory/ second part nearly everything falling apart!

    Each of the scenes are a variation of the scenes in Part 1 BUT we begin to feel the
    decline of Tamburlaine!
    This decline is announced in the prologue:
    o Death cuts off the progress of his we know already that he will die BUT
    we dont know how. (Similarity to Romeo & Juliets prologue?)

    In Part 2, there is a strong static element


    we rather LISTEN to reports, whereas in Part 1 they were staged. We dont really
    know WHERE Tamburlaine even is because so much is only reported.
    Feeling of tiredness within the hero, lose of control.

    Victories are still won BUT this time by OTHERS, not so much by Tamburlaine.
    Things begin to go wrong his beloved wifes death / information that one of his sons
    is not like him, etc.
    Critics: Structurally speaking Part 2 is a tragedy (in the conservative sense) fall of
    the hero (after the initial rise) and ultimately the hero dies.

    Marlowe: was primarily interested in the theme of HEROIC WILL.


    Simple ordinary man, like Marlowe himself, becomes the master of the world simply
    by force of character.

    Again, like in Part 1, we can observe two sides of Tamburlaine:


    1) Sensitive: he is really saddened by the death of his wife
    2) Brutal: Burns the whole freaking town and even kills his sons who has no interest
    in war/ burns the Quran, etc.

    Image of sun/fire:
    - destruction, similar to Tamburlaines character portrayed as the sun active
    Image of moon:
    - portrayed by his wife passive
    Together they represent the principles of life
    Tamburlaines parents are not really mentioned, which is striking because in the
    Elizabethan era it seems that family and heritage is really important again we can
    see that Marlowe regularly breaks with the conventions of his time (pioneer)

    You might also like