Tamburlaine the Great: Analysis of Setting
"Tamburlaine the Great" is a play by Christopher Marlowe that explores the life and conquests of the historical figure Timur, known for his military campaigns across Asia in the late 14th century. The setting is crucial to understanding the themes and character dynamics within the play. Marlowe situates much of the narrative within the royal courts of various kingdoms, including Persia, Arabia, Jerusalem, Hungary, and Babylon. These courts serve as hubs of political intrigue, where characters engage in plotting and power struggles, showcasing the intricacies of ambition and betrayal.
Additionally, Tamburlaine is depicted in his military camps, which are significant for illustrating his dual identity as both a fearless conqueror and a merciless tyrant. Within these camps, the play delves into the personal dimensions of Tamburlaine's character, particularly through his relationship with Zenocrate, the Egyptian princess, who exerts a moderating influence on his brutality. However, her death catalyzes a shift in Tamburlaine, unleashing his darker impulses and leading to acts of extreme violence, including the murder of his own son. Overall, the settings in "Tamburlaine the Great" provide a rich backdrop for examining the interplay between personal ambition and the broader sociopolitical landscape of Asia during this tumultuous period.
Tamburlaine the Great: Analysis of Setting
First published: 1590
First produced: part 1, c. 1587; part 2, 1587
Type of work: Drama
Type of plot: Tragedy
Time of work: Fourteenth century
Asterisk denotes entries on real places.
Places Discussed
*Asia
*Asia. Largest continent on Earth, stretching from the Black Sea in the west to the China Sea in the east, and from the Arctic Circle in the north to the Indian Ocean in the south. Tamburlaine the Great dramatizes the rise and fall of the historical conqueror Timur, who reclaimed much of Asia from the Mongols in the late fourteenth century. The location of some of the world’s most powerful dynasties, Asia represents the ultimate achievement for Tamburlaine, who is driven to conquer the world.
Royal courts
Royal courts Marlowe sets most of the action in Tamburlaine the Great in the imperial court of Persia, and in the courts of the king of Arabia, the king of Jerusalem, the governor of Damascus, the king of Hungary, and the governor of Babylon, among others. The courts are the scenes of political duplicity, at which characters boast about their strength and plot the overthrow of their enemies. They are also places where the specter of Tamburlaine continually gains substance, as his military conquests bring him closer to controlling all of Asia. Throughout the play, Marlowe uses court settings to reveal the human and political dimensions of his characters. He does not stage the many battle scenes in the play. Rather, he emphasizes the forces that shape his character’s decisions and the consequences of those decisions.
Tamburlaine’s camps
Tamburlaine’s camps. As he moves through Asia, conquering Persia, Damascus, Turkey, and North Africa, Tamburlaine is generally depicted throughout the play in his camps near the sites of his many military victories. Marlowe portrays Tamburlaine’s valor as a soldier and his vicious cruelty as a tyrant, not on battlefields, but rather in the personal settings of his military camps. There, Tamburlaine gives way to the mitigating influence of Zenocrate, the daughter of the Soldan of Egypt, with whom he is in love.
In the second part of Marlowe’s play, the death of Zenocrate removes the last restraints on Tamburlaine’s lust for blood and power. He then demonstrates his brutality by humiliating and murdering his enemies, who include his own son Calyphas, whom he kills. As with the imperial courts of the kings of Asia, Tamburlaine’s camp provides an intimate portrait of the forces that contribute to his rise and fall as the king of Persia.
Bibliography
Battenhouse, Roy W. Marlowe’s Tamburlaine: A Study in Renaissance Moral Philosophy. 1941. Reprint. Nashville, Tenn.: Vanderbilt University Press, 1964. Battenhouse contends that the play upholds traditional morality and the Christian worldview.
Friedenreich, Kenneth. Christopher Marlowe: An Annotated Bibliography of Criticism Since 1950. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1979. Eighty-three annotated citations to Tamburlaine point the reader to interpretive articles and books.
Knoll, Robert E. “Caesarism.” In Christopher Marlowe. New York: Twayne, 1969. A good starting place for the general reader. Knoll considers the hero appealing in his diabolic aspirations.
Kocher, Paul H. Christopher Marlowe: A Study of His Thought, Learning, and Character. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1946. Argues that Marlowe’s view in Tamburlaine the Great is highly iconoclastic and unconventional.
Levin, Harry. “The Progress of Pomp.” In The Overreacher: A Study of Christopher Marlowe. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1952. One of the most influential books on Marlowe. Presents the Marlovian hero as a rebel and explores the use of language and irony in Tamburlaine the Great.
Ribner, Irving, ed. Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine Part One and Part Two: Text and Major Criticism. New York: Odyssey Press, 1974. The most comprehensive book on the plays. Features an authoritative text edited and glossed by Ribner. Also reprints eleven influential essays (one from Ellis-Fermor’s milestone 1927 book on Marlowe), and concludes with a useful bibliography. The final essay by Kenneth Friedenreich surveys the critical history of the plays.