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Tamburlaine The Great; Parts I And Ii
Timur Khan--to give Tamburlaine his original name--was long perceived in the west as a ruthless conqueror. Christopher Marlowe's play, TAMBURLAINE THE GREAT, achieved great success on the Elizabethan stage. However, four centuries later, we have seen the vindication of the great Khan--who is revered as a heroic figure in the newly liberated from the USSR state of Uzbekista...more
Hardcover
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by Hill & Wang
(first published 1590)
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From BBC Radio 3:
Christopher Marlowe's 16th century play about the growth to power of a Scythian shepherd.
Christopher Marlowe's 16th century play about the growth to power of a Scythian shepherd.
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I just love this play. Like 'Doctor Faustus', Tamburlaine is essentially a 'one-man play'. However, while it lacks the subtle characterization that made Shakespeare so great, Tamb. is an exceptional 'de Casibus' Tragedy that will delight all those who give 'Marlowe's Mighty Line' the attention it deserves.
Let there be no mistake about it, Tamb. is pride personified. The scourge of the gods and the terror of the world, as he terms himself, abides by a strict code of war ethics and lets nothing s...more
Let there be no mistake about it, Tamb. is pride personified. The scourge of the gods and the terror of the world, as he terms himself, abides by a strict code of war ethics and lets nothing s...more
Nature, that fram'd us of four elements
Warring within our breasts for regiment,
Doth teach us all to have aspiring minds:
Our souls, whose faculties can comprehend
The wondrous architecture of the world,
And measure every wandering planet's course,
Still climbing after knowledge infinite,
And always moving as the restless spheres,
Will us to wear ourselves, and never rest, Act II Sc 5
Tamburlaine, a commoner, starts out by winning skirmishes against the King of Persia, then goes on to greater and greate...more
Warring within our breasts for regiment,
Doth teach us all to have aspiring minds:
Our souls, whose faculties can comprehend
The wondrous architecture of the world,
And measure every wandering planet's course,
Still climbing after knowledge infinite,
And always moving as the restless spheres,
Will us to wear ourselves, and never rest, Act II Sc 5
Tamburlaine, a commoner, starts out by winning skirmishes against the King of Persia, then goes on to greater and greate...more
Nov 03, 2012
Mădă
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
the-myth-of-faust,
english-theatre
What can describe this book if not the infinite wars, murders and the protagonist's cruelty?
From the first act, the figure of Tamerlan is not a good one, although he's a shepard's son, he becomes the most feared man in Europe, Asia and Africa.
Given his cruelty, I couldn't believe he was serious about Zenocrate and I was pleasantly surprise to see that he actually cared for her and would even give his life for her. How can such a man love and hate at such intensities? From my point of view, Marl...more
From the first act, the figure of Tamerlan is not a good one, although he's a shepard's son, he becomes the most feared man in Europe, Asia and Africa.
Given his cruelty, I couldn't believe he was serious about Zenocrate and I was pleasantly surprise to see that he actually cared for her and would even give his life for her. How can such a man love and hate at such intensities? From my point of view, Marl...more
Duration: 2 hours
blurb - A new production of Christopher Marlowe's 16th century play about the growth to tyrannical power of a Scythian shepherd. Tamburlaine is a classic drama said to have changed the course of British drama and to have influenced the young Shakespeare. This is the first in a series of three plays from Radio 3 which portray the ruthlessness and dilemmas of absolute rule.
Cast:
Tamburlaine ..... Con O'Neill
Mycetes, King of Persia ..... Oliver Ford Davis
Cosroe ..... Kenneth Cranham...more
A forensic facial reconstruction of Timur by M. Gerasimov (1941).
2 likes · like · see review
Tamburlaine inspired two very different works of art: These plays and Tamerlan, the poem by Allan Poe. In both, the bloody shepherd-turned-emperor is humanised by his grief for a beloved's death (in Poe's poem, a shepherdess he grew up with, Ada; in this play, Zenocrate, an Egyptian princess he held captive)
Tamburlaine resonates and echoes all over Shakespeare; parodied in Henry IV, imitated in Henry VI, mirrored (badly in my opinion)in Titus Andronicus, that grand guignol of a play. It could be...more
Tamburlaine resonates and echoes all over Shakespeare; parodied in Henry IV, imitated in Henry VI, mirrored (badly in my opinion)in Titus Andronicus, that grand guignol of a play. It could be...more
"The god of war resigns his room to me,
Meaning to make me general of the world."
- Tamburlaine (Part One, Act 5, scene 1)
Tamburlaine, Tamburlaine, Tamburlaine...
It's not hard to see why "Tamburlaine the Great" caused such a stir on its initial performance in the late 16th century. The powerful poetry, the seemingly endless array of battles, the inventive methods of torture and death, the sudden explosions of bilious insults... "Tamburlaine" is an important step in the development of drama, true....more
Meaning to make me general of the world."
- Tamburlaine (Part One, Act 5, scene 1)
Tamburlaine, Tamburlaine, Tamburlaine...
It's not hard to see why "Tamburlaine the Great" caused such a stir on its initial performance in the late 16th century. The powerful poetry, the seemingly endless array of battles, the inventive methods of torture and death, the sudden explosions of bilious insults... "Tamburlaine" is an important step in the development of drama, true....more
This strikes me as curiously indulgent popular theater. An awful, bombastic hero who meets no just end. Presented by Marlowe with an admirable subtlety. The sympathies we feel for Tamburlaine can be compared to those we feel for Richard III.
This laid the groundwork for dramatic blank verse. I enjoyed the technique of having Zenocrate & Zabina (queens of opposing sides) bickering on stage to mark a battle's passage of time. Bajazeth's and Zabina's suicides surprised me. Zabina's mad reeling f...more
This laid the groundwork for dramatic blank verse. I enjoyed the technique of having Zenocrate & Zabina (queens of opposing sides) bickering on stage to mark a battle's passage of time. Bajazeth's and Zabina's suicides surprised me. Zabina's mad reeling f...more
Marlowe, if there is an afterlife, and we both wind up in the same place, I'm going to put the hurt on you for having written this. Because I had to read it FOUR HUNDRED YEARS LATER.
Do not even consider using this cheap edition of Marlowe’s great play. Marlowe experts do not need it, and Marlowe students need far more in the way of an introduction, glosses, textual apparatus, and other notes. It has the “mighty line”s, but it lacks everything that helps people understand Marlowe 400 years after he wrote. Use the Revels or New Mermaid instead. This edition is fine if you already understand Marlowe and need something for an airplane that you can discard when you reach your de...more
Aug 28, 2008
Libby
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
The insane, the violent, and those who dig Elizabethan drama
How could someone NOT love a play called “Tamburlaine the Great, Who, from a Scythian Shephearde by his rare and woonderfull Conquestf, became a most puiffant and mightye Monarque, And (for his tyranny, and terrour in Warre) waf tearmed, The Scourge of God?” Well, I suppose it is possible. I certainly enjoyed "Dr. Faustus" more. I would blame the editors for some of the oddness, given that a great deal of the play's "lesser" comedic scene have been cut. In spite of this, "Tamburlaine" has much t...more
This is one of those plays that I thought I would hate so maybe that's why I liked it so much. I think that Tamborlaine is seriously bad A--. He knows how to handle his business and take over the world. Who doesn't like a guy like that? Until Acts 4 and 5 where he goes way too far and I couldn't like him any more, but still a shepherd who takes over the throne in multiple countries is something to see.
Really that should be 4 1/2 stars. I give it five because of the language which I love and often find exhilarating. Yet I cannot help wondering why such language has been lavished upon an egotistical schweinhund about whom I care no more at the end than at the beginning. Read it especially for the language.
A classic I will most likely not grow to enjoy. I appreciate the historical background and the in depth emotions the characters carried, but as a whole did not enjoy the story or the complexities I have to push through to understand it. Sorry Marlowe...this was no "Dr. Faustus".
A bold (and unapologetically so) play which breaks the rules, and subverts its audience's expectations. Its been said that you can sense the confidence of Marlowe in its characters and speeches, and I definitely agree. A limit-stretching, wild play with some brilliant lines.
Tamburlaine the conqueror. Not much in terms of genuine character development, but with beautiful passages and historical allusions. Violence for its own sake. Probably a piece for a famous actor to take the title role.
I love Marlowe. No where near as incredible as Shakespeare, but I can definitely trace Shakespeare's influences (especially for Antony and Cleopatra and the History Plays) in Tamburlaine the Great.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Aug 07, 2009
Lisa (Harmonybites)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Memorable play by Shakespeare's greatest contemporary rival.
And then she brains herself. Best stage direction ever.
cheers.
Shakespeare wished he was Christopher Marlowe, tried to be him (Titus), and failed. Tamburlaine might have been the single greatest piece to come out of English Renaissance drama. Remind me again why we make people study Shakespeare instead of Marlowe? Hell, why do we even bother with Shakespeare when we could be studying Marlowe, Middleton, Webster, and Ford?
I really liked this play for the richness of its language. Maybe for a male reader, its violence is also a plus.
Not that I am an expert in Persian History, but I felt that some social interactions weren't that culturally authentic.
Not that I am an expert in Persian History, but I felt that some social interactions weren't that culturally authentic.
Oct 12, 2008
Joanna
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Joanna by:
Princeton Review
Shelves:
gre-prep,
old-timey-classics
Tamburlaine the great is probably the most despicable central character I have yet encountered. Yech. Fantastic drama, though I prefer Dr. Faustus for its more imaginative dialogue.
3,5 stars
Who knew Renaissance literature could be so much fun? I enjoyed the dramatic plot. And Tamburlaine is pretty unforgettable.
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Christopher "Kit" Marlowe (baptised 26 February 1564 – 30 May 1593) was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. The foremost Elizabethan tragedian next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his magnificent blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his own mysterious and untimely death.
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2 trivia questions
More quizzes & trivia...
“Unhappy Persia, that in former age
Hast been the seat of mighty Conquerors,
That in their prowesse and their policies, Have triumph over Africa.”
—
3 people liked it
Hast been the seat of mighty Conquerors,
That in their prowesse and their policies, Have triumph over Africa.”
“From jygging vaines of riming mother wits,
And such conceits as clownage keepes in pay,
Weele leade you to the stately tent of War:
Where you shall heare the Scythian Tamburlaine,
Threatning the world with high astounding tearms
And scourging kingdoms with his conquering sword.
View but his picture in this tragicke glasse,
And then applaud his fortunes if you please.”
—
2 people liked it
More quotes…
And such conceits as clownage keepes in pay,
Weele leade you to the stately tent of War:
Where you shall heare the Scythian Tamburlaine,
Threatning the world with high astounding tearms
And scourging kingdoms with his conquering sword.
View but his picture in this tragicke glasse,
And then applaud his fortunes if you please.”
