Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Tamburlaine the Great

Good Essays
647 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Tamburlaine the Great
In the play Tamburlaine the Great, Tamburlaine is portrayed as a romantic hero; a passionate man obsessed with war and whose love goes far beyond what is conceivable for most people (Bookrags). Marlow reveals that with his tremendous capacity for violence and intense passion for his wife represents a shocking new type of hero (Bookrags).
Tamburlaine is celebrated as a hero through his victories and power. His ambition to attain power leads him to conquer many empires; Persia, Turkey, Egypt, Greece, and Africa. Before Tamburlaine’s sudden increase of power, Bajazeth, the ruler of Turkey warns him before attacking that, “Ambitious pride shall make thee fall” (Tamburlaine, act 4). Tamburlaine enjoys his enemy’s curses for his pleasure comes from (Gerald Pincess)”…To turn them all upon their proper heads’’ (Tamburlaine, act 4). This quote reveals how his ego controls him by proving that he will defeat their empire, his enemy’s warning mostly drives him instead of stopping him. After all, Tamburlaine’s army was able to conquer Turkey and subdue Bajazeth as well as his wife. He cannot compromise his desire to rule the world (Gerald Pincess).
Tamburlaine is a cruel man where remorse and power are two inseparable qualities for his ambitious character (Gerald Pincess). The governor of Damascus, threatened by his power, sends a group of three virgin women to plea for mercy. By nature, Tamburlaine has them slaughtered and hoisted on city walls (Gerald Pincess). Marlow is revealing the true essence of men by representing Tamburlaine’s nature that men by definition are quarrelsome and fighting animals (Gerald Pincess). This re-enforces Tamburlaine’s cruel nature. Tamburlaine tortures Bajazeth and his wife after conquering Turkey. Later on, Bajazeth commits suicide after hearing Tamburlaine’s army won the battle against Greece and Africa, allies of Turkey, by beating his head against the bars of his cell. Zabina also commits this act after finding the body of her dead husband. This reflects on Tamburlaine’s evil nature since he purposely captured them knowing it would be more painful than killing them. He unconsciously uses the excuse of “being a man” as permission to commit violent acts. He is a man where, vitality, and insatiability describes the essence of his life (Gerald Pincess), he is unable to become contended with what he possesses which explains his ongoing desire for always wanting more and achieving success.
Tamburlaine was able to capture Zenocrate, the Egyptian princess. He instantly fell in love with her, but this wasn’t the case with Zenocrate, her love for him was acknowledged when she defended Tamburlaine against the insults of Zabina, Bajazeth’s wife. Also, Tamburlaine’s ferocity and invincibility seems equally appealing to her (Gerald Pincess). With unshakable confidence he declared that Zenocrate will marry him and will rule the world (Gerald Pincess). Now that he possesses a beautiful Egyptian woman by his side, he feels manly and empowered. Tamburlaine loves the concept of ruling the world, his love for Zenocrate spurs his ambition (Gerald Pincess). It is what encouraged him to try his fortunes against the all-powerful Bajazeth. The love for Zenocrate makes Tamburlaine more compassionate and considerate (Gerald Pincess). After winning battle against Egypt, she begs Tamburlaine to spare her father’s life. Seeing her torment causes him so much agony, it makes it impossible for him to kill her father(Gerald Pincess). Zenocrate, the embodiment of all that is beautiful holds so much power over him(Gerald Pincess), he explains his love for her as “one thought, one grace, one wonder”(Tamburlaine, act 5). He announces that for her love he takes truce with all the world. Her beauty and love have a great effect on him after all (Gerald Pincess). The precise relationship between beauty, love and heroism is evident that they are influential to Tamburlaine’s character (Gerald Pincess). Marlow successfully portrays Tamburlaine as a romantic hero through his military achievements but overcoming’s his true evil nature.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    “The same attributes that had made him the boy terror of torrance were keeping him alive in the greatest struggle of his life.” (p.148) The…

    • 345 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The epic hero had missions that relate to praise and pride. A paradigm of this would be when Wesley was leaving to find a job at sea so he could get married to Buttercup, the girl he is madly in love with. This shows how he is sacrificing time with her for emotions that relate to loving her unconditionally. The intense emotions which he is feeling create a relationship between the reader and the hero. This part of the Romantic hero is substantial in creating the mood for the story. Wesley as a character is determined to marry Buttercup so much as to leave her for possible death and tragedy that lies on the open seas. Determination through these intense feelings of lust and love create a bond so connectable that it can be helpful in how the story is portrayed. Emotions also relate to Wesley in the sense of how he cares for his friends that were once enemies. For instance with the Spaniard, Wesley remembers the six fingered man who killed this man’s father showing his compassion toward human sacrifice. Furthermore a romantic hero makes his way out of the lower class and raises his social stature in pursuit of his pending…

    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The play Titus Andronicus is mainly filled with male characters with the exception of Tamora and Lavinia. While these two women are complete opposites of each other, they both display womanly power in their own way. Tamora, who was once Queen of the Goths, goes from being a helpless prisoner to the most powerful woman in Rome. Lavinia is considered powerful as well because she is engaged to Bassinius, the son of the former Emperor of Rome. Both women exhibit helplessness and power at some point in this play.…

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Taming of the Shrew is a romantic comedy written by William Shakespeare in the 1500’s. It takes place in the city of Padua, presumably during the Italian Renaissance. The major conflict of the play is ‘taming’ a hot-headed woman named Katherine and to overcome the rule her father holds on his two daughters where the eldest marries first. The script brings up a lot of attention in the feminist theory. But, Shakespeare’s play reflects on the archetypes of characters, situations, and symbols. These connections are made in the play to make the audience familiar with the text and provide a deeper understanding.…

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pride In The Iliad

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The history of wars and battles can be dated back almost to the beginning of time and has since been a prominent motif in stories from various cultures and religions. Centuries later, descriptions of fighting styles to warriors to weapons, has greatly evolved. Despite the constant evolution of the ways fighting is portrayed, one thing has remained consistent over the years: the reason for initiating war. When a man’s pride is wounded, the idea that he will stop at nothing to restore it, can be seen throughout literature in many different cultures. Through the malicious and extravagant battles exhibited in The Iliad, the idea that vengeance is sought once an individual's pride has been harmed and can only be resolved by combat, is developed.…

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The dashing English poet and adventurer, Lord Byron, provided a living model for Romantic heroism. The Byronic hero was an exceptional and gifted loner, perhaps misunderstood, who was driven to follow personal passion rather than traditional societal expectations.…

    • 14665 Words
    • 52 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Medea: Jason's Demise

    • 1411 Words
    • 6 Pages

    As is archetypal to all Greek tragedies, ‘Medea’ by Euripides chronicles the downfall of a noble hero, Jason, as a result of a combination of factors like fate, hubris and the will of the gods. In ‘Medea’, the hubris of the main character, Jason, was his pride. This drove him to betray his wife Medea’s trust and defy moral parameters set by the gods. Euripides employed the hubris of Jason and his act of disobedience towards the gods as a reflection of Athenian society of the time and used this as an attempt to correct the progressively immoral ways of society. This piece focuses on pride as Jason’s hubris and its contribution to his imminent downfall.…

    • 1411 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Howells uses the expression of sexual dominance from the highly romanticized views of war to show the catalyst for the conflict between the two forms. The story begins with an air of impending war showing Editha’s romantic views of war in general and her belief in the glory that wars bring those who fight them. Editha was “a girl who embodied all the nonsense about the heroic romanticism of war…” (Carter, 231) This deeply romanticized idea of the hero leads her to involve her lover, George.…

    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Male superiority and the subordination of women are sustained with the conformity of both men and women. The male domination seems to be a social norm accepted and followed by al people in the society. Men are showing their stereotyped perception on women, like Leonato jokes about his daughter as ‘Her mother hath many times told me so’ and Benedick ‘as being a professed tyrant to their sex’ implies their confirmed perception of women to justify their superiority in the society. Women are viewed as a possession and property of men that Benedick brings out the idea of purchase to ‘buy her that you inquire after her’. Women are linked with the image of cuckold when Benedick regards that ‘I will have a recheat winded in my forehead’ and ‘pluck off the bull’s horn and set them on forehead’. The idea of cuckold focuses on woman’s disloyalty that brings out the mentality of men that women are wicked as ‘beauty is a witch’ and women do not deserve as much as men do. With their stereotyped image, the male superiority is confirmed by men. On the other hand, the readiness of women shows that they conform to the male domination and willing to submit to men. Hero…

    • 1413 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mary Thonderburt

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages

    For this week’s discussion/ presentation we discussed the topic “abortion”. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion of a fetus or embryo from the uterus of a woman. There are two types of abortion procedures; the first is called medical/ chemical which involves the use of drugs to terminate pregnancy and can only be used during the first trimester. The second type of abortion is surgical which involves the use of a vacuum, either manual or electrical. Birth control is also known as contraceptive or fertility control and is a common method used to prevent pregnancy. I will be discussing recent developments in birth control.…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Revolutionary Storming

    • 3503 Words
    • 101 Pages

    "Essay on World History. College Papers, Research Papers on The Reign of Terror and the French Revolution." _Dream Essays: Custom Term Paper and Essay Writing Firm_. Web. 28 Sept. 2009. <http://www.dreamessays.com/customessays/World%20History/7589.htm>.…

    • 3503 Words
    • 101 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women and men’s gender roles in society develop stereotypes they need to follow in the 1500s. One being dominant and in charge symbolizes men in the 1500s while women in that time frame focuses on maturity and obedience. The Taming of the Shrew exposes men and women's roles in the 1500s by introducing the shrewish Katherine who illustrates a dominant role in the play and Bianca who represents an ideal women in the 1500s, mature, modest, and obedient. Furthermore, the play stars Petruchio, a poor and young man who tames Katherine. The Taming of the Shrew also adds Lucentio, Hortensio, and Gremio, wealthy suitors that compete to win Bianca’s heart. Shakespeare describes and criticizes gender role stereotypes like how a man’s role instructs one to ‘’woo’’ or court a girl showing chivalry. The play…

    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Is Julius Caesar a tyrant?

    • 1746 Words
    • 5 Pages

    William Shakespeare’s well-renowned play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, has led to centuries of controversial debate on the validity of tyrannicide based on his depiction of Julius Caesar. Some scholars have argued that Shakespeare intended to portray Caesar as a tyrant, while others believe he is acting as a just King. On one hand, it is difficult to assume that Shakespeare plainly viewed Caesar as a tyrant, especially since Shakespeare deliberately left Caesar’s actions and intentions ambiguous, making him into a less obvious tyrannical figure compared to Plutarch’s representation of Caesar. In addition, Shakespeare does not solidify Caesar as a tyrant in the same way he does with Macbeth and Richard III in their respective plays. On the other hand, it is difficult to reason that Caesar is a just King because he came into power by usurpation. “In antiquity the term [“tyrant”] referred to a ruler who came to power by usurpation, without constitutional warrant.”1 Based on insight from several sources and my own interpretation of Julius Caesar, I have concluded that Shakespeare left Caesar’s objectives unknown in order to focus on the moral dilemma faced by Brutus, but Shakespeare still intended to depict Caesar as a tyrant who deserved to be deposed because of his unconstitutional usurpation of power. In order to prove this I will evaluate the political turmoil during the Elizabethan era in an attempt to understand Shakespeare’s perspective on the concept of tyranny and tyrannicide, which is influential to his work, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. In doing so, I will compare the ruling styles of Queen Elizabeth I, who was considered a tyrant queen during her time, and the ruling styles of Julius Caesar in order to characterize Caesar as a tyrannical leader. Furthermore, I will briefly compare Shakespeare’s Caesar to Plutarch’s Caesar…

    • 1746 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    mucha ado

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Now we are going to consider the play’s process: since the very beginning, Hero is presented as the ideal woman of Elizabethan times. Some adjectives that Claudio uses to describe her are (all in Act 1, Scene 1): beautiful, modest young lady, the sweetest lady, a “jewel”. All these adjectives connote meekness, submission and mildness, three important features that men looked for in a woman. It is obvious that ‘shrewish’ and rebellious women, like Katharina in The Taming of the Shrew were badly regarded. Hero would be more similar to Katharina’s sister, Bianca.…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He portrays his humanist views as he alludes to the end of the play where he defines strength as human traits not gender traits. Today the play is seen as a great work of drama because it boldly pointed out the flaws in this patriarchal…

    • 1076 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays