Christopher Marlowe, (1564 –1593)

Significance 
Tamburlaine’s
significance is in creating a stock of themes and, especially, in demonstrating the potential 
of blank verse in drama. It had a great influence on the drama of the 1590s and is still regarded as the text 
above all others "wherein the whole restless temper of the age finds expression" (Long). The play 
exemplified, and even created, many of the typical features of high Elizabethan drama: grandiloquent and 
often beautiful imagery, hyperbolic expression, and strong characters consumed by overwhelming passions. 
Many Asian tyrants and "aspiring minds" appeared in the drama of the 1590s. Jonson condemned "the 
Tamerlanes and Tamer-chams of the late age, which had nothing in them but the scenical strutting and 
furious vociferation to warrant them to the ignorant gapers." 
Tamburlaine trailer 

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Stephen Greenblatt (
Will in the World
(2004) 189-249) considers it likely that 
Tamburlaine
was among 
Shakespeare's first London theater-going experiences and inspired early works like the three Henry VI plays.
The play is often linked to Renaissance humanism which idealises the potential of human beings. 
Tamburlaine's aspiration to immense power raises profound religious questions as he arrogates for himself 
a role as the "scourge of God" (an epithet originally applied to Attila the Hun). Some readers have linked 
this with the fact that Marlowe was accused of atheism.
Performance 
The first part of 
Tamburlaine
was performed by the Admiral's Men late in 1587, a year after Marlowe's 
departure from Cambridge University. Edward The play's popularity, prompted Marlowe to produce the 
sequel and led to numerous stagings over the next decade. 
The Royal National Theatre production in 1976 featured Albert Finney in the title role and was directed by 
Peter Hall. This production is generally considered the most successful of the rare modern productions. 
In 1993 the Royal Shakespeare Company performed an award-winning production of the play, with Antony 
Sher as Tamburlaine and Tracy-Ann Oberman as Olympia. 
The Shakespeare Theatre Company put on the play from October 28, 2007 to January 6, 2008.
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