Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

TECHELLES

in 1 Tamburlaine the Great — Marlowe, Christopher

Metadata

Play1 Tamburlaine the Great
AuthorMarlowe, Christopher
Year (catalogued)1590
First performance1587
Decade1590s
GenreTragedy
Play typeAdult Professional
CompanyAdmiral's (Nottingham's) Men
Speech prefix(es)tech. | Tec. | Tech. | tech | tec. | Tech,
Words414
Characters2225
Typicality0.29 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA07004.1
BritDrama no.784
ClusterCluster 13 — Attendant courtiers & citizens

Important excerpts

No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).

Full speech

His deep affections make him passionate. With duty not with amity we yield Our utmost service to the fair Cosroe. Oh my Lord, 'tis sweet and full of pomp. Then shall we send to this triumphing King, And bid him battle for his novel Crown? See you Agidas how the King salutes you. He bids you prophesy what it imports. Vsumeasane, see how right the man Hath hit the meaning of my Lord the King. Agreed Casane, we will honour him. The more he brings, the greater is the spoil, For when they perish by our warlike hands, We mean to seat our footmen on their Steeds. And rifle all those stately Ianisars. Puissant, renowned and mighty tamburlain, Why stay we thus prolonging all their lives'? You must devise some torme ̄ to worse, my Lord To make these captives reine their lavish tongues. I pray you give them leave Madam, this speech is a goodly refreshing to them. 'Tis Like he will, when he cannot let it. 'Tis enough for us to see them, and for tam burlaine only to enjoy them. They have my Lord, and on Damascus walls Have hoist up their slaughtered carcases. The Sultan and the Arabian king together March on us with such eager violence, As if there were no way but one with us. As princely Lions when they rouse themselves, Stretching their paws, and threatening herds of Beasts. So in his Armour looks Tamburlaine: Me thinks I see kings kneeling at his feet, And he with frowning brows and fiery looks , Spurning their crowns from off their captive heads. We are his friends, and if the Persean king Should offer present Duke domes to our state, We think it lose to make exchange for that, We are assured of by our friends success. And that made us the friends of Tamburlaine. To lift our swords against the Persean King. What now? In love? No: cowards and fainthearted runaways, Look for orations when the foe is near. Our swords shall play the Orators for us. Come let us march. Welcome renowned Persean to us all. We have their crowns their bodies strow the field. My hand is ready to perform the deed, For now her marriage time shall work us rest: The town is ours my Lord, and fresh supply Of conquest, and of spoil is offered us: I, if I could with all my heart my Lord. I hear them come, shall we encounter them?

Plot summary

Plot — 1 Tamburlaine the Great
Encouraged by a prophecy that he will one day rule Asia, Mambuarlainé robs travellers passing through Persia. He ambushes the party escorting Zénderate to her husband-to-be, purloins their treasure, and. woos her. [iferidamas is sent by Mycetés, the Persian King, to attack Tamburlaine, but Tamburlaine persuades him to switch sides with eloquent promises of wealth and power. The Persian nobles conspire to depose Mycetes in favour of his brother @GSEGE] Mycetes offers battle, and Cosroe joins forces with Tamburlaine against him. Advised by his counsellor M@amdgét Mycetes plans to beat Tamburlaine’s soldiers by laying out gold on the battlefield: they will stop fighting to pick it up, and so be massacred. The stratagem fails. Tamburlaine encounters Mycetes on the battlefield, but rejects the opportunity to steal the crown Mycetes is trying to hide: he will win it in battle instead. MIyG8tés is killed: Tamburlaing presents @6sf6e with his crown, and is created Regent of Persia; but the prospect of coronation attracts him. He betrays and kills Cosroe and makes himself king. Zenserate remains with Tamburlaine, nominally as his captive; though reputed his concubine, she grows to love him. When Ajpydaas tries to persuade her to reject Tamburlaine, the Scythian induces him to commit suicide. The Emperor of the Turks, Bajazethi leaves the siege of Constantinople to challenge Tamburlaine. He is defeated and taken captive with his wife Zabifial Tamburlaine refuses to ransom him, and keeps him in an iron cage: the defeated Emperor is used as a footstool and fed with scraps on the end of Tamburlaine’s sword; his vassal kings are deposed and their crowns awarded to Tamburlaine’s followers. Zenocrate’s fatheRthelSultanlofiEgypt joins forces with her ex-fiancé ANG@aMTS to rescue her. Tamburlaine besieges Damascus, and appears, as is his custom, in different colours on successive days: first white, to signify that he will accept the city’s surrender without bloodshed; then red, indicating that its soldiers will all be killed; then black, promising total destruction. The Governor of Damascus waits until the third day, but the Sultan’s troops do not arrive to relieve the city as expected; so he sends four virgins to plead for mercy. Tamburlaine’s rules are inflexible: the virgins are killed and all the citizens massacred. Bajazethiand Zabitia knock out their brains against the bars of his cage; ZeaGGraté discovers the bodies and fears that fortune may overthrow Tamburlaine…