Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

ZENOCRATE

in 2 Tamburlaine the Great — Marlowe, Christopher

Metadata

Play2 Tamburlaine the Great
AuthorMarlowe, Christopher
Year (catalogued)1590
First performance1588
Decade1590s
GenreTragedy
Play typeAdult Professional
CompanyAdmiral's (Nottingham's) Men
Speech prefix(es)zen. | zen
Words318
Characters1735
Typicality0.41 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA07004.2
BritDrama no.789
ClusterCluster 12 — Wooers, gallants & courtly love-talk

Important excerpts

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

Full speech

Sweet tamburlain, when wilt thou leave these arms And save thy sacred person free from scathe: And dangerous chances of the wrathful war. My Lord, such speeches to our princely sons, Dismays their minds before they come to prove The wounding troubles angry war affords. I fare my Lord, as other Empresses, That when this frail and transitory flesh, Hath sucked the measure of that vital air That feeds the body with his dated health, Wanes with inforced and necessary change. Live still my Lord, Oh let my sovereign live, And sooner let the fiery Element Dissolve, and make your kingdom in the Sky, Than this base earth should shroud your majesty: For should I but suspect your death by mine, The comfort of my future happiness And hope to meet your highness in the heavens, Turned to despair, would break my wretched breast, And fury would confound my present rest. But let me die my Love, yet let me die, With love and patience let your true love die: Your grief and fury hurts my second life, Yet let me kiss my Lord before I die, And let me die with kissing of my Lord. But since my life is lengthened yet a while, Let me take leave of these my loving sons, And of my Lords whose true nobility Have merited my latest memory: Sweet sons farewell, in death resemble me, And in your lives your father's excellency. Some music, and my fit will cease my Lord. My gracious Lord, they have their mother's looks But when ̄ they list, their continued ̄ quering father's heart: This lovely boy the youngest of the three, Not long ago bestrid a Scythian Sceed: Trotting the ring, and tilting at a glove: Which when he tainted with his slender rod, He reigned him straight and made him so curvet, As I cried out for fear he should have fallen,

Plot summary

Plot — 2 Tamburlaine the Great
Q@reames has invaded Europe, but the advance of @amiburlaine in Asia forces him to make peace: he concludes a defensive treaty with SigiSiOHa) and both swear by the gods of their respective religions. Sigismond breaks his vow and makes war; Orcanes prays to Jesus Christ for victory, and Sigismond interprets his defeat as divine vengeance for his perjury. Bajazetli’s son @allapimé escapes from prison in Egypt by offering his jailer wealth and a crown. He is installed as Emperor of Turkey, and he and (Bamiburlaine muster their forces for war on one another. Tamburlaine encourages his sons to martial pursuits, and promises to settle the succession on the most warlike, not the eldest. He teaches them courage by wounding himself, but @alypHaS proves reluctant. Zenoeraté dies. Tamburlaine has her body embalmed and takes it with him; Bamissa, the town of her death, is burned. @echelles and [iieridamas besiege BalSSPA at the Syrian frontier. The fort is taken and its captain shot; determined not to outlive him, his wife Olympia kills her son but is captured before she can kill herself. Miteridamias woos her, and threatens rape when she rejects him. She offers him an ointment that will make him invulnerable, and offers to test it by anointing her own throat; this turns out to be a trick to make him kill her. Wamburiaine’s forces arrive at the frontier and give battle. GalyphasiStays away, preferring to play cards, so Tamburlaine kills him. Callapine’s subject kings are captured and made to draw Tamburlaine’s chariot, while the Turkish concubines are given to the common soldiers. Callapine himself escapes and regroups while Tamburlaine marches on Babylon. EH@GG¥ErHOE is captured, hung up in chains on his city walls, and shot. The citizens are drowned in the asphalt lake nearby. Tamburlaine burns the Koran and challenges Muhammad to take vengeance. He is taken ill and dies, regretting the parts of the world he has left unconquered. Amyras succeeds his father, while Callapine’s army advances.