Communicating Ambition: The Effect of Literary Devices in Tamburlaine Olivia Rose Mokrzecki College

Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine was a great milestone in Elizabethan drama and shocked audiences of the time with its unconventional tragedy plot and strikingly successful characters. Marlowe’s unusual approach with the character of Tamburlaine brought upon an unexpected enjoyment from his audience. Through skillful literary techniques interlaced in Tamburlaine’s character, Marlowe is able to communicate the idea that human beings have ungodly potential and can easily rise to success.

Marlowe created the idea of a character from obscure origins who rose to a position of worldly power as a reflection of a theatrical, however still applicable narrative. Renaissance humanism had “become a popular fantasy that could be exploited and enlarged upon in a theatrical context (Cartelli)” and so Marlowe used literary devices such as amplification, decorum, and circumlocution to intensify his tale. After losing the crown to Cosroe in part one, act two, scene five, Tamburlaine has to convince his followers and friends that they too should strive to be greater than they ever thought possible. In Tamburlaine’s dialogue we can see that his speech has been amplified in order to convey his desired effect: “Is it not passing brave to be a king,...