Representation of Death in Cristopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine the Great, Parts One and Two

Abstract

In 1587, Christopher Marlowe introduced a new approach to theatre in Tamburlaine the Great and reformed the reigning theatrical practices. The popularity
of the plays’ main motif, Death, can be traced back to ancient Greek and Roman
texts, but Marlowe’s portrayal of the Death-topos differs from the traditional
depictions on many levels. My main aim in this essay is to point out the Marlovian innovations concerning the theatrical representation of death by relying on
contemporary popular culture. I also intend to emphasise the complementary
relationship of rhetoric and imagery in order to prove the shared importance of
verbality and imagery