Tamburlaine, by Christopher Marlowe
Shakespeare Theatre Company
Sidney Harmon Hall
Who was Christopher Marlowe, and why do we care? Christopher Marlowe invented the dramatic form that Shakespeare copied and perfected. Tamburlaine was Marlowe's first play, and with it, he completely changed drama. He introduced the use of blank verse, combining it with sweeping historical drama. Tamburlaine was a huge success, and Shakespeare immediately copied it, as he copied so many ideas in his plays. Marlowe died at the age of 29, after writing only one more significant play, Edward II(which will be performed later), and Shakespeare went on to perfect the new dramatic style.
Like many plays (and stories), Tamburlaine is a play about a man whose great achievements were eventually undone by his character flaws. Because I don't particularly enjoy watching a person's life crumble because of self-destructive character flaws, I did not find the play particularly interesting. So many times in life we see people destroy their lives through self-destructive psychological problems, and it is always sad. Plays about people who succeed because of personality traits are much more inspiring and enjoyable to me.
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