Omnipotence에의 憧憬-Tamburlaine the Great를 중심으로

Abstract

The characteristics of the Renaissance spirit lie not only in the quest of Greek and Roman classics but also in the pursuit of man's infinite possibility as a homo universale. Tamburlaine, a Scythian shepherd who believes himself to be "the Scourge of God", yearns after omnipotence: infinite knowledge, infinite beauty, and infinite power. Marlowe exhibits the rising of Tamburlaine from a mere Scythian shepherd to the greatest ruler in the world. To realize his aspiration of omnipotence, Taniburlaine seeks absolute beauty, which is incarnated in the person of Zenocrate. She is compared to Helen of Troy, who is presented as a symbol of classical beauty in Marlowe's works. 'Still climbing after knowledge' seeks a superhuman virtue even in terrestrial power. Believing in his immortality, he can neither think of his dcath at all nor conceive the limit of human power. What makes this play a tragedy is that Tamburiaine aspires the level of superhuman only to find his inevitable limits. He, under the delusion that he can do everything at his will, cannot understand Zenocrate's dcath and is indignant at the behaviour of his son, Calyphas, against his will. In Part I, death is used to emphasize Tamburlaine's ambition and violence; in Part 11, on the other hand, it makes him understand his limits by way of Zenocrate's death, his murder of his son, and his own illness. The theme of Tamburlaine the Great as elsewhere in Marlowe's works may be summarized as follows: man's desires and aspiration may be limitless, but their fulfilment is limited by forces beyond the control of human will. However, Marlowe is criticized by some critics that Tamburlaine, whose ambitions are cruder than those of Faustus, has little inner conflict. Indeed what Marlowe portrays through Tamburlaine's life history is a Kenaissance man who wished to be superhuman but found his limits by his inevitable death. The theme is developed less satisfactorily in Tamburlaine than in Faustus and minor characters are not very well presented. Any way, Tamburlaine the Great is one of the greatest pre-Shakespearean plays which succeeds in depicting man's enormous potentiality,