Covert Androgyny and Metaphorical World Map: The Power Construction in Tamburlaine the Great

Abstract

Abstract: Tamburlaine the Great, performed right on the eve of the sea battle between England and Spain in 1588, was a vital intellectual weapon alluding to contemporary politics, rather than a glamerous stage show of the Tatar emperor or a purely Ortelius geographical entertainment. To this end, Marlowe reconditely borrowed the long-standing Western idea of androgyny to construct a conceptual meaning of identity genetics between Tamburlaine and Elizabeth I, while projecting the ever-increasing colonial dream of England with special cartographical metaphors. Studies show that the portrayal of a strong local monarch greatly dispelled the latent war anxiety of the English audience, whereas the public performance of a play of world graphics satisfied their desire for victory and their imagination of overseas colonialization as well. These two factors established a strategy of seeking cultural compensation for the voiceless England in the Age of Discovery.

Key words: Tamburlaine the Great, androgyny, monarch analogy, world map, power construction

Xu Qiuqun. Covert Androgyny and Metaphorical World Map: The Power Construction in Tamburlaine the Great[J]. Foreign Literature Studies, 2020, 42(3): 87-98.

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