Tamburlaine the Great, Part 2: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Tamburlaine the Great, Part 2, credited to Christopher Marlowe, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of Tamburlaine the Great, Part 2, by Christopher Marlowe. Read by volunteer readers. Tamburlaine the Great is the name of a play in two parts by Christopher Marlowe. It is loosely based on the life of the Central Asian emperor, Timur 'the lame'. Written in 1587 or 1588, the play is a milestone in Elizabethan public drama; it marks a turning away from the clumsy language and loose plotting of the earlier Tudor dramatists, and a new interest in fresh and vivid language, memorable action, and intellectual complexity. Along with Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, it may be considered the first popular success of London's public stage. In Part 2, Tamburlaine grooms his sons to be conquerors in his wake as he continues to conquer his neighbouring kingdoms. One of his sons, Calyphas, preferring to stay by his mother's side and not risk death, incurs Tamburlaine's wrath. Seeing this son as a coward, Tamburlaine kills him in anger after a battle in which he refuses to fight. During this time, Bajazeth's son, Callapine, plans to avenge his father's death. Finally, while attacking an Islamic nation, he scornfully burns a copy of the Qur'an and claims to be greater than God. Suddenly, Tamburlaine is struck ill and dies, giving his power to his remaining sons, but still aspiring to greatness as he departs life. (Summary by Wikipedia)

Recording facts

• Recording title: Tamburlaine the Great, Part 2
• Author credits: Christopher Marlowe
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 5
• Listed recording duration: 2:21:53

Catalogue topics

• drama
• dramatic work
• play
• Zenocrate
• Tamburlaine
• tragedy

Track guide

1. 1 - Prologue, Dramatis Personae and Act 1 — 29:54
2. 2 - Act 2 — 20:37
3. 3 - Act 3 — 32:29
4. 4 - Act 4 — 24:53
5. 5 - Act 5 — 34:00

Listen to this recording

Open the complete recording and player on Internet Archive. The player includes the full track list and available download formats.

Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.