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ABSTRACT
This article shows how Marlowe departs from his primary historical sources (Mexia and Perondinus) in his retelling of the life of Tamburlaine. Marlowe employed the heavily ironic tone of Lucan's discussion of Julius Caesar's apparently 'divine' barbarism in his characterization of tyranny, obedience, and rebellion in Tamburlaine. By applying Lucanic irony to the paradoxical discussions of tyranny and obedience that permeated late Tudor culture, Marlowe's tragedy subverts the de casibus form and raises questions about divine providence.
