Question

from Tamburlaine the Great, Act III, Scene 2,
Christopher MarloweSelection 1 is a tragedy, the hero of which is Tamburlaine. What is the most likely outcome of the tragedy? Base your answer on your knowledge of the genre and on details in the selection.

1. Tamburlaine's fate will be marriage to Zenocrate. The tragedy will be her discovery that he loves war more than he loves her.
2. Tamburlaine's ruthlessness will turn out to be a tragic flaw. It will lead to an ironic twist that forces him to reform his ways.
3. Tamburlaine's ambition will turn out to be a tragic flaw. It will cause great suffering and lead to his downfall.
4. Tamburlaine's fate will be to conquer a vast region. His success will prove to the world that he is a hero.

Answer 1

3. In a tragedy the hero’s flaw typically brings about his ruin. In Marlowe’s Tamburlaine the central quality shown in the scene is his boundless ambition for conquest and power—boastful, world‑shaping speech and relentless expansion. That kind of hubris is the classic tragic flaw: it brings great suffering (to others and ultimately to the hero) and culminates in his downfall, so this outcome best fits both the genre and the selection.