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Cosroe
Calyphas is the lazy one of Tamburlaine’s three sons. Finding war boring and distasteful, he openly disdains taking part in it, enraging his father. He prefers wine and women to bloodshed. When he skips out on a crucial battle, Tamburlaine is so infuriated that he fatally stabs him, despite the entreaties of his men and his other sons. This moment highlights the extent of Tamburlaine’s brutality in his rigid adherence to a masculine code of honor. Had Zenocrate still been living, she could possibly have swayed him, but in her absence, his wrath is unchecked.
Calyphas Quotes in Tamburlaine
The Tamburlaine quotes below are all either spoken by Calyphas or refer to Calyphas . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 2 Quotes
AMYRAS: Why may not I, my lord, as well as he,
Be termed a scourge and terror of the world?
TAMBURLAINE: Be all a scourge and terror to the world,
Or else you are not sons of Tamburlaine.
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Explanation and Analysis:
This passage comes during Tamburlaine’s reappearance in Part Two of the play, many years after the events of Part One. By this time, Tamburlaine and Zenocrate have raised three sons, all now approximately teenagers. The growth of Tamburlaine’s family, however, has not altered his way of life: he remains on an endless warpath, seeking to leave no plot of the earth unconquered. His own lust for battle undimmed, he nevertheless fears that his sons lack his warlike spirit. Amyras and Celebinus are eager to prove him wrong, whereas the foppish Calyphas blatantly encourages this perception. The intervening years since Part Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tene
But now, my boys, leave off, and list to me,
That mean to teach you rudiments of war.
I'll have you learn to sleep upon the ground,
March in your armour thorough watery fens,
Sustain the scorching heat and freezing cold,
Hunger and thirst, right adjuncts of the war.
And after this, to scale a castle wall,
Besiege a fort, […]
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This passage comes once Zenocrate has died and her funeral rites have been solemnly performed, with much lamentation from her sons. Tamburlaine, who has been driven to frenzied poetic heights by the death of his wife, suddenly switches gears and delivers a long and practical speech on the arts of siege-craft to his sons. It is as though Zenocrate, who so frequently inspired his greatest feats of oratory, were his tie to poetry, and now that she has been properly buried, his world consists only of war. She had always been a tempering influence on his relationship with his sons; Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error
I know, sir, what it is to kill a man—
It works remorse of conscience in me;
I take no pleasure to be murderous
Nor care for blood when wine will quench my thirst.
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In a decisive battle with the eastern forces, Tamburlaine’s sons are given a chance to prove themselves in battle. Amyras and Celebinus eagerly do so, but Calyphas refuses, despite their pleas and warnings of their father’s wrath. Calyphas, who generally comes off as spoiled and lazy, nevertheless distinguishes himself from his family in this passage in his invocation of “remorse of conscience.” Ironically, he is probably the only male character in the play who does not “know […] what it is to kill a man.” Yet he feels he does not need such experience to know that it is wrong Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tem
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Calyphas Character Timeline in Tamburlaine
The timeline below shows where the character Calyphas appears in Tamburlaine. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 2
Act 1, Scene 4. In Larissa, Tamburlaine and Zenocrate arrive with their three sons, Calyphas, Amyras, and Celebinus. Tamburlaine frets that they are not warlike, but Zenocrate assures him they...
(full context)
...elaborate shrines to Zenocrate. Then, he takes to teaching his son the “rudiments of war.” Calyphas again expresses unmanly disdain for bloodshed. Again enraged, Tamburlaine gives a violent speech, cutting his...
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Act 4, Scene 1. Amyras and Celebinus eagerly prepare for battle. They try to rouse Calyphas, but he will not go; he remains dandyish and does not “care for blood when...
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Tamburlaine returns, having routed the Turks. He drags the cowardly Calyphas from his tent. His other sons and his men plead for him to forgive Calyphas,...
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