Tamburlaine the Great Author:Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe was one of the most famous playwrights in all of literature. Marlowe's tragic plays, noted for their blank verse and unique protagonists, were a great influence on the legendary William Shakespeare. Some of Marlowe's classics include Doctor Faustus, Edward II, and Tamburlaine the Great. Tamburlaine the Great is a play that... more » is loosely based on the life of a 14th-century Asian emperor named Timur.« less