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Greene's Selimus (1594): A Scourge of God to the Ottomans
Abstract
The Ottomans were represented in the imagination of Elizabethan drama. However, the Ottoman Sultans were remarkably in demand on Elizabethan stage. Robert Greene's Selimus (1594) shows a real interest in exploring and understanding the psyche of the Ottoman Sultan. The play's pattern theme of patricide explores the unnatural characteristics of the Ottoman royal family. The dramatic scenes of the murderous actions are engaging in lawless incursion upon ancient historical claims. Selimus appears as a proud ambitious tyrant, polluted with the blood of his own brothers. The fraternal conflict forms the inevitable bloodshed in transferring power to descendants in the Ottoman Empire. Greene depicts Sultan Selimus as the scourge of God to the Ottoman House. He holds some philosophy which is contrary to Elizabethan ethical and succession rules. Greene's interpretation of his conflict in the domestic scenes is a significant acknowledgement of the settled nature of Turkish sovereignty, and indeed of its complexity, at his own days.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijclts.v.5n.1p.40
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