Marlowe's Tamburlaine and Shaky's 2nd Henriad

[shaxper]

I began rereading Marlowe's Tamburlaine The Great p.1 tonight (only read the first act so far) and I couldn't help but notice the remarkable similarities between Tamburlaine and various portions of Shakespeare's 2nd Henriad.  It looks as though Shaky might have been borrowing from Marlowe.  check out the following examples:

Tamburlaine: Mycetes is the incompetant king who is too concerned with speaches and needs his followers to suggest courses of action while Tamburaline conquers his lands, gaining support by offering advancement to those who join him.

Richard II:  An impotant king who'd rather "tell sad stories of the death of kings" then take action and needs his followers to remind him that "wise men ne'er wail their present woes,/but presently prevent the ways to wail" while Henry Bolingbroke conquers his lands, gaining support by offering advancement to those who join him.

Now, try comparing these quotes.  They're not identical, but they're similar:

Tamburlaine: "As princely lions, when they rouse themselves, Stretching their paws, and threatening herds of beasts, So in his armour looketh Tamburlaine" -Techelles (Act I, Scene 2)

Richard II: "Hath Bolingbroke Deposed thine intellect?  Hath he been in thy heart?  The lion dying thrusteth forth his paw And wounds the earth, if nothing else, with rage To be o'erpowered" -Quenn Isabelle (Act IV, Scene 1).

Tamburlaine:

 Theridamas: Where is this Scythian Tamburlaine?
 Tamburlaine: Whom seek'st thou, Persian?--I am  
                      Tamburlaine.
 Theridamas: Tamburlaine!--
                     A Scythian shephard so embellished
                     With nature's pride and richest furniture!
(Act I, Scene 2)

1 Henry IV:

 Hotspur: If I mistake not, thou art Harry Monmouth.
 Hal: Thou speak'st as if I would deny my name.
 Hotspur: My name is Harry Percy.
 Hal: Why then, I see A very valiant rebel of the name.


(Act V, Scene 4)

Tamburlaine:

 Theridamas: But shall I prove a traitor to my king?
 Tamburlaine: No, but the trusty friend of Tamburlaine.

(Act I, Scene 2)

Henry V:

 Catherine: Is it possible dat I sould love de ennemi of
                   France?
 Henry: No, it is not possible you should love the  
            enemy of France, Kate.  But in loving me, you
            should love the friend of France...


Also compare that Tamburlaine and Henry V both put their potential mates (Zenocrates and Catherine) in situations where both are bullied into marriage.  Zenocrates would otherwise be made a slave (and most likely a play thing for Tamburlaine's army), and France would be further abused if Catherine did not marry Henry.


...and this is only from reading Act I.  How intriguing!  Obviously Shaky was a fan of Marlowe and borrowed from him often, but I've never heard of anyone attributing any of the material in the second Henriad to Tamburaline.  Is this common knowledge that I've somehow missed?

[shaxper]

Follow-up from having read Act II:

Mycetes has the same flaws as Richard and Henry IV.  He is a man without action,as best seen when he convinces himself that he will win the war based upon Meander's patriotic words, and never places his trust or interest in action itself, just as Richard was more concerned with putting a positive spin on his situation than actually resisting Bolingbroke.  

Mycetes  is also a self-serving coward, attempting to hide his crown once he realizes Tamburlaine's men will be looking for the king, just as Henry IV set out decoys of himself to avoid being killed.

Moreover, I find that the play constantly has fun with "jigging veins and mother wits", giving characters long, drawn out, overly poetic speaches about how they will beat Tamburlaine (Mycetes even has to hire someone to speak for him), while Tamburlaine just goes in, kicks their butts, and then gives an even better speach (after the fact) in four to twelve lines.  I still maintain that this play was intended to be funny.  I can't help but see Monty Python performing it.  How different is Tamburlaine from The Spanish Inquisition?  Both show up at your door and conquer when you least expect it, regardless of what you were just doing or saying.