This paper explores Christopher Marlowe's imaginative depictions of the East, identity construction, and manifestations of colonial anxiety in his plays. In Marlowe's works, Eastern locales and figures occupy the center of the theatrical stage, despite the playwright never having visited the East himself. Scholars employ Orientalist theory to trace the formation of Orientalist discourse back to the Renaissance, identifying playwrights like Marlowe as shapers of such discourse. The article aims to analyze the essential characteristics and underlying mechanisms of Marlowe's Orientalist writing, examining his strategies for addressing Eastern themes within specific political and historical contexts to understand the complexities of East-West cultural exchange.

The “Land of Gold” East and England’s Imperial Wealth Fantasy

In Marlowe’s plays, the East is portrayed as a land brimming with wealth and resources, such as Persia and Turkey in *Tamburlaine the Great* and Carthage in *Dido, Queen of Carthage*. These nations are not merely geographical concepts but symbols of wealth, depicted as places where “gold covers the ground.” Marlowe’s perception of the East was deeply influenced by the European knowledge system of the time, particularly the exaggerated descriptions of Eastern riches in Marco Polo’s accounts and *The Travels of Sir John Mandeville*, which fueled European fantasies of the Orient. Against this backdrop, Marlowe’s characters exhibit a fervent desire for Eastern wealth, such as Tamburlaine’s promises to the Egyptian princess and Aeneas’s descriptions of new lands in *Dido, Queen of Carthage*. Marlowe’s depiction of “India” is ambiguous, often treating it more as a cultural symbol representing the East. Before the 16th century, the East, especially China, was the center of the world economy. During the Elizabethan era, England began prioritizing Eastern exploration and trade, with scholars and nobles advocating for new maritime routes. England gradually established trade relations with the East, such as with Russia and Turkey, and the founding of the East India Company. Marlowe’s stagecraft presented imperial wealth built on Eastern trade, resonating with the political climate of England’s expanding colonial trade networks. In *The Jew of Malta*, Barabas is a successful international merchant who amasses vast wealth through trade with Eastern nations. His fate reflects the close ties between commercial capital and government monopolies in Renaissance England, as well as the effective pathways for England’s imperial wealth accumulation.

The Dual Illusion of the East and England’s National Identity Anxiety

This section examines the dual illusions of the East in Marlowe’s plays and their connection to England’s national identity anxiety. Through interactions with firsthand observers of the East, Marlowe learned of Eastern civility and virtue, leading to positive portrayals of Eastern figures like Tamburlaine that diverged from tradition. However, Marlowe also depicted Easterners as wicked and brutal, such as the Turks in *The Jew of Malta* and the demon Lucifer in *Doctor Faustus*. This duality reflects the complex attitudes of English society toward the East—admiration and reverence for Eastern culture alongside negative perceptions stemming from anxieties over national identity. Marlowe’s Eastern imagery is a product of collective English and European shaping, blending cultural, emotional, objective, and subjective elements. In the context of the time, English admiration for positive Eastern images reflected reverence for strength, while negative images manifested the self-affirming anxieties of national identity formation. Marlowe’s Eastern figures embody a dual “illusion,” serving as a narrative strategy specific to the Renaissance era.

The “Mighty Eastern Monarch” and England’s Colonial Desires

This section discusses the portrayal of Eastern monarchs in Marlowe’s plays and their reflection of England’s colonial ambitions. Tamburlaine, as the archetypal powerful Eastern ruler, is endowed with world-conquering ambition and strength in Marlowe’s drama. Through Tamburlaine, Marlowe presents an insatiable, ever-expanding conqueror, closely tied to England’s political-historical context. During the Elizabethan era, England sought overseas expansion, and tensions with Spain drove the country to seek alliances with the Ottoman Empire. On stage, Tamburlaine’s victories over foes, including the Turks, symbolize England’s desire to escape isolation and expand its territories. Marlowe’s Tamburlaine is not merely an exotic Eastern monarch but an Anglicized conqueror embodying the greedy energy of English merchants, entrepreneurs, and adventurers—forces that fueled England’s imperialist ideology and colonial desires. Tamburlaine’s map-gazing gestures symbolize ambitions of global domination, paralleling Queen Elizabeth’s iconic portrait with her hand on a globe. The Eastern imagery in Marlowe’s plays reflects the collective imagination of Elizabethan society, serving both as a utopian vision of the East and a means of English self-fashioning. Through these complex Eastern portrayals, Marlowe reveals the intricacies of East-West cultural exchange and the European process of self-identity confirmation in encounters with Eastern culture.