Reflection of the Turkish Image and Turcophobia in the Turkish Translation of C. Marlowe’s Tamburlaine the Great through Bourdieu’s Notion of ‘Habitus’

Authors : Alev Karaduman

Pages : 101-126

Doi:10.12995/bilig.7342

View : 26 | Download : 36

Publication Date : 2025-04-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :“The image of the Turk” has been proved to be a quite popular topic utilised in studies of English literature, art, and history. The mutual diplomatic “friendship” initiated by the official agreement between the English and Turks in the 15th century as opposed to the hegemony of the Spanish navy changed its route and turned to be a hostile one as a reaction to the political power of the Ottomans over the Europeans. The concept of “Turk”, used in the senses of “barbarian, vulgar, uncivilised, uncultured and gavur”, has begun to be employed as a vehicle to show the reaction and enmity against the Ottomans in many literary works. In this respect, Christopher Marlowe, being one of the most eminent representatives of the 16th century English drama, staged his masterpiece Tamburlaine the Great (1587) which was translated into Turkish with the title Büyük Timurlenk. In this specific work, he represents the “image of the Turk” and reflects “Turcophobia” that is known to be the enmity and fright of Turks as observed in 15th and 16th century Europe. The major distinction and aim of this article is to analyse Marlowe’s original work Tamburlaine the Great and to compare and contrast it with its Turkish translation entitled Büyük Timurlenk in the light of socio-cultural and political biases to show the negative attitudes towards the Turks, which would turn into Turcophobia later through Bourdieu’s notion of “Habitus”.
Keywords : Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great, Büyük Timurlenk, Türkofobi, Çeviribilim, Ulusal ön yargı, Bourdieu, Habitus