Mortimer arranges for the captive king to be murdered, while making himself protector of the new KIng the young Edward III. At first he is successful, but Mortimer who flees to France returns with Isabel Edwards Queen to defeat the King and his followers. Edward is mortified and with the support of The Spencers (his new favourites) he declares war on the nobles. The Earls of Warwick, Lancaster, and the Earl of March: Mortimer plot to kill Gaveston.
Edward surrounded himself with favourites at court particularly the Frenchman Gaveston. During his reign the Scots defeated the English army at Bannockburn and the French King had seized part of Normandy. Despite telescoping the action of a twenty year reign into a matter of months Marlowe created a play that works on paper and works on the stage: the number of modern revivals plays witness to its playability.Įdward II's reign has been labelled as just one squabble after another as the nobles of England sought to gain power at the expense of a king who had no stomach for war. Marlowe not only succeeded in telling the story of Edwards reign but also created a tragedy with psychological dramatic overtones. Edward was no hero king but a weak minded individual who was accused of letting his country go to rack and ruin while he indulged his favourites at court in a milieu of homoerotic dalliances. His first order of business is to recall his bosom favourite, Piers Gaveston from exile.Ever the subversive when Christopher Marlowe decided to write a history play he had at his disposal probably all of Raphael Holinshed's chronicles from which to chose and he chose the reign of Edward the Second. Our Story: King Edward I has just died, and his son, also Edward, ascends the throne.
Frequently referring to, but generally by-passing, most of the important political developments of Edward’s reign (1307-1327), the story focuses in laser-like fashion on Edward’s weakness of character and obsession with his personal favourites the result is a tragedy of the highest order. The history play Edward II repre sents the ultimate affirmation of Christopher Marlowe’s power and skill as a dramatist, and is to boot the only play of his which can be confidently stated to be an unadulterated example of his work. Language Difficulty Rating: 4 (slightly difficult).
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