Act two then presents a quarrelsome Edward, as he refuses to perform :: English Literature

Act two then presents a quarrelsome Edward, as he refuses to get along even more kingly duties. Scotland has captured MortimerWhat techniques does Marlowe use to engage audiences interest in thefirst two acts of the play?Marlowe studied the Bible and the renewal theologians as well asphilosophy and history at Corpus Christi College Cambridge for sixyears but instead of continuing and taking holy orders, Marlowe wentto capital of the United Kingdom and became a dramatist. He made important friends such asSir Walter Raleigh. Most of his plays were written in blank verse,with Edward II being no exception. It is a historic tragedy playad was Marlowes last play. Later it inspired playwright and directorBertolt Brecht and Lion Feuchtwanger to write Leben Eduards desZweiten von England in 1924.Edward II is an terrific and swiftly moving account of a kingcontrolled by his basest passions, a weak man who becomes a puppet ofhis homosexual lover, and pays a tragic harm for forsaking thegove rnance of his country. The play is set in early fourteenth-centuryEngland, during a period when England was surrounded by enemies inScotland, Ireland, Denmark, and France. Edward, preoccupied by thebanishment of his lover, Gaveston, just acknowledges the crises thatthreaten his country he indulges his passions and forgets ab let on hisduties, failing to recognize that his refusal to attend to stateaffairs is eroding his royal authority. He picks his battles,preferring those petty skirmishes over Gavestons circumstances to those thatwould benefit his rule and enhance the power of the state.Edward II was first performed in 1594, played by the Earl ofPembrokes Men. The next performance indicates 1617, Queen Elizabethsreign. As the country being protestant at this time, parts of the playwould be particularly interesting and entertaining when the play wasperformed, which may not have the alike effect nowadays. For examplewhen Gaveston and Edward demonstrate acts of violence towards the kingand banish him to be imprisoned in the tower. Entertaining violencetowards the Catholics would have been in those days.The first guesswork opens with Gaveston reading a letter from Edward II,newly crowned sovereign of England after the death of Edward I.Gaveston had been banished from court because of his corruptinginfluence on the young prince Edward. Now, with the elder Edward outof the way, Edward II is inviting Gaveston to return and share thekingdom with him. In a few quick lines, Gavestons soliloquy makesclear the homosexual nature of their relationship (take me in thyarms) as well as the theme of power that runs throughout the play.