Edward II

This is the third Marlowe play I have read this winter, and he has distracted me from Middleton now for about 3 weeks.  I will be back in the thick of Middleton next week, but for now I have Marlowe.

Edward II is a new play to me, and I realized my only exposure to this obscure king is from Braveheart.  In the movie he was Edward Longshanks queer son.  Remember the scene when Longshanks tosses the princes lover out the window?  That Prince!

This play focuses a lot on Edward and his "lover" Gaveston.  The whole first part of the play is how Edward loves Gaveston and everyone else in the kingdom hates Gaveston.  It is kind of comical how the king is constantly doting on his lover, even as his nobles are raising arms against him.  No matter the situation the king asks about his Gaveston.

Eventually the king is defeated and taken to some dungeon where he is tortured with rotten food, drainage water, and foul smells.  The way the characters described it I couldn't help but laugh, especially as Edward was a very proud person.  I think Marlowe has a dark sense of humor, that if playedd right on stage could cause the audience to laugh at a monarch humiliated.