Edward II (Play)
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Edward II is a play by Christopher Marlowe, with the title
complete of The troubled reign and the lamentable death of Edward II, king of
England, and the tragic fall of the proud Mortimer (The Troublesome Reign and
Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England, with the Tragical Fall of
Proud Mortimer). It premiered in 1592, so it can be considered one of the
first tragedies based on the history of England, a subgenre that
it would achieve great splendor shortly thereafter in the pen of William Shakespeare.
In 1924, Bertolt Brecht premiered in Munich an adaptation of this work titled The
the life of Edward II of England.
Argument
After being crowned, Edward II calls his friend Gaveston to London. After the
meeting, both will surrender to a life full of parties, where they squander the
money from England, while neglecting their government. This unleashes the anger of the
nobles, led by Mortimer, who cannot stand to see how a commoner has achieved
to control the kingdom. The Bishop of Coventry shares the same opinion, who threatens to
Gaveston can face the Parliament if he does not leave the country immediately.
Upon learning of this, Edward II orders the bishop to be imprisoned and stripped of his
possessions. However, this makes the nobles even angrier, so that
King Edward is forced to expel Gaveston. However, the queen convinces
to Mortimer to allow the return of Gaveston, informing him of the large amount
of gold that this one has and that would be extremely useful for assembling the guard and
to prepare a good army, besides the fact that, if he returned, it would be easier to assassinate him.
Gaveston finally returns, but he is captured and killed by the nobles.
instances of Mortimer. Then they prepare to attack King Edward himself, who
upon discovering the mess, he flees with his most loyal knights. When the nobles
he is arrested, forced to abdicate in favor of his son, Edward III, still a child. The
queen and Mortimer, turned into the queen's lover and tutor of the child king, confine
to Edward II and order his torture and cruel murder. When Edward III discovers what
occurred in his childhood and the guilt of Mortimer and his own mother, them
accuses; and orders the decapitation of Mortimer and his imprisonment for life in a tower
from his mother, thus avenging the death of his beloved father.
