Book Review: The Plot-Construction Of Edward II

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The plot-construction of Edward II. Though Marlowe has always been deficient in plot construction of his plays, particularly, “Dr. Faustus”, “Tamburlaine” and “The Jew of Malta”, because of his over mastering passion or emotion and imagination, he shows a great dramatic harmony or unity in “Edward II”. Marlowe exhibits considerable dramatic skill in stringing up so many historical as well as unhistorical incidents and characters. “Edward II” consists of two plots. The main plot presents the unnatural homosexual love between Edward and his minions. The sub-plot portrays the illicit love between Young Mortimer and Isabella, the Queen. The unnatural love between King Edward and his favourite Gaveston and two spensers- gives rise to antagonism between the king and Young Mortimer, the leader of the group of opposition. The illicit love between Mortimer and Isabella contributes only to intensify the crisis of the play.…show more content…
Marlowe covers in a few hours the entire reign of twenty years of Edward II; and also handles quite deftly so many loose historical and unhistorical episodes. These “intractable” materials, in the language of T.S.Eliot in his essay “Hamlet and His Problems”, Shakespeare could manage in his mature years, but which Marlowe has managed in Edward
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