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Title: Edward the Second by Christopher Marlowe, William-Alan Landes ISBN: 0-88734-720-7 Publisher: Players Press Pub. Date: February, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The troublesome reign and Lamentable death of Edward
Comment: The edition of Edward II I read was the New Mermaid Series one, which had a very good and informative introduction, and has the spelling modernized. The spelling modernization extends to place names as well as general terms. I am not sure how I feel about spelling modernization, as it is nice to see how the work was originally spelled, but it made the work very easy to read. The play itself is amazing, very engaging even though it is a history, and is mostly based on things that actually happened. The language is not as flowery as Shakespeare, but is lovely nonetheless. Some of the characters of the play are very fickle, and seem to suddenly change as you read the text of the play. (Queen Isabella goes from devoted and self-sacrificing wife to cunning adulteress.) It makes more sense on stage, and after seeing this play, it was easier to see how good it is.
Rating: 5
Summary: Marlowe outdoes himself!
Comment: Marlowe's final play is also his masterpiece. To be sure, the dramatic events in this play really did happen, but Marlowe shows himself at his best when he paints the picture. At first, Marlowe masterfully allows us to detest Edward for undoing all the fine work of his father Edward Longshanks. We also are able to feel sorry for Mortimer and Isabella. (the eventual villains). Isabella feels neglected and Mortimer can not stand to see the fine work of Edward Longshanks undone. Later, we come to have some respect for Edward II when he shows himself to have some of his father's fine qualities and he crushes the first rebellion against him with courage and intelligence. When the second uprising successful, we no longer are lead into any feelings of admiration for Mortimer and Isabella. Once they have power they are more vile and disgusting than Edward II ever was. By Act 5.1, Marlowe gives Edward II moving soliloquies and does not allow our new won pity to slack for a moment. The final scene of this play when Edward II's 17 year old son Edward III flips the tables, crushes his corrupt mother, has Mortimer put to death, and offers prayers to his murdered father is a scene that is almost unsurpassed in literature. To be sure, this did actually happen, but Marlowe not only tells us what happened, but colors it with his superb mastery of the language.
Rating: 5
Summary: Shakespeare? Who? Marlowe was far better!
Comment: Edward the second, or to give it its full title, 'The troublesome reign and Lamentable death of Edward, the second king of England, with the tragical fall of proud Mortimer', is famous for being an Elizabethan 'Gay play', but this is only one of the subjects contained within the play. Politics, cruelty and the Feudal System are all important themes in this, one of the great masterstrokes of Elizabethan literature. The play itself is a history play, set in the 14th century featuring Edward and his previously basished lover, Gaveston, who returns after the death of Edward's father. This return enrages the barons, who were sworn to Edward's father that Gaveston would never return. This is the catalyst for a plot that races around like a cheetah on speed, culminating in one of the most excruciating deaths ever portrayed on stage. "Shakespeare? Who? Marlowe was far better!"
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Title: The Jew of Malta (Drama Classics) by Christopher Marlowe, Peter J. Smith ISBN: 1854591991 Publisher: Theatre Communications Group Pub. Date: April, 1997 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
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Title: Mr Clive and Mr Page by Neil Bartlett ISBN: 1852425873 Publisher: Serpent's Tail Pub. Date: May, 1998 |
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Title: The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare: An Introduction With Documents by Russ McDonald ISBN: 0312248806 Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's Pub. Date: April, 2001 List Price(USD): $22.75 |
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Title: King Richard II by William Shakespeare, Andrew Gurr ISBN: 0521532485 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar, Grace Frick ISBN: 0374503486 Publisher: Noonday Press Pub. Date: 01 January, 1963 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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