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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Edward swear to send Gaveston?

2. What part of Edward's body does he chastise Gaveston not to kiss?

3. At the beginning of the scene, Mortimer Junior brings news that what country is invading Normandy?

4. To whom is the Bishop of Canterbury writing in Scene 2?

5. Which of the nobles wounds Gaveston in this scene?

Short Essay Questions

1. What revenge does Gaveston have on the Bishop of Coventry, and why?

2. What is Edward's state of mind in Scene 5?

3. What plan have the nobles mad by the end of Scene 2?

4. Describe the space where Edward is kept in Scene 5.

5. How does Baldock calm Spencer Junior at the end of Scene 6?

6. To what extent is Mortimer's pride getting the best of him in Scene 4?

7. What are the fates of Edward, Spencer Junior and Baldock after they are discovered?

8. Why is Isabella distraught in Scene 2?

9. How is Edward dealing with Mortimer's escape?

10. Why does Edward agree to Gaveston's exile?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Queen Isabella is perhaps the most dynamic character in the play, moving from wronged woman to warrior to conniver. Write an essay charting this progress and focusing on these three manifestations. What does she want from Edward II at the beginning of the play, and at what point does she give up on this hope? What does her relationship with Mortimer Junior say about her position in the conflict between Edward and the nobles? How does her personality change in the final two acts?

Essay Topic 2

Betrayal is a constant driver of plot in Edward II. Power players of medieval England make vows to each other which they break quickly for political advancement or due to lack of resolve. Write an essay about betrayal in the play, in three parts:

Part 1) Mortimer Junior vows to his fellow peers that he cannot allow Gaveston to remain in England, but he relents soon thereafter. How is he so easily swayed to change his mind? How does this put the other nobles in danger? Does it display a weakness that will later destroy him?

Part 2) Isabella constantly swears fidelity and love to Edward, but by Act 4, he is championing the cause of Mortimer Junior. Why is this? Do you buy the justification of her betrayal? How does she pay for it in the final scene of the play?

Part 3) Kent twice betrays the side to whom he has sworn fidelity. How are these two betrayals the most understandable to the audience? Are they the result of conscience rather than ambition?

Essay Topic 3

Unlike many Elizabethan histories, Edward II does not feature a cast of royals with well defined aims and objectives. Write an essay on the haphazard strategies of the princes and nobles of the play, focusing on three parts:

Part 1) Edward II, from the beginning of the play, is unable to articulate why he should be king. What, for the first half of the narrative, are his objectives and reasons for going to war? At what point does governance and the crown become important to him?

Part 2) Mortimer Junior seems at times to be a conscientious man concerned with England. At other times he seems and ambitious rogue. What does Mortimer want throughout the play? In what ways and why does he so often reverse his own decisions?

Part 3) Kent is the everyman of Edward II. Why does he stand by the king long after most other peers have left? What is the final straw for him? Why does he try to make peace with Edward II?

(see the answer keys)

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