View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Against what enemy has the Third Poor Man fought?

2. Who is the first noble that Edward publicly forgives after Gaveston is repealed in Scene 4?

3. According to Mortimer Junior, who is aiding the Scots?

4. According to the nobles in seem to, how is Gaveston normally positioned with the King in court?

5. What does Isabella resolve to do in Scene 2 rather than be the cause of unrest?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Mortimer's plan regarding Edward III?

2. What plans does Gaveston upon returning from exile?

3. How is Edward III caught between Kent and Mortimer at the end of Scene 2?

4. How does Edward react to giving up his crown?

5. Who is captured in the victory against Edward?

6. Describe Edward and Gaveston's parting in Scene 4.

7. How does Mortimer Junior convince the other nobles that Gaveston should be recalled?

8. Who is Lady Margaret?

9. What is Warwick's plan at the end of Scene 5?

10. What is Isabella's end?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Marlowe's medieval England, murder is a carefully chosen and strategically effective means for altering the political dynamics of the realm. Write an essay about the key murders of the play and their effects in three parts:

Part 1) What are the noble's essential issues with Gaveston, and what other tactics do they attempt before murdering him? What is the final straw for the nobles, and what do they achieve with Gaveston's murder?

Part 2) Who decides that Kent must die, and how does he go about accomplishing this end? What is Kent's role in the political world of Edward II, and how does his removal change the dynamic?

Part 3) The murder of a king i s a major decision, rife with awful possibilities. Why do Isabella and Mortimer Junior decide to have Edward II killed after he is deposed? What do they hope to achieve? What is the ultimate result of this murder?

Essay Topic 2

The play of Edward II focuses on the scripture of the English class system, in which people are born into their station and social mobility is looked upon with disdain. Focusing on three characters, write an essay on social mobility in the play. How does each character view himself in the pecking order? How does he seek to improve his station? What is his attitude toward the system as a whole?

Part 1) Gaveston

Part 2) Mortimer Junior

Part 3) Spencer Junior and Baldock

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the noble's as a group. What does Marlowe intend to say about the nobility of this time? Are they unified for a single purpose, or is each separately focused on personal advancement? At which points over the course of the narrative do individual nobles break from the collective will of the group? Which nobles are they, and why does each choose to break ranks? What is Marlowe saying about the way that history is made by individual men?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 993 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample