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

Short Answer Questions

1. The Mayor of which city arrives in Scene 5 to present Spencer Senior to Isabella?

2. What does the Mower request in the last moment of the scene?

3. What do Matrevis and Gurney use to wash Edward's face in Scene 3?

4. Which of the following items is not one that Lightborn requires of Matrevis and Gurney?

5. What does Edward II intend to do as his armies are being defeated?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The character of Edward II seems at times to be a man with a kingdom thrust upon him. He does not want, initially, to concern himself with the acts of kinship. Write an essay on Edward's relationship with governance in three parts:

Part 1) Gaveston is Edward's dear partner, but he represents something more essential in Edward's personality. How is Gaveston indicative of Edward's desire not to be a leader? How does he represent Edward's egoism?

Part 2) Describe the larger political events that swirl around Edward as he focuses on his personal happiness. What happens with France and Scotland? How do the nobles react? What comments does Edward make regarding his attitude toward his realm?

Part 3) At the end of Edward II, the titular character is transformed. How does loss render Edward a new outlook on the realities of kinship? Whatis his deepest relationship after Gaveston and Spencer Junior are gone?

Essay Topic 2

The relationship between Gaveston and Edward II is both intense and ambiguous. Write an essay about it, dissecting its purpose within the plot. Does Gaveston ever make mention of his social advancement through Edward? What are the nobles' concerns regarding him? Does Marlowe ever make explicit reference to homosexuality in the play? What does Edward's passionate attachment to Gaveston represent in the world of the play?

Essay Topic 3

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 413 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample