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

Short Answer Questions

1. In Scene 6, what name does Edward refuse to hear spoken?

2. According to Matrevis in the beginning of Scene 3, men are meant to live in what?

3. At the beginning of the scene, for what the only thing that Edward longs?

4. Mortimer has arranged a horse for Lightborn at points how many miles apart?

5. In Mortimer's soliloquy in Scene 4, who does he say commands him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Much of Marlowe's play deal with the relationship of the sovereign to his peers and vice versa. The plot is driven by two men whose understanding of this relationship is unsound. Write an essay about these men in two parts:

Part 1) How does Edward II represent a king who does not understand the responsibilities of his office? To what extent does he want to enjoy all of the perks of kinship without the responsibility? What conflict does this create? What end does Edward meet as a result?

Part 2) What duty does Mortimer Junior owe to his king that he is unwilling to bestow? How does he justify his unwillingness to respect this customary relationship? In what ways are his arguments reasonable, and i what ways is he simply an ambitious over-reacher? How is his demise brought about by this lack of respect for the sovereign-peer relationship?

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

The world of Edward II, as presented by Christopher Marlowe, is one in which powerful men and women cannot control the forces that exist around them, try as they might. Write and essay about three attempts of powerful characters to control the world around them and failing. What tactics do they use? How do these tactics prove ineffective? What is the end-result for this character?

Part 1) Edward's attempt to control the nobility

Part 2) Isabella's attempt to influence the French aristocracy

Part 3) Mortimer's attempt to consolidate power in the English Court

(see the answer keys)

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