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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 Mortimer Junior threaten to do if Gaveston return to England?

2. Where is Isabella headed when Mortimer halts her in Scene 2?

3. What covert act must a gentleman occasionally enact, according to Spencer Junior?

4. Spencer and Baldock served what newly-deceased lord?

5. What entreaty does Mortimer Junior make to Edward when they enter in Scene 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what precarious situation are Spencer Junior and Baldock in Act 2, Scene 1?

2. How does Edward discover Mortimer's whereabouts?

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

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

5. Describe Isabella's and Edward III's reception in France.

6. Describe Lightborn.

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

8. How does Edward reward Gaveston when the two are reunited?

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

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

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

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 3

Marlowe adeptly connects the larger, international crises of Edward II's England to the private and domestic quarrels the are the centerpiece of the plot. Write an essay, focusing on the two foreign armies that plague England throughout the play. How does Edward react to news of their success? How do major victories for them affect his relationship with the nobles? How are certain of these defeats the result of poor decisions Edward makes throughout the play?

Part 1) France.

Part 2) Scotland.

(see the answer keys)

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