5/14/2023 0 Comments Edward 11 christopher marlowePerhaps even more surprising-the gays aren’t villainous! Well, Gaveston does have a moment of drunk power, and Edward’s horniness causes unnecessary turmoil in the kingdom, but, by the end, we weep for the male lovers and have disdain for the usurping rebels. I think it would be very hard to argue that Marlowe didn’t intend for these historical figures to be seen as intimate lovers. Imagine my surprise when something from the late 1500s is brave enough to go there quite openly. Prior to recent memory, most literature referencing gay love tends to be thickly veiled behind a wall of friendship, lest anyone consider it obscene. King Edward and Gaveston pine over each other as passionately as Romeo and Juliet, with lingering embraces, confessions of eternal devotion, and a willingness to die for true love. My instant obsession with this play is likely a result of Marlowe’s uninhibited lines expressing same-sex romance. Edward II is just as good as Shakespeare’s finer histories, and clearly better than some of his worst. Christopher Marlow was, of course, one of Shakespeare’s rivals, and a worthy one at that. Marvelous! It’s been years since I binged on the complete works of Shakespeare, and I’d forgotten just how wonderful renaissance theater could be.
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