OCR a Level English Literature Delivery Guide Learner Resource Edward II - Activity 3 Fuel

Edward II - Activity 3. Fuel to the fire

Introduction: in this task, you’re going to look at the violent language in Edward II and identify the factors that give it dramatic impact.

Student guidance:

1. Identify an example of violent language. (1st row)

2. Consider the literary techniques that make the line dramatic. (2nd row)

3. Next, consider any contextual factors that add to the line’s impact. (3rd row)

4. For it to be credible, the violent language that erupts throughout the play has to be sufficiently motivated. If it isn’t, it’s not credible. And if it’s not credible, it loses dramatic impact. Next, without overthinking it, write down anything that you think might motivate the character to use the violent language. (4th row)

5. Now, look again at these motivational factors. Are any explicitly referenced in the line? For instance, Gaveston’s lowly social status ‘base peasant’. And are others more implicit. IE, mentioned elsewhere in the play and not necessarily ruled out in the line you are analysing. EG: Xenophia. And are any irrelevant? For example, homophobia is not a relevant example because Mortimer says ‘his wanton humour grieves me not’ (4:401) after his father argues that the ‘mightiest kings have had their minions.’ (4:390). Highlight accordingly. See fourth line below. Blue = explicit. Yellow = implicit. Red = irrelevant.

6. Finally, sum up your argument in the 5th row of the column. You could think about the following:

· Which literary device adds the most weight to the line’s dramatic impact?

· Do the contextual factors create more dramatic effect than the linguistic factors?

· Is violence of the language matched by the motivational factors? If it is, does this add to the credibility of the line and therefore its dramatic impact?

Have a look at the exemplar table below. Can you add anything else to it?

Try to fill in the next table. There is an example line to set you off.

Next think of other moments when violent language is used (When Edward addresses the Catholic church; when Isabella wishes herself dead; when Gaveston and Edward part for instance) and fill in more tables.

Christopher Marlowe: Edward II

Example of violent language / ‘And at the court-gate hang the peasant up,/Who, swoll’n with venom of ambitious pride,/Will be the ruin of the realm and us.’ (Mortimer. 2:30) /
Literary techniques that create dramatic impact / Alliteration: ruin, realm adds impact / Imagery: hanging Gaveston from the gate is a violent image /
Contextual factors that create dramatic impact in the line / Cultural context: Venom alludes to the serpent in the garden of Eden. Ambitious pride alludes to Lucifer’s fall. Also a nod to the idea that the King’s role was to bring the Kingdom of God to earth (AKA The Kingdom of Man). Gaveston is a threat to this. /
Motivation / Xenophobia: ‘That sly inveigling Frenchman we’ll exile’ (Mortimer 2:57) / Class bias: ‘base peasant’ / Homophobia: ‘Is it not strange that he is thus bewitched?’ (Mortimer Senior. 2:55)
‘Diablo! What passions call you these? (Lancaster 4:318) /
Why is the line dramatic? / This line is dramatic because of how Marlowe uses a cultural context to equate Gaveston with Satan/the serpent. Marlowe may have been an atheist, but his audience wasn’t so this would have been shocking. The concept of the divine right of monarchs was current and would gain even greater sway under Elizabeth I’s successor James I. The idea of Gaveston as Lucifer in the garden of Eden wouldn’t be seen as hyperbole by the audience. According to the divine right concept the monarch’s job was to bring the Kingdom of God to the Kingdom of Man (IE: earth), providing an example of how to live according to God’s law on earth. Gaveston posing a threat to the Kingdom of God on earth would have been a credible, and thus dramatic one. The literary techniques (such as alliteration) and the imagery of Gaveston hanging are therefore, not wherein the line’s power lies. The anger behind the line is amply justified in the play, and there is enough explicit and implicit motivation in the line to add to the line’s credibility for a contemporary audience, less affected by the concept of the divine right of monarchs. /
Example of violent language / ‘…either change your mind/Or look to see the throne where you should sit/To float in blood, and at thy wanton head/The glozing head of thy base minion thrown.’ (Lancaster. 1:129) /
Literary techniques that create dramatic impact /
Contextual factors that create dramatic impact /
Motivation /
Why is the line dramatic? /
Example of violent language /
Literary techniques that create dramatic impact /
Contextual factors that create dramatic impact /
Motivation /
Why is the line dramatic? /
Example of violent language /
Literary techniques that create dramatic impact /
Contextual factors that create dramatic impact /
Motivation /
Why is the line dramatic? /

Christopher Marlowe: Edward II