Discuss Marlowe’s Edward
II as a Tragedy. / How far does Marlowe’s Edward II satisfy the
notion of a high tragedy?
The
tragedies of Marlowe are known for their grand
design, extravagance
grandeur, ‘rant
and bluster’, the monomaniac
characters with their single obsession of power, the passion for their
boosting up of self in a way that we marvel at them, and a certain ruthlessness
which defies human sentiment. His last celebrated tragedy Edward II is concerned with the tragic fall of a historical king, Edward II.
Aristotle
in his Poetics defines tragedy as “an
imitation of an action that is serious and complete and of certain magnitude...
not of narrative through pity and fear affecting the proper purgation of these effects.” Marlowe’s Edward II surely abides
by certain points of Aristotelian definition of tragedy.
As
per as technical excellence is concerned, Marlowe Edward II does not appeal as
Shakespeare’s tragedies do. Whereas Shakespeare’s tragedies deal with lofty
universal ideal, Marlowe’s Edward II is all about frustration and weakness. The dictum “Character
is destiny” is absolutely applicable to the tragedy of Edward II. Shakespeare’s tragic heroes
are great men not only in the sense that they are kings and generals, but
because they gain a great moral character in spite of havinghamartia (characteristic flaw). Hamlet is a man of lofty ideals; Macbeth
and Othello are men of outstanding qualities; King Lear has the nobility of
soul. Accordingly they evoke pity and fear. Marlowe’s Edward II is a king of
different nature. He
is not only a fool but a coward.................................................................
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