Irony of Kingship in Edward Ii

Irony of officeship One way to discuss the irony of male monarchship in Christopher Marlowes play Edward II is to focus on the ways in which Edward himself f every(prenominal)s short of Renaissance intellectls of a unspoilt king. Edward, in other words, has inherited the title of monarch, but he often fails to defy up to the responsibilities of ruling a monarchy. His private affection for Gaveston is so huge that he often neglects his duties to his other subjects. This kind of neglect is already implied in Gavestons opening speech.In that speech, Gaveston begins by reading two sentences from a individualised letter he has received from Edward My father is deceasd. Come, Gaveston, And share the kingdom with thy dearest friend. No sooner does Edwards father die, and no sooner does Edward thereby be lie with king, than he is already focusing, ironically, on his own somebodyal desires. The idea that a monarch could share the kingdom with a friend (no matter how dear) would g row afflicted many of Marlowes contemporaries as foolish and irresponsible.Gavestons reaction in which he delights in the prospects of cosmos the favourite of a king already suggests the potentially ironic consequence of Edwards plan he hopes to benefit himself by giving alike much power to a man who ironically seems primarily interest in his own bliss and delight. Instead of feeling summoned to England as a responsible statesman, Gaveston correctly sees an amorous intention in Edwards words.Many Elizabethans would realise thought that the king now had a responsibility to put his personal affections aside (especially since he was already married) and act in the best interests of the nation. Instead, Edwards motives seem, ironically, the opposite of those of a king who should be truly devoted to his people. Clearly, Gaveston has no great desire to go to England and encourage Edward to be a selfless ruler.Instead, Gaveston next mentions his desire to be held in the kings arms . utterance of Edward, Gaveston refers to The king, upon whose bosom let me lie, even if doing so means that he provide be still at enmity with the world (that is, with others in the kingdom). Gavestons desires, like those of Edward, are mainly personal. The crucial difference is that Gaveston is non the king. Edward is, and his ulterior behavior will seem ironic in light of his actually important social role.Gaveston assumes that once he has become the personal pet of the monarch, he will not have to show respect to other important people in the realm Farewell base stooped to the lordly peers My knee shall bow to none but to the king. Given the constitution of the relationship between Gaveston and Edward, the last line just quoted would have struck many Elizabethans as especially ironic and even shocking. The plays opening speech already implies that little good can come to the kingdom from the kind of relationship the ambitious favourite desires.Keeping aside the facts of the kings typical waywardness and unnatural love towards his favourite, we can analyse the telephone number of kingship from a totally different dimension. He has never been a good king, but if we judge Edward as a human being indeed definitely we have to say that he is an over emotional, honest, and good hearted person who lacked the political shrudeness and cunning to handle the power-hungry barons who were ready to take the advantage of the immaturity of the young king and desired to snatch his power and money.If Edward would have disposed a little more time , perhaps he could have prove himself a better king , but Younger Mortimer did not allow such chances and slaughtered the king secretively to suit his purposes. Now the straits arises that if a man is not cunning, shrude and tricky is that a vice or virtue? Can we really blame Edward just because he could not conform to the so called notion of being a perfect king? All these questions are very ironical and makes the very issue of kingship all the more complex which keep open multi-dimensional possibilities to interpret the topic as well as the play itself.