Marlowe's Edward II as "Actaeonesque History" - Connotations
Marlowe's Edward II as "Actaeonesque History" - Connotations Marlowe's Edward II as "Actaeonesque History" - Connotations
10 CHRISTOPHER WESSMAN nobles trying to guard their monarch's inviolability-declaring themselves unwilling to be weakened in the face of intrusive spying? Why does their master the King refuse to accept their protection, for himself and the realm? The Diana myth and the monarch's roles are opened up, profoundly unsettled and destabilized by Marlowe. The nobles' outrage at Edward stems from his exposure of the court, a dangerous accessibility that is expressed in various ways. Many of these are deeply symbolic of Gaveston's (and later the next minion Spencer's) proximity to the natural and political bodies of the monarch. When Edward defiantly seats his minion next to him upon the throne, declaring "It is our pleasure; we will have it so" (I.iv.8-14), the disgusted nobles ironically quote Ovid on the incompatibility of love and majesty, and draw their swords. 30 Charles Forker stresses how the King's gesture here is both "emblematic and shocking," in that it "signifies that Edward has made his lover politically equal with himself.,,31 But more than this, it represents a yoking of physical and political contact, a threatening nearness that is despicable and dangerous. The nobles attempt to fight back not only with swords, but with symbols of their own. Sarcastically welcoming Gaveston back from exile, they design "devices" that depict the intruder's effect upon the realm: among others, a canker creeping up to the top of a tree where "kingly eagles perch" (ILii.11-46). Such symbolism, which Edward reads correctly as "private libeling" (I1.ii.34), resembles the barely veiled advice of the Elizabethan pageants of Gascoigne, Jonson, and others described by Marie Axton?2 When they do not have the desired effect and their advice regarding protection of the body politic goes unheeded, the nobles resort to more direct means of persuasion. "Look for rebellion, look to be deposed," threatens Lancaster, to which arch-rival Mortimer adds, encapsulating the crisis of this failed Diana figure, "Thy court is naked" (I1.ii.1S8, 171). The court is indeed naked-the consequence of a ruler whose desire for voyeuristic pleasure with and through his minions is as great as his own need to exhibit himself. In this, he is like so many other Marlowe characters whose glee in watching turns into a histrionic zest for showing. Edward's theatrical "carnivalizing" of himself stands as one instance out of many:
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10<br />
CHRISTOPHER WESSMAN<br />
nobles trying to guard their monarch's inviolability-declaring themselves<br />
unwilling to be weakened in the face of intrusive spying? Why does their<br />
m<strong>as</strong>ter the King refuse to accept their protection, for himself and the realm?<br />
The Diana myth and the monarch's roles are opened up, profoundly<br />
unsettled and destabilized by Marlowe.<br />
The nobles' outrage at <strong>Edward</strong> stems from his exposure of the court,<br />
a dangerous accessibility that is expressed in various ways. Many of these<br />
are deeply symbolic of Gaveston's (and later the next minion Spencer's)<br />
proximity to the natural and political bodies of the monarch. When <strong>Edward</strong><br />
defiantly seats his minion next to him upon the throne, declaring "It is<br />
our ple<strong>as</strong>ure; we will have it so" (I.iv.8-14), the disgusted nobles ironically<br />
quote Ovid on the incompatibility of love and majesty, and draw their<br />
swords. 30 Charles Forker stresses how the King's gesture here is both<br />
"emblematic and shocking," in that it "signifies that <strong>Edward</strong> h<strong>as</strong> made<br />
his lover politically equal with himself.,,31 But more than this, it represents<br />
a yoking of physical and political contact, a threatening nearness that is<br />
despicable and dangerous. The nobles attempt to fight back not only with<br />
swords, but with symbols of their own. Sarc<strong>as</strong>tically welcoming Gaveston<br />
back from exile, they design "devices" that depict the intruder's effect upon<br />
the realm: among others, a canker creeping up to the top of a tree where<br />
"kingly eagles perch" (ILii.11-46). Such symbolism, which <strong>Edward</strong> reads<br />
correctly <strong>as</strong> "private libeling" (I1.ii.34), resembles the barely veiled advice<br />
of the Elizabethan pageants of G<strong>as</strong>coigne, Jonson, and others described<br />
by Marie Axton?2<br />
When they do not have the desired effect and their advice regarding<br />
protection of the body politic goes unheeded, the nobles resort to more<br />
direct means of persu<strong>as</strong>ion. "Look for rebellion, look to be deposed,"<br />
threatens Lanc<strong>as</strong>ter, to which arch-rival Mortimer adds, encapsulating<br />
the crisis of this failed Diana figure, "Thy court is naked" (I1.ii.1S8, 171).<br />
The court is indeed naked-the consequence of a ruler whose desire for<br />
voyeuristic ple<strong>as</strong>ure with and through his minions is <strong>as</strong> great <strong>as</strong> his own<br />
need to exhibit himself. In this, he is like so many other Marlowe characters<br />
whose glee in watching turns into a histrionic zest for showing. <strong>Edward</strong>'s<br />
theatrical "carnivalizing" of himself stands <strong>as</strong> one instance out of many:
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