Analyse the character of young Mortimer in
Christopher Marlowe’s, Edward II.
Young Mortimer is the
second important character of Christopher Marlowe’s, Edward II , which was
one of the earliest successful English historical dramas and a model for
Shakespeare's Richard II and Richard III. He is portrayed with great spirit and
power to A. E. Boas, “ the lines of his character , are of course , toned down
to suit the altered environment, but there is the same note of lawlessly
aspiring ambition .Boas has presented the bird’s eye view of
Mortimer’s character .
In the play Roger de
Mortimer is a somewhat imbued with dual- personality. He is a strange
combination of strait forward bluntness and Machiavellian tactics. His
character undergoes a change in the play. Since time is foreshortened and
events develop rapidly in the change I Mortimer’s character comes a bit too
suddenly. The few months during which he stays in France with Queen Isabella
make him a different man altogether.
