Steven's Presentation

Steven's presentation focused on two important issues in Edward II: repetition and the double body. I think we were all relieved to address the tedious nature of the play and laugh at Stevens "jokes"... Natalie confessed to falling asleep while reading the play, and I should say that I did too... Steven brought us back to think about how the play constructed a very slow progression of time through the use of repetition and how this conceit created an affective experience. Two of his examples that were very poignant were how one scene will perform an action only to then have a character recount that scene in a narrative, causing the audience to live through it twice, though of course with a difference. The second example was how Edward quickly relocates his desire to Spencer Jr. after Gaveston dies, repeating the plot of the previous acts.

We were all keen to discuss the use of repetition and slow time. I couldn't keep track of who said what, but here are some topics that came up. When the script repeats in narrative what we would have already seen in performance, we get to see non-verbal reactions on stage, such as when we see Gaveston captured and then hear it recounted to see Edward's reaction. This use of repetition allows us also to get different perspectives on events. In a play that really messes with our affective attachments to characters, this change in perspective is important. Along with the slowness of time in the play we also get a number of metaphors of weight and heaviness, which contrasts to Edward's desire for lightness. After Edward dies, however, the pace of the play picks up at a strangely quick speed. The play reestablishes a sense of order with Edward III taking over and killing Mortimer and imprisoning Isabella

In terms of the kings double body and the performance of of king-ness, we discussed how Edward goes back and forth between the kingly body and his corporeal body, particularly dramatized when he gives up and takes back the crown several times. Marlowe seems to be pushing us here to question if the person and the king can be separated. He also points to how much the role of the king is itself a performance which relies on the agreement of the court. For example, when Mortimer and his allies decide to no longer agree to Edward's performance as king, Edward is deposed.

We then went on to discuss Baines Libel and Phelan's chapter.