Dramatically compressing the reign of Edward II and enlivening the
historical narrative with humour, romance, and horrific violence,
Marlowe interrogates how the transgression of accepted codes of
behaviour affects even those at the highest level of society. Kept off
the stage for almost three hundred years because of its dramatization of
explicit homosexual relationships, it has become increasingly popular
with modern day readers and performed on stage and film to great
acclaim.
This student edition contains a completely new introduction by Stephen
Guy-Bray, and offers students a useful and lively overview of recent
criticism, an updated performance history paying greater attention to
Derek Jarman's film, a background on the author and themes, as well as
an updated bibliography and a fully annotated version of the playtext.