The Queen Is Dead: Brecht's Eduard II

Abstract

One of the most remarkable aspects of Leben Eduards des Zweiten is that it is an almost womanless play. Complementary to this observation is that the various antagonists in Marlowe's play become protagonists in Brecht's version. Furthermore, these protagonists—Edward, Gaveston, Mortimer, and Edward's son—are all “youths” and have as their opponents, obviously, father figures. That some of these protagonists oppose themselves does not contradict this. In starting with the Queen, I do not mean that she is the chief character. Quite to the contrary, we find her to be an absence, a negativity which allows our protagonists to stand in sharper profile.The play consists of twelve captioned episodes which constitute a three-part structure: I. A-C; II. D, alone; and III. E-L. In the first episode (A), we find Gaveston back from exile, invited by the present King Edward, who has dared to recall his bosom friend against his now dead father's proscription and the peers’ wills.