Edward II (New Mermaids)
"This is a first-rate edition of an increasingly important play. Mathew Martin's editing of the quarto text of Edward the Second is detailed and thoughtful, with copious, insightful annotations, and his critical introduction lucidly explores the play's theatrical contexts, historiographical concerns, and thematic imperatives. The extensive appendices that conclude the volume are invaluable for understanding the larger historical, political, and sexual contexts of the work. All in all, this is an edition that will greatly benefit both the student reader and the experienced scholar." (Ian Munro)"Mathew Martin's new edition of Edward the Second will serve well the needs of students. The introduction contains a succinct and helpful summary of the pertinent aspects of Marlowe's life and of the practical concerns of the Elizabethan stage, details the reign of the historical Edward II, and considers early modern and postmodern evaluations of "sodomitical" relationships. Appendices offer important cultural contexts, including passages from Marlowe's historical sources in Holinshed and Stow, Michael Drayton's very different poetic account of Edward's reign, a selection of early modern versions of the tradition of amity (or friendship between men), and Renaissance legal and moral descriptions of sodomy." (Ian McAdam)--This text refers to an alternatePaperbackedition.