Forever thinking about
“But what is he whom rule and empery / Have not in life or death made miserable?” (Edward II, Marlowe)
and “Never subject longed to be a king / As I do long and wish to be a subject” (Henry VI Part 1, Shakespeare)
and “How can you say to me I am a king?” (Richard II, Shakespeare)
Elizabethan playwrights were really like “sure sure, those kings weren’t great….but imagine being the too-young monarch of a country embroiled in perpetual late medieval warfare, living in the shadow of your legendary predecessor and unable to escape the terrible responsibility of the throne (you never had a choice in, but were born to)…what if that was a tragedy and borderline horror story, actually”
Like it would have been SO easy to just portray them as useless, brainless, morally bankrupt men because of their poor leadership (Braveheart’s portrayal of Edward II comes to mind lol) and go back to focusing on the meat of the story: wars and court politics.
But both Marlowe and Shakespeare take the time to develop these rulers as tragic figures worthy of sympathy, even as they unknowingly cause the strife and chaos around them. They are ultimately shown to be good (or at least neutral) people: they’re pious, intelligent, and deeply care about their citizens even though they don’t know how to effectively run their country. And their internal conflict is understandable and highly compelling in a way that’s frankly difficult to write.
Bc lbr this isn’t Richard III conniving to achieve power; it’s a series of young kings too in over their heads, recognizing their own inadequacies, and longing to escape the role they were forced into by their births.
I think it’s interesting that the narratives don’t forgive the kings for their poor leadership, but they doesn’t damn them for it either. Rather, the playwrights use their story to underline that the role of a leader is rarely an enviable job: good men rarely make good leaders.
My point is….as @archaeos pointed out…RIP Shakespeare and Marlowe you would have loved Louis XVI of France and his locks. 🤣
@mad-as-the-sea-and-wind EXACTLY YES IT’S ALL SO???? 😭😭
