#edward ii

[zanephillips]

Edward II (1991) dir. Derek Jarman

[pierppasolini]

Edward II (1991) // dir. Derek Jarman

[leonardcohenofficial]

compare these two translations of the first scene of brecht's edward II (jean benedetti's is first, eric bentley's is second)—benedetti's language is clearly attempting to preserve more of the tonality and rhythm of elizabethan blank verse than bentley. the language is overly flowery, as if we've gone from marlowe to brecht and now benedetti is trying to drag the text back to marlowe, rather than preserving brecht's voice proper. bentley's language is simpler, much more straightforward, but nonetheless gorgeous, especially with how he translates metaphor throughout the text. "is as elysium to a new-come soul" is pretty language, but does not (in my humble opinion) communicate meaning as straightforwardly as "is heaven to a soul that's just got there." bentley's language is more active and more intense; verbs like "fly," "whisked," "grabs" reflect the deep nature of edward and gaveston's bond. (on the other hand, i do like "and now a king moves heaven and earth/for your son's friendship" a bit more than "grabs at a chance of.") the benedetti translation is far from the worst of the bloomsbury/methuen versions out there, but when compared to the bentley it really misses the mark in terms of communicating thematic ideas clearly and muddies the waters stylistically

—it's also of note that benedetti was a stanislavski scholar and follower first (though his writings on brecht are generally pretty fair; definitely read his stanislavski scholarship though, he really set a new standard), and bentley was (along with john willett) one of the foremost brecht scholars of the twentieth century and had the immense privilege of knowing brecht personally from the forties on, which certainly impacted his translation work

[hamletthedane]

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”

[themedievalbeekeeper]

This gruesomely adorable image is just one of many gorgeous details from the Isabella Psalter, which was given to twelve-year-old Isabella of France by her husband, Edward II, as a wedding gift. And it really does give Medieval Creepypasta vibes all throughout.

[hound-and-bear]

Made and designed by me, 2026. Photographed by Sarah Lordan.

[forever70s]

Ian McKellen, Diane Fletcher, and James Laurenson in the televised performance of Edward II (1970)

[grandturtleperson]

Edward II. (1991). Directed by Derek Jarman.