A character or two might evoke God, but there is no sense of divine power, interference, sustenance, etc. Marlowe's world of the play is not one where God seems to exist at all, or, if He does, He seems to care very little for those in the sublunary world.
Is the world of the play connected to the world of God and/or Nature? They are absent, irrelevant, and manipulated. The commons are pulled up to fight their lords' battles, yet we never encounter them. Some of the characters invoke the commons, such as Lancaster's claims that there are rebellions everywhere and Mortimer's that the streets are filled with libel and course ballads, and that the soldiers are mutinying while Gaveston struts and prates. It's the machinations of nobles and kings that decide the way the commons live, which is a mostly true assessment of Elizabethan England overall. Like God and Nature (see next Essay Question), the people of the realm seem to have little role in the text. These are just some of the many examples, and they serve to deepen the meaning of the play. Edward and Gaveston are compared to the Greek lovers of Hero and Leander, as well as Jove and Europa. They are important for, as Sara Munson Deats writes, "exploiting traditional connotations to modulate theme, to foreshadow action, and to manipulate audience response toward the central characters of the play." For example, Gaveston is compared to Phaeton, suggesting he is overreaching and anarchic, as well as Midas, an "ambitious self-seeker." Isabella compares herself to Circe, which suggests her cruelty and jealousy.
There are numerous Greek allusions in the text that provide more context, interpretation, and satisfaction for the audience, especially Marlowe's contemporaries who would have been more familiar with them. What role do the Greek allusions in the text play?
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