An important motif in the play is Fortune’s wheel, a common allegorical figure in the Renaissance for the unpredictability of life. After assigning Matrevis and Gurney to guard the former King Edward, tormenting him with insults and discomfort, Mortimer states:
As thou intendest to rise by Mortimer,
Who now makes Fortune’s wheel turn as he please,
Seek all the means thou canst to make him droop,
And neither give him kind word nor good look.
Mortimer tells Matrevis and Gurney that if they seek advancement at court they must heed his instructions carefully, as Mortimer has the political power to “[make] Fortune’s wheel turn as he please.” In the early modern period, many writers invoked the goddess Fortune, whose wheel allegorically represents the twists of fate: as one man rises on the wheel, another must fall. Having successfully defeated King Edward, Mortimer feels secure in his political position, confidently asserting that he has the power to shape destiny.
Later, Mortimer revisits the motif of Fortune’s wheel, as his own fortune has taken a turn for the worse:
Base Fortune, now I see that in thy wheel
There is a point to which when men aspire
They tumble headlong down. That point I touched,
And, seeing there was no place to mount up higher,
Why should I grieve at my declining fall?
Despite his previous confidence in the success of his plan, Mortimer’s role in the murder of the former King has been exposed, and he now faces execution. He again invokes Fortune, noting bitterly that he has “touched” the top of the wheel and must now “tumble headlong down.” Here, he acknowledges that he was never truly in control of fortune, but rather, just another of its victims.
An important motif in the play is Fortune’s wheel, a common allegorical figure in the Renaissance for the unpredictability of life. After assigning Matrevis and Gurney to guard the former King Edward, tormenting him with insults and discomfort, Mortimer states:
As thou intendest to rise by Mortimer,
Who now makes Fortune’s wheel turn as he please,
Seek all the means thou canst to make him droop,
And neither give him kind word nor good look.
Mortimer tells Matrevis and Gurney that if they seek advancement at court they must heed his instructions carefully, as Mortimer has the political power to “[make] Fortune’s wheel turn as he please.” In the early modern period, many writers invoked the goddess Fortune, whose wheel allegorically represents the twists of fate: as one man rises on the wheel, another must fall. Having successfully defeated King Edward, Mortimer feels secure in his political position, confidently asserting that he has the power to shape destiny.
Later, Mortimer revisits the motif of Fortune’s wheel, as his own fortune has taken a turn for the worse:
Base Fortune, now I see that in thy wheel
There is a point to which when men aspire
They tumble headlong down. That point I touched,
And, seeing there was no place to mount up higher,
Why should I grieve at my declining fall?
Despite his previous confidence in the success of his plan, Mortimer’s role in the murder of the former King has been exposed, and he now faces execution. He again invokes Fortune, noting bitterly that he has “touched” the top of the wheel and must now “tumble headlong down.” Here, he acknowledges that he was never truly in control of fortune, but rather, just another of its victims.
