The tumultuous historical events depicted in Edward II are reflected in the dark and emotionally charged mood of the play, which is characterized by an atmosphere of turmoil, danger, and impending doom. From the opening scenes, there is a palpable sense of conflict and discord within the kingdom and even within the royal family itself. The power struggle between King Edward II and his nobles creates a constant undercurrent of tension and unease that occasionally erupts into open threats of rebellion and violence. There are few—if any—comic scenes to lighten this grave mood.
As the play progresses, the audience witnesses the downfall of King Edward II, whose inability to balance his personal desires and duties as a king leads to his alienation, betrayal, and death, as well as the deaths of all of his major allies. The play's dark mood reflects the weight of this tragedy, evoking a sense of sorrow, pity, and foreboding while still acknowledging Edward’s own responsibility for his tragic circumstances. Edward’s bitter lamentations after he has been dethroned, for example, match the mood of the play more generally:
A litter hast thou? Lay me in a hearse,
And to the gates of hell convey me hence;
Let Pluto’s bells ring out my fatal knell,
And hags howl for my death at Charon’s shore,
For friends hath Edward none, but these, and these,
And these must die under a tyrant’s sword.
Edward remains, until the very end, fatalistic and self-pitying, but there is nonetheless a grandness and pathos to his speech that renders his circumstances tragic. He mournfully acknowledges his own impending death, as well as the deaths of all those who have aided him, including the monks at a monastery where he has hidden. Mortimer, Edward's opponent and replacement, is revealed to be a corrupt and deceptive figure whose own demise, executed on orders of Edward’s young son, further extends the grim cycle of violence depicted in the play.
