Many scholars argue that it is difficult to call it either a tragedy or simply a history. For some it will even be a tragic history. Nevertheless, the first edition of Richard II described it as a tragedy, not a history. Richard II is not only a work of its own but it is also written as the first part of a tetralogy. The other plays which belong to this series are Henry IV, parts one and two, and Henry V.
At the time of publication, the succession of the then monarch of England, Elizabeth I was an important polical concern as she was childless. The play was seen to be making political comment on the current situation, and the scene of Richard's abdication was censored from the first three editions, until Elizabeth's death.
In 1601, supporters of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex paid for a performance of the play at the Globe Theatre on the eve of their armed rebellion. Less than a month later, Essex was tried and executed.
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2 A short outline of the plot 3 Discussion 4 Famous Lines 5 Literature 6 External links |
As the title suggests, Richard II is the main character of the play. The first Act begins immediately with King Richard, sitting majestically on his throne and in full state of power. We get to know that Henry Bolingbroke, Richard's cousin, is having a dispute with Thomas Mowbray, and that both want the king to act as judge. The subject of the quarrel is Bolingbroke's accusation that Mowbray killed Richard's brother the Duke of Gloucester. What is more, Mowbray is also accused of having stolen money which would have been used for army purposes. Interesting is the description of King Richard. Although he is powerful and acts as a king he cannot calm the quarrel down. Therefore it happens that the king decides on having the dispute solved by tournament.
The tournament scene is very formal and stylishly written. A long introduction and ceremony ends in the banishment immediately after the joust began. Richard interrupts the duel at the very beginning and sentences the two to banishment of England. Bolingbroke has to leave for six years, whereas Mowbray is abandoned forever. The king's reaction can be seen as the first mistake of a series which will lead finally to his death. Mowbray is upset and predicts that the king will fall sooner or later.
After that, Bolingbroke's father, John of Gaunt, dies and Richard II seizes all of his land and money. As a consequence, the nobility accuses Richard II of wasting England's money, for taking Gaunt\'s money to fund a war with Ireland, of taxing the commoners, and of fining the nobles for crimes their ancestors committed. Next, they help Bolingbroke secretly to return to England and want to usurp Richard II. However, there still remain some faithful subjects to Richard, among them Bushy, Bagot, Green and the Duke of Aumerle. Meanwhile, King Richard leaves England because of the war in Ireland. This benefits Bolingbroke who assembles an army and invades the north coast of England. When Richard returns, Bolingbroke first claims his land back but then additionally assembles the throne. Moreover, he crowns himself King Henry IV and Richard is taken into prison to the castle of Pomfret. There, an assassin, who actually wanted to kill someone different, murders the former king. King Henry hypocritically repudiates the murderer and vows to journey to Jerusalem to cleanse himself of his part in Richard's death.
Shakespeare used a fall and rise structure in the plot. At the beginning, Richard is in power and therefore can banish Bolingbroke from England. As Richard II falls and dies, Bolingbroke rises to become king of England. Compared to many other works of Shakespeare, Richard II contains virtually no prose. Shakespeare makes good use of metaphors. Famous is the comparisons of England to a garden in Act IV, and of its reigning king to a lion or to the sun.
Characters
A short outline of the plot
Discussion
Famous Lines
—John of Gaunt, II,i,42-54
—King Richard, III,ii, 148-164Literature
See also
External links