Shakespeare, Richard II essay

Shakespeare, Richard II

On completion of this unit on Richard II, you should be able to:

1.Formulate your own opinion of both Richard II and Bolingbroke, as monarchs–and as individual men.
2.Extrapolate Shakespeare’s own philosophy of government.
3.Identify the symbolism and interpret its meaning.

！！！Respond to all four of the following items with a minimum of 1½ pages of supported (by quotes and incidents) discussion

for each item.

1.Written around 1595 when Shakespeare was experimenting with poetry, this play features a man born to be king who was

suited by temperament and talent to be a poet instead. Explore the idea that the playwright wanted us to feel sympathetic

toward Richard II and his Queen. Historically, Richard II was surely an incompetent king, but had circumstances of his birth

been different, Shakespeare lets us see that he might have been successful in another field, even as a writer or actor, much

like Shakespeare himself.

！Note: The selected online resource referenced may be helpful to achieving an understanding of the complex nature of Richard

II:

Graybill, Mark S. “‘Give me the glass, and therein will I read’: Narcissism and Metadrama in Richard II.” Selected Papers

from the West Virginia Shakespeare and Renaissance Association 19 (1996)
http://www.marshall.edu/engsr/SR1996.html
This paper, by Mark S. Graybill (University of South Carolina), may help you achieve an understanding of the complex nature

of Richard II.

Use of the online resource is optional. Be sure all specific ideas, examples, and phrasings as well as direct quotations

from this (and any online or other reference source) are thoroughly documented.

Quotes to Note

“Let’s talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs” (Richard, III, ii)

“For God’s sake let us sit upon the ground / And tell sad stories of the death of kings!” (Richard, III, ii)

“Cry woe, destruction, ruin, and decay: / The worst is death, and death will have his day” (Richard, III, ii)

“I’ll give my jewels for a set of beads / My gorgeous palace for a hermitage / … And my large kingdom for a little grave /

A little, little grave, an obscure grave” (Richard, III, iii)

“He [Bolingbroke] is come to ope / The purple testament of bleeding war / But ere the crown he looks for live in peace / Ten

thousand bloody crowns of mothers’ sons / Shall ill become the flower of England’s face.” (Richard, III, iii)

“Was this the face that faced so many follies / And was at last outfaced by Bolingbroke?” (Richard, IV, i)

2.The story of this play is historic; in fact, Queen Elizabeth would not allow publication of it during her lifetime,

perhaps fearful that readers might question the competency of the current monarchy and that the deposing of an incompetent

monarch might become a “popular cause” after people had read and viewed the play. Shakespeare had to walk a fine line

between sympathy for the “dramatic/poetic king” as a tragic victim of a coup or the deserving recipient of banishment and

death for being an almost “criminally incompetent” ruler. Focusing on Bolingbroke and the testimony of other characters,

find evidence of Shakespeare’s ambivalence about the “toppling of anointed monarchs” and his affirmation of Bolingbroke’s

attack on Richard and subsequent ascension to the throne.

3.The garden scene (Act III, Scene 4) between the Gardener and the Queen is a famous parable (where one story stands for or

means something else) which Shakespeare uses to showcase the reasons for the deposing of King Richard II by Bolingbroke.

Explain the symbolic parallels between what the Gardener is telling the Queen and the prevailing situation in England.

4.Close examination of anything–or anyone–will reveal apparent dualism. Or, as expressed in the words of the old cliché,

“There are two sides to everything in life.” In this vein, Shakespeare presents many characters and their actions with

ambivalence. (One can see the person or action as both good and bad, depending upon insights and perspectives.) Examine this

idea using the characterizations (via speeches and actions) of both Richard II and Bolingbroke.

Include in your discussion an analysis of how Shakespeare makes you feel about both characters: By the end of the play, do

you like them, dislike them, or view them with indifference? Use specific actions/incidents, descriptions, and short

illustrative quotations to support your assertions.

！Note: The selected online resource may be helpful to achieving an understanding of the complex nature of Richard II:

Graybill, Mark S. “‘Give me the glass, and therein will I read’: Narcissism and Metadrama in Richard II.” Selected Papers

from the West Virginia Shakespeare and Renaissance Association 19 (1996)
http://www.marshall.edu/engsr/SR1996.html

Use of the online resource is optional. Be sure all specific ideas, examples, and phrasings as well as direct quotations

from this (and any online or other reference source) are thoroughly documented.