Richard II - Biblical Betrayals/Act 4, Scene 1 Information

• Richard always compares himself to Christ who betrayed and ultimately crucified in the New Testament
• Richard compares those who are on Bolingbrook’s side to Judas. “Three Judases” – mirroring.
• Richard compares the rebels to Pontius Pilate, the Roman judge who sentences Jesus to be crucified

The Christ Comparison:

• Richard sees himself as a Christ like figure – a martyr who thinks he is going to be avenged by God. However, Richard is not a Christ like figure. Shakespeare suggests that the problem with such a comparison that is actually the opposite of Richard.
• Christ received a crown – instead of having it taken from him. It was a crown made of thorns nevertheless, it’s a crown. Roman soldiers placed the crown of thorns on Christ’s head.
• Richard talks non-stop about his suffering and Christ never had his uncle killed and did not run an entire kingdom into the ground.
• This is an example of how vain and deluded Richard is.

The Mirror:

• After losing his title, he looks into the mirror and expects to find wrinkles but he does not and he is unchanged
• He thinks the glass is flattering him or making him look better and healthier
• He tells Bolingbrook to look at how sorrow has ruined his face
• Richard’s face isn’t ruined – it’s the mirror that has broken so now Richard’s reflection looks awful and distorted as Richard feels on the inside.
• Richard’s way of showing us his loss of the crown is by shattering the mirror to pieces.

Richard II - AO3 Features

Monarchy Context:

• The monarch at the time of writing was Elizabeth I who was in many ways, similar to Richard.
• She had taken the throne when she was just a child.
• She also surrounded herself with flatters and influential favourites.
• Senior members were scared to depose her, as such the deposition scene (Act 4) was redacted from the play
  • Uncensored versions were shown for £2 extra.

Shakespeare Himself:

• Many critics at the time argued that Shakespeare had lost his touch and Richard II was not going to solve it.
• The play was unpopular but once it was released in print for, it got a following and remains popular today

Government:

• The reigning monarch was Elizabeth I and she governed the nation from London.
• Law and order was maintained by the land-owners and enforced by their deputies.
• Average man had no vote and women had no rights.

Religion:

• England was a Christian country and all children were baptized as soon as they were born and were born into the Church of England and were taught the essentials of Christian faith and instructed their duty to God.
• People were forced to attend Church and those who didn’t got a fine.

Education:

• Boys went to school to learn basic reading and writing, they went to Grammar Schools afterwards where they learnt Latin.
• Girls stayed at home and acquired domestic and social skills such as cooking, sewing or even music. The lucky ones might read and write.

Drama:

• Boys had to play the role of women too.
• Most theatres had lots of disease, especially in summer as there was lots of plague.
• Plays were forced to have comedy in to keep the common people entertained.

Theatre:

• Hexagonal in shape, three roofed galleries.
• Balcony useful for a musicians gallery or the acting of scenes above.
• Pillars forming a canopy which seems to have been painted with the sun, moon and stars for the heaven.
• Stage props important for establishing the scene e,g torches symbolised night.
• Actors wearing second-hand clothes. 
   Works Cited: Oxford School Shakespeare Richard II

Richard II - Three Important Themes

Power:

• Richard believes he has power because of his belief in the Divine Right of Kings
  • “not all water in the rough, rude sea can wash the balm off an anointed King”
• Bolingbrook’s power and dominance over Richard in the court scene.
  • AO2: Mirroring how he will dominate over Richard during the course of the play by later usurping him.
  • Further shown by how Richard does not speak during the court scene yet Bolingbrook does.
• Gaunt’s power as Uncle to Richard to warn him about his kingship and to prophesise about the state of the nation.
  • “This earthly isle is now leased out, I die out pronouncing it to you”
  • Is the tragedy of Richard caused because he failed to heed the warnings of Gaunt and surrounded himself with flatters.
• Bolingbrook’s power to heed support from the “common people”
  • “Observe his courtship with the common-people, look at how he did dive into their hearts with such humble and familiar curiosity”
• Richard’s power to allow him to leave the country in a time of crisis almost as though he is running away from the crisis he has caused. He unknowingly acknowledges that he has run the country into the ground and thus runs away so he does not have to face up to his problems.
  • Shows the signs of a bad king who won’t be able to rule for much longer.
  • “We will for Ireland and tis time, I trow”
• Bolingbrook asserting his power over Bushy and Green through their execution

Revenge:

• Bolingbrook’s revenge for Richard taking his land. Gathers his supporters very quickly which speaks of his character and comes back to entice his revenge.
• Bolingbrook is as much as a villain as Richard is. Both use power incorrectly (Richard throughout the play and Bolingbrook at the end)
  • What right does Bolingbrook have to usurp the anointed King.
• Possible to interpret the view that Bolingbrook takes revenge because Richard remains in his own world.

Remorse:

• Richard feels the utmost remorse during the mirror scene when it all comes crashing down and he realises that he has wrongfully compared himself to Jesus and ran his country into the ground.
  • His speech returns, his noble actions return and he willingly gives away the crown.
• Bolingbrook’s remorse at the end of the play when he also flees the country
  • Cyclical structure which adds to this showing that there is no catharsis as Bolingbrook also runs when Richard ran.
  • Shakespeare is trying to suggest that ultimately, England will not be destined under greatness in the House of Lancaster.
• Gaunt’s remorse of how England will turn out. Gaunt feels pity and sympathy but gives a bad appraisal, not just of how England will turn out, but also the tenure ship of Richard’s rein on the throne.
• Richard’s remorse at having to leave his wife.
  • “betwixt my wife and me”
  • Unusual because Richard’s wife does not appear much in the play suggesting that family ownership is ultimately more important than relation.

Richard II - AO2 Features

Structure:

• The tragic progression of a King who is at the height of his power already vs his downfall.
  • Shakespeare’s authorial intent that we have to see Richard up until his death – which is largely pointless.
• The uneventful play where there isn’t much action, one battle and we don’t see much of the action involved
  • Shakespeare’s intention of choosing to ignore the drama and battle by replacing it with discussion.
    • Is this why Richard is such a good speaker in the play vs Bolingbrook is about action?
• Start off with Richard on the throne, we see his downfall, the rise of a new King and end with a new King on the throne.
• The presentation of Richard’s guilt in the early part of the play to allow his regal suffering in prison later on in the play
• The double complementary plot which sees Richard’s downfall with the uprising of Bolingbrook

Setting:

• The constant changing setting which shows the unfamiliar surroundings in which Richard is going to fine himself confined to.
• Windsor Castle: Where we start the play, a lot more familiar. Pomp and circumstance in this setting
• Ely House: Gaunt’s dying wish.
• Ireland: Represents the dying and already dead. A pointless place for the pointless war.
• Pomfret Castle: Represents the imprisonment of Richard who is trapped behind four walls. Leads to him thinking about what he has done to the country.

Dialogue & Voices:

• Richard’s word which speak actions. Richard who is perhaps scared to use action (unlike Bolingbrook) but feels more comfortable using words.
• Gaunt’s dying words as a prophecy for Richard and England. His harsh words which always come back to haunt Richard.

Language:

• The nobles who speak in iambic pentameter and the lower classes who speak in prose.
• Almost every line is written in blank verse
• Richard speaks the most soliloquies emphasising his perception as a man of thought and reflection
• Religious imagery: Ties into divine right of Kings. How Richard views himself as God’s representative on Earth.
• The language of betrayal: Most characters betray their own family. The Queen is who is not made aware of what the King is doing up until the Garden scene.
• Richard’s language is so powerful that it essentially becomes law
• Richard and the power of speech. Richard who uses speech instead of action whilst Bolingbrook is the opposite. Uses speech to enact peace but it has the opposite effect.