The Tragedy of King Richard the Second
The Tragedy of King Richard the Second
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Overview
The play spans only the last two years of Richard's life, from 1398 to 1400. The first Act begins with King Richard sitting majestically on his throne in full state, having been requested to arbitrate a dispute between Thomas Mowbray and Richard's cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, later Henry IV, who has accused Mowbray of squandering money given to him by Richard for the king's soldiers and of murdering Bolingbroke's uncle, the Duke of Gloucester. Bolingbroke's father, John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, meanwhile, believes it was Richard himself who was responsible for his brother's murder. After several attempts to calm both men, Richard acquiesces and it is determined that the matter be resolved in the established method of trial by battle between Bolingbroke and Mowbray, despite the objections of Gaunt.
The tournament scene is very formal with a long, ceremonial introduction, but as the combatants are about to fight, Richard interrupts and sentences both to banishment from England. Bolingbroke is originally sentenced to ten years' banishment, but Richard reduces this to six years upon seeing John of Gaunt's grieving face, while Mowbray is banished permanently. The king's decision can be seen as the first mistake in a series leading eventually to his overthrow and death, since it is an error which highlights many of his character flaws, displaying as it does indecisiveness (in terms of whether to allow the duel to go ahead), abruptness (Richard waits until the last possible moment to cancel the duel), and arbitrariness (there is no apparent reason why Bolingbroke should be allowed to return and Mowbray not).
In addition, the decision fails to dispel the suspicions surrounding Richard's involvement in the death of the Duke of Gloucester – in fact, by handling the situation so high-handedly and offering no coherent explanation for his reasoning, Richard only manages to appear more guilty. Mowbray predicts that the king will sooner or later fall at the hands of Bolingbroke.
John of Gaunt dies and Richard II seizes all of his land and money. This angers the nobility, who accuse Richard of wasting England's money, of taking Gaunt's money (belonging by rights to his son, Bolingbroke) to fund war in Ireland, of taxing the commoners, and of fining the nobles for crimes committed by their ancestors. They then help Bolingbroke to return secretly to England, with a plan to overthrow Richard II.
There remain, however, subjects who continue faithful to the king, among them Bushy, Bagot, Green and the Duke of Aumerle (son of the Duke of York), cousin of both Richard and Bolingbroke. When King Richard leaves England to attend to the war in Ireland, Bolingbroke seizes the opportunity to assemble an army and invades the north coast of England. Executing both Bushy and Green, he wins over the Duke of York, whom Richard has left in charge of his government in his absence.
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9788834105214 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | iOnlineShopping.com |
| Publication date: | 05/09/2019 |
| Sold by: | StreetLib SRL |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 72 KB |
About the Author
Thomas A. Pendleton is Professor of English at Iona College, New Rochelle, N.Y., and for the last twenty years has been co-editor of The Shakespeare Newsletter.
Date of Death:
2018Place of Birth:
Stratford-upon-Avon, United KingdomPlace of Death:
Stratford-upon-Avon, United KingdomRead an Excerpt
THE TRAGEDY OF KING RICHARD THE SECOND
For RICHARD THE SECOND the First Quarto (1597) furnishes a good text, which, except for the abdication scene (4.1.154–318), is the basis of the present edition. Later Quartos date from 1598 (two), 1608, and 1615, each being set up from its immediate predecessor. For the First Folio a copy of the Fifth Quarto (1615) seems to have been used. The abdication scene was published for the first time in the Fourth Quarto (1608). Its omission from the earlier Quartos was probably due to official censorship or to the publishers’ fear of prosecution. At all events, it was manifestly present in the drama as originally written. The Quarto text is defective and corrupt in the abdication scene, but the Folio affords most of the necessary corrections.
Style and blank verse put RICHARD THE SECOND close to the time of King John. Which came first is doubtful, but King John is probably the older; for it would have been more natural for Shakespeare to pass on to Henry IV after writing RICHARD THE SECOND than to turn back two hundred years for his next historical subject. This consideration outweighs the argument that, since RICHARD THE SECOND belongs to the so-called ‘lyrical group’ and King John does not, RICHARD THE SECOND must be the earlier, inasmuch as Shakespeare would never have returned to his lyrical manner after he had once abandoned it. But Shakespeare was surely capable of lyricism at any period, and, though he dropped this manner in King John, there is no reason why he should not have resumed it under the compulsion of a theme so essentially lyrical as the character and misfortunes of King Richard. If, as is possible, he had written A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the interval, the lyric manner of RICHARD THE SECOND may well have been influenced thereby. Reasonable dates, then, are 1594 for King John, early in 1595 for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and late in 1595 or early in 1596 for RICHARD THE SECOND.
Parallels between RICHARD THE SECOND and Samuel Daniel’s poem on The Civil Wars have been cited as evidence for 1595 as a date for the play, but these prove nothing. Quite as elusive is the testimony of a letter written by Sir Edward Hoby on December 7, 1595, to invite Sir Robert Cecil to his house in Canon Row, Westminster, on the 9th, “where as late as it shal please you a gate for your supper shal be open: & K. Richard present him selfe to your vewe.” If Hoby was referring to a dramatic entertainment (as may or may not be the case), nothing proves that he had Shakespeare’s play in mind, for there were other dramas in existence dealing with the same reign; nor is it certain that some Richard the Third was not the piece in question.
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction to the Kittredge Edition
Introduction to the Focus Edition
The Tragedy of King Richard the Second
How to Read King Richard the Second as Performance
Timeline
Topics for Discussion and Further Study
Bibliography
Filmography
Interviews
Appropriate for all level of Shakespeare courses, including courses on Shakespeare, or drama, or Renaissance drama as taught in departments of English, courses in Shakespeare or drama taught in departments of theater, Great Books programs where individual volumes might be used, or high school level courses.