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The Life and Death of King Richard the Second, often shortened to Richard II, is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written around 1595. Based on the life of King Richard II of England (ruled 1377–1399), it chronicles his downfall and the machinations of his nobles.
Richard II, chronicle play in five acts by William Shakespeare, written in 1595–96 and published in a quarto edition in 1597 and in the First Folio of 1623. The quarto edition omits the deposition scene in Act IV, almost certainly as a result of censorship.
- David Bevington
- What Went Wrong?
- A Dangerous Play?
- Why Does ‘Divine Right’ Still Matter?
- Where Does That Leave Richard?
The play begins with an argument in front of Richard. Henry Bolingbroke – Richard’s cousin and the future Henry IV – calls Thomas Mowbray, the Duke of Norfolk, He accuses Mowbray of killing his uncle. Mowbray, in response, calls Bolingbroke “a slanderous coward and a villain”. Richard knows even a king cannot command these two enemies to be friends...
The historical Richard IIruled from 1377-1399, but his power in the play is in line with the monarchy of Shakespeare’s time, when the monarch’s absolute power did not leave much room for opposition. When Henry Bolingbroke returns from exile to demand his stuff back, he is heading into dangerous territory by threatening Richard’s crown. Bolingbroke ...
The “divine right of kings” may not exist now – or does it? It is still technically illegal in England to call for the abolition of the monarchy. British monarchs have sovereign immunity, which places them beyond the reach of laws that apply to ordinary citizens. The concept of “divine right” may seem like an obsolete concept, but it still resonate...
Shakespeare often refuses to let us pick sides as cleanly as we might like. As Emma Smith, professor of Shakespeare studies at Oxford, has written, Shakespeare’s plays “prompt questions rather than supplying answers”. In an online lecture, Smith considers the core questionraised by Richard II: “was it right for Bolingbroke to take the throne from R...
- Kit Macfarlane
Sep 19, 2024 · Shakespeare’s Richard II gives a profound exploration of leadership and the effects of terrible governance. Richard’s tragic fall from power underscores the sensitive stability among personal ideals and the practical realities of ruling a nation.
- Detail
- The play was first performed in 1595.
King Richard II Right, you say true: as Hereford's love, so his; As theirs, so mine; and all be as it is.
‘This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle’: so begins probably the most famous speech from Richard II, William Shakespeare’s 1590s history play about the fall of the Plantagenet king.
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Sep 11, 2020 · Shakespeare’s Richard II presents a momentous struggle between Richard II and his cousin Henry Bolingbroke. Richard is the legitimate king; he succeeded his grandfather, King Edward III, after the earlier death of his father Edward, the Black Prince. Yet Richard is also seen by many as a tyrant.
