On the surface King Richard II seems a straightforward depiction of an unfit King’s steady stream towards being deposed. Shakespeare’s lack of favoritism gives a documentary point of view, yet commotional drama of a daytime soap opera. Shakespeare’s elegant style leaves some doubt for the reader to be ‘all in’ with Bolingbroke taking over despite his heroic attributes and the follies of Richard. The play opens with King Richard’s continuing follies: covers up his Gloucester’s assassination, banishing Mowbray and Bolingbroke, ignoring wise advice of John of Gaunt, arrogantly stealing his Duke’s assets to fund his own conquest abroad, and vastly underestimating the support Bolingbroke is receiving when Richard is abroad. Be that as it may,
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Richard is made to publically anoint Bolingbroke as the new King Henry. All he has ever known is being flipped upside down, and he faces an identity crisis. Straightforward, in act 5 scene 1, Richard greets Northumberland with normal emotion, line 55 “North UM ber LAND, thou LAD der WHERE with AL”. Just after Northumberland comes with the impolite greeting of Richard moving to a prison in the middle of nowhere. Then line 56-58, “The MOUNT ing BOL ing BROKE as CENDS MY THRONE/ The TIME shall NOT be MAN y HOURS of AGE/ More THAN it IS ere FOUL sin GATH er ING head”. Line 56 is in regular iambic pentameter, however, it’s fifth foot ends in heartbreak. Similar to act 4, this passage in act 5, scene 1 has Richard emotionally involved. He has finally spent time alone letting the reality of his status sink in, and the emotional toll it took on him has to be even greater upon actually being treated like a prisoner. He has shifted to more and more aggressive tone as the last two acts unfold. As he states Bolingbroke ascends “MY THRONE” those two words are significant thus introducing heartbreak. He calms his mood down for the next two lines, although line 58 has a feminine ending ___. Further more line 59, “Shalt BREAK into COR rup TION thou SHALT think,” has only nine syllables and four feet thus making it heartbreak. It is not only in heartbreak, Richard is giving a …show more content…
Both lines contain only four feet and nine syllables—thus pointing out the heartbreak. It is rather easy to overlook these lines the first time reading, but upon the long procedure of scanning, one realizes the words in both are almost like a Richard spewing hate at Northumberland and everyone involved. There are three words that almost read as another message in its own unique way, the three words that stick out and stay with you are, “corruption, danger, and deserved death”. When glancing at the scansion those words pop out at stick with me as poignant words Richard speaks. Without a doubt Northumberland will remember Richard’s foresight of them falling out and fighting each other in Henry IV through Hotspur and King Henry these statements from Richard are coming to fruition. In closing I do not think there is any better way to view Richard with pity, perhaps it is seeing the best in people. Because when he was King and even after he was a terrible person: comparing himself to Jesus, covering up murders of his family, ignoring family and treating them like dirt while their dying but through the final acts passages his intelligence seems to give insight to an unprepared King, who was also was more concerned with fashion then running his motherland. With that being said he just comes off in the end as being a
Richard is made to publically anoint Bolingbroke as the new King Henry. All he has ever known is being flipped upside down, and he faces an identity crisis. Straightforward, in act 5 scene 1, Richard greets Northumberland with normal emotion, line 55 “North UM ber LAND, thou LAD der WHERE with AL”. Just after Northumberland comes with the impolite greeting of Richard moving to a prison in the middle of nowhere. Then line 56-58, “The MOUNT ing BOL ing BROKE as CENDS MY THRONE/ The TIME shall NOT be MAN y HOURS of AGE/ More THAN it IS ere FOUL sin GATH er ING head”. Line 56 is in regular iambic pentameter, however, it’s fifth foot ends in heartbreak. Similar to act 4, this passage in act 5, scene 1 has Richard emotionally involved. He has finally spent time alone letting the reality of his status sink in, and the emotional toll it took on him has to be even greater upon actually being treated like a prisoner. He has shifted to more and more aggressive tone as the last two acts unfold. As he states Bolingbroke ascends “MY THRONE” those two words are significant thus introducing heartbreak. He calms his mood down for the next two lines, although line 58 has a feminine ending ___. Further more line 59, “Shalt BREAK into COR rup TION thou SHALT think,” has only nine syllables and four feet thus making it heartbreak. It is not only in heartbreak, Richard is giving a …show more content…
Both lines contain only four feet and nine syllables—thus pointing out the heartbreak. It is rather easy to overlook these lines the first time reading, but upon the long procedure of scanning, one realizes the words in both are almost like a Richard spewing hate at Northumberland and everyone involved. There are three words that almost read as another message in its own unique way, the three words that stick out and stay with you are, “corruption, danger, and deserved death”. When glancing at the scansion those words pop out at stick with me as poignant words Richard speaks. Without a doubt Northumberland will remember Richard’s foresight of them falling out and fighting each other in Henry IV through Hotspur and King Henry these statements from Richard are coming to fruition. In closing I do not think there is any better way to view Richard with pity, perhaps it is seeing the best in people. Because when he was King and even after he was a terrible person: comparing himself to Jesus, covering up murders of his family, ignoring family and treating them like dirt while their dying but through the final acts passages his intelligence seems to give insight to an unprepared King, who was also was more concerned with fashion then running his motherland. With that being said he just comes off in the end as being a