Richard II of England

Position: Thomas Becket did not actively seek out martyrdom and is simply a martyr in every sense of the word. Thomas Becket never sought out power in any point in his life, it was simply given to him. The same is true of his martyrdom. Becket is quoted as saying, “While I ate out of the King’s dish/to become servant of God was never my wish” (Eliot 45). Becket never asked to become archbishop or a member of the clergy. These positions were given to him and ultimately caused his martyrdom by…

Have you ever wondered why England is no longer Complete Monarchy? Imagine some of the bad choices that could’ve been made if England was ruled completely by a monarch. Thanks to a hero we know as Oliver Cromwell, those possibilities have been avoided. Born on April 25, 1599, Oliver Cromwell was one of the most influential Englishmen of history who changed the face of the Earth. Cromwell’s father was Robert Cromwell (Birth Age Unknown - 1617), and his mother was Elizabeth Cromwell (1564 -…

Restoration Nation The Restoration Period began in 1660 when the English monarchy was restored under Charles II. People started using science to explain previously unknown phenomena. English literature started to use precise language and the age of Satire began. John Milton wrote Paradise Lost in 1667 and presented Satan as a heroic figure who was cast out of heaven for being too ambitious. Daniel Defoe wrote A Journal of the Plague Year in 1722 and presented it as an eyewitness account of the…

The Tragedy Of King Richard II Richard II is the initial play in the second history tetralogy of Shakespeare which was written around 1595. The play is among a sequence of four plays that chronicles the house of Lancaster’s rise to the throne in Britain (Hoenselaars, 2004). Richard II, a stately and regal figure rose to the throne as a young chap but is extravagant in his spending habits, detached from his own country and its common individuals, and is also not wise in choosing his counselors.…

describes England as a garden, this I believe was a statement that was directed toward the monarchy and the current "status" of the king, having soiled the kingship of many kings before him. The great folly of man has always been him seeing himself as "God" on earth, and thusly acting in the, "interest of God", when in reality he is justifying his own gain by these means. John of Gaunt in Scene 2, Act 1, speaks of England by saying in part, …"This blessed plot, this earth, this England, this…

King Richard II’s Garden The Tragedy of King Richard the Second is a William Shakespeare play written around 1595. The play is the first of a series of four depicting the rise of Lancaster’s British throne. It is set around the year of 1398 and presents the transition of power from King Richard II to King Henry IV. Through the acts, Richard is portrayed as a regal but wasteful king, caring more to things like fashion and friends as opposed to state issues. When Richard II begins to lease…

history. This war pitted cousin against cousin and utterly changed the fate of the British line of succession and parliaments role in government forever. England was notorious for constantly being in a war with France from the 1300s. Before the Hundred Years War, England was involved in war with Scotland (Mortimer, 2009). Scotland and England have constantly been at war with each other. Scotland called for France’s aid and commenced an alliance with France. Although his grandfather already…

Trials: Historical Trials in Richard II William Shakespeare's Richard II acts as an amalgamation of three forms of trial: trial by ordeal, trial by combat, and trial by jury. Presenting the trial by ordeal in the spirit of its original Latin iudicium Dei, meaning "the truth of God", King Richard II offers himself an extension of God-ruling through divine right-therefore, creating a variant of an ordeal in his banishment of Henry Bolingbroke (Bartlett 5). Further, Richard II sanctions a trial…

and "distant," King Henry IV conveyed a consistently private personality.i Fortifying his position as king, he defended copious amounts of rebellion that shaped his ruling. His role in Shakespeare's play was one of the "richest stories in history."ii As a leader, defender, and iconic man, the complex characterization of King Henry IV employs a legacy that resembles…

between the Red Rose and the White, A thousand souls to death and deadly night. “ – Warwick; Henry IV, Part one, Act II, scene IV. This quote was taken from the play Henry IV in which Warwick states that he believes that the War of the Roses will be a deadly civil war between to English families of nobility. The term “War of the Roses” refers to the civil war conflicts in England that lasted from 1455-1487. The 30 years of war that took place were more destructive than the 100 years’ war that…