Richard II by William Shakespeare5/30/2023 ![]() It is as though Shakespeare were allowing the man himself, stripped of political power, a chance to achieve a human power which surpasses suffering and becomes self-knowledge. Richard's last speeches are among the most beautiful in the play. Although he keeps reminding those present of his God-given mandate to rule, he seems also to take pleasure in passing on the trials of kingship to his successor. Although occasionally he seems to demonstrate self-pity (Bolingbroke accuses him of this), he also reveals himself to have an acute awareness of the ironies and absurdities in the structure of power in his kingdom. It is only during his deposition and his imprisonment that Richard shows his greatest strength as a dramatic figure. ![]() His decisions as a monarch seem irrational and arbitrary he won't listen to the sane advice of old Gaunt, and he insensitively seizes wealth belonging to his noblemen. Shakespeare demonstrates that Richard is perhaps temperamentally not fit for the role which history would have him play. The private tragedy of the play, for Richard, is in his being forced to face this duality. ![]() ![]() ![]() Mowat and Paul Werstine Trade Paperback LIST PRICE 9.99 PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER Get a FREE ebook by joining our mailing list today Plus, receive recommendations and exclusive offers on all of your favorite books and authors from Simon & Schuster. As a king, Richard is supposedly divine and all powerful as a man, he is an ordinary mortal and prey to his own weaknesses. Richard II Part of Folger Shakespeare Library By William Shakespeare Edited by Dr. ![]()
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