Richard II

Author: Shakespeare
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: This play depicts the political defeat, military siege, and eventual imprisonment and assassination of Richard II by Bolingbroke (who later becomes Henry IV). It primarily portrays Bolingbroke's hypocrisy and manipulation, as well as Richard II's tyranny and the desolation of his failure. From today's perspective, Richard II's character appears contradictory, but this contradiction does not exist—tyranny is a fault, while regicide is rebellion, so the audience remains sympathetic to Richard. However, Shakespeare has his own perspective beneath this surface morality. He first exposes Richard's various tyrannies, proving that he had alienated everyone and became a lonely monarch. Thus, his loss of the throne and death were largely self-inflicted, mocking Richard's repeated advocacy of the divine right of kings and clearly reflecting Shakespeare's humanist views. Critics generally consider this play to be a work of Shakespeare's single, uninterrupted creation, with a complete structure, unified style, strong lyrical and tragic tone. The portrayal of Richard's character is particularly vivid, revealing the complex psychology of a weak, melancholic, and poetically inclined ruler. In contrast, Bolingbroke is depicted as cunning and methodical.