A High Schooler's Guide to "Richard II"

A HIGH SCHOOLER’S

GUIDE TO RICHARD II Lorem Ipsum

Kathryn Waltman and Jaclyn Wagner

Chapter 1

Section 1: Notes on Shakespeare

Section 2: Early Modern London

Section 3: Genre

Section 4: Main Character Descriptions

INTRODUCTION

Shakespeare was an extremely famous poet and playwright during the time of Early Modern England. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets and 38 plays. Much of Shakespeare’s writing was con-sidered extremely controversial at the time, but has grown more popular with time. The play-wright became more famous for his work after his death and his writing is considered to be timeless. Classrooms around the globe continue to study Shakespearean writing to this day.

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SECTION 1

Notes on Shakespeare

Portrait of William Shakespeare

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Early Modern England

The England of Shakespeare’s time was an ugly, violent place. The cities were dirty, cramped, and full of diverse people. It was common to see people dumping their waste in the street and people with diseases lining the streets. Because of this, the plague and other illnesses spread really easily. Outside the cities was only farmland. These farmers lived outside the cities and

brought their goods into town to sell. Entertainment was found in the torture of criminals, animal fighting, and plays. The

playhouses appealed to all types and social classes of people, except the Puritans. The Puritans objected to the plays for many

religious reasons and caused some problems for the acting troupes.

SECTION 2

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The History of Richard II

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SECTION 3

GenreGenre is extremely important in analyzing the

various happenings of a play. The genre of Richard II is complex in that it does not fall into one category. The play is both a history

and a tragedy and this can be seen by the style of writing as well as the tone and content of

the play. There are specific rules and conventions that genre plays follow and

Richard II is no exception. The genre of tragedy suggests that someone will die at the

end of the play, which is the case with this play. The genre of history suggests that the play will be deeply rooted in issues such as politics and war, which again is the case in this play. While you are reading this play, be sure to keep in mind the

genres and how they affect the play as a whole.

King Richard II:

• Current king of England

• Struggling to maintain his position of power

• His insecurities often cause him to make irra-tional decisions

Bolingbroke:

• Richard’s cousin

• Next in line for the throne

• Wants to take the throne from Richard

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SECTION 4

Main Character Descriptions

Young King Richard II

John of Gaunt:

• Richard’s uncle and Bolingbroke’s father

• Close confidant of King Richard

• Is the first to predict Richard’s demise

The Queen

• Richard’s wife

• Easily manipulated

• Though she is the Queen, she has a small role in the play

Duke of York

• Father of the Duke of Aumerle

• Richard’s right-hand man

• His loyalty is easily swayed

Duke of Aumerle

• Son of the Duke of York

• Gets caught up in conspiracy plots

Duchess of York

• Duke of York’s second wife

• NOT Aumerle’s mother

• Defends Aumerle when his conspiracies get him in trouble

Mowbray

• Duke of Norfolk

• Banished from England for life due to accu-sations of killing the Dike of Gloucester

Duchess of Gloucester

• Widow of the murdered Duke of Gloucester

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The Line of Edward III

Chapter 2

Section 1: Scene i

Section 2: Scene ii

Section 3: Scene iii

Section 4: Scene iv

Section 5: Discussion Topics

ACT I

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SECTION 1

Act I, Scene i

In this scene, Bolingbroke accuses Mowbray of treason and blames him

for the murder of the Duke of Gloucester. Both men challenge each

other to a duel by throwing gages. Richard establishes his authority by

scheduling the duel for another time.

Mowbray and Bolingbroke throw their gages.

In this scene, the Duchess of Gloucester pleads to Gaunt to get revenge for the mur-

der of her husband. Gaunt informs the Duchess that since the King was responsi-ble for the murder, only God can seek pun-

ishment. The King is viewed as God’s body on earth and has the Divine Right

of Kings given to him by God.

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SECTION 2

Act I, Scene ii

John of Gaunt

Bolingbroke and Mowbray are pre-paring to fight, but King Richard stops this before it goes for. The men were fighting in order to

prove their innocence in regards to the death of Gloucester. King

Richard banishes Mowbray for life and Bolingbroke for seven years.

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SECTION 3

Act I, Scene iii

Richard begins to make plans to go to war with Ireland yet again. The King has been raising money for the war by leasing out land and revenue in exchange for cash and collects high taxes from the wealthy. When Richard hears that Gaunt is ill, he decides that he wants to claim his property in order to help fund the war.

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SECTION 4

Act I, Scene iv

• If the King actually killed the Duke of Gloucester, why doesn’t anyone accuse him of it?

• Why does King Richard ban Mowbray for life, but Bolingbroke only for seven years?

• What does John of Gaunt mean in Act I, Scene ii, lines 39-43? How are these lines significant in the play?

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SECTION 5

Discussion Topics

King Richard II and his court

Chapter 3

Section 1: Scene i

Section 2: Scene ii

Section 3: Scene iii

Section 4: Scene iv

Section 5: Discussion Topics

ACT II

Richard begins to make plans to go to war with Ireland yet again. The King has been raising money for the war by leasing

out land and revenue in exchange for cash and collects high taxes from the

wealthy. When Richard hears that Gaunt is ill, he decides that he wants to claim his property in order to help fund the

war.

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SECTION 1

Act II, Scene i

Richard leaves for Ireland and the Queen is very depressed over his absence.  The Queen has a premonition that something bad is go-

ing to happen to Richard while he is overseas. King Richard leaves York in charge in his ab-

sence, thus having to deal with an angry Bolingbroke when he arrives back in England.

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SECTION 2

Act II, Scene ii

Northumberland, who previously worked for Richard, decides to side with Boling-broke. Both men are at Berkeley Castle and they meet Northumberland’s son, Henry Percy. York arrives at the castle and scolds Bolingbroke for coming back to Eng-land before his sentence is up, but ends up dismissing him knowing there is nothing he can do to make Bolingbroke leave.

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SECTION 3

Act I, Scene iii

Richard’s army in Wales disbands because they believed him to be dead. The Earl of Salisbury predicts that Richard’s demise is near.

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SECTION 4

Act II, Scene iv

• What is the role of prophecies in this play?

• What does Richard’s army leaving Whales say about his leadership?

• What predictions do you have about what happens during the rest of the play.

• Why do you think Bolingbroke decides to return to England before the end of his banishment?

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SECTION 5

Discussion Topics

Chapter 4

Section 1: Scene i

Section 2: Scene ii

Section 3: Scene iii

Section 4: Scene iv

Section 5: Discussion Topics

ACT III

Bolingbroke sentences Bushy and Green to death, despite not being King.

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SECTION 1

Act III, Scene i

Richard returns to Wales to find that his troops have left, Bushy and Green have been

killed, and York and many  of Richard’s other supporters have decided to side with Boling-

broke. King Richard discharges his army and retreats to Flint Castle.

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SECTION 2

Act III, Scene ii

Bolingbroke arrives at Flint Castle and learns that Richard is there as well. Aumerle accom-panies Richard to meet with Northumberland who becomes the middle-man between Boling-broke and Richard. Bolingbroke demands that Richard lift his banishment and King Richard gives into this demand. Northumber-land tells Richard that he must meet with Bolingbroke because Bolingbroke is demand-ing it.  Richard again gives in  and accompa-nies Bolingbroke to London.

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SECTION 3

Act III, Scene iii

The Queen overhears the gardeners discussing Richard’s downfall and the

likelihood that he will lose the king-ship.

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SECTION 4

Act III, Scene iv

• What is the significance of Bolingbroke sen-tencing two men to death even though he is not king?

• Why is it important that Richard simply gives in to Bolingbroke’s demands? What does this say about the character of both men?

• What is the purpose of the scene in which the Queen hears about Richard’s demise from the gardeners? What does this say about gender roles?

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SECTION 5

Discussion Topics

Chapter 5

Section 1: Scene 1

Section 2: Discussion Sections

ACT IV

Bolingbroke wants to learn more about the death of the Duke of Gloucester and many of the no-bles, including Aumerle and Bagot, challenge one another when the death is brought up. Many peo-ple throw down gauges in order to initiate a fight over  who  is to blame for the death of the Duke. York comes to tell everyone that Richard is step-ping down from the throne and when Bolingbroke begins to  take the throne, the Bishop of Carlisle accuses him of treachery and predicts a civil war. Carlisle is arrested and Bolingbroke orders Rich-ard to come meet with him in person. Richard for-mally resigns the crown in front of Bolingbroke and his taken to the tower and Aumerle learns that people are plotting against Bolingbroke.

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SECTION 1

Act IV, Scene i

• Why does Carlisle accuse Bolingbroke of treachery?

• What does it say about Richard that he sent his assistant to do his dirty work for him?

• What could the broken mirror symbolize? Elaborate.

• Discuss the significance of the part of the scene where both Richard and Bolingbroke hold the crown.

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SECTION 2

Discussion Topics

Richard inspects his reflection in a mirror.

Chapter 6

Section 1: Scene 1

Section 2: Scene 2

Section 3: Scene 3

Section 4: Scene 4

Section 5: Scene 5:

Section 6: Scene 6

Section 7: Discussion Topics

ACT V

Richard says goodbye to his Queen and decides to send her back to

France.

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SECTION 1

Act V, Scene i

The Duke of York expresses his condolences to Richard, but then swears his loyalty to

King Henry Bolingbroke. York discovers that Aumerle is plotting against the new King and set off on a mission to inform King Henry of this. Aumerle and the Duchess of York  follow

after  York to beg the King for mercy.

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SECTION 2

Act V, Scene 2

Aumerle reaches King Henry first and pleads to the King for mercy in regards to an un-

named crime. The Duke of York  follows be-hind Aumerle and informs the King of the en-tire plot against him. The Duchess barges in after the Duke and the three kneel before the King pleading for different things, York Au-

merle and the Duchess and Aumerle for mercy and forgiveness. The king opts to par-

don Aumerle and sends his army to arrest the other conspirators.

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SECTION 3

Act V, Scene iii

Sir Pierce Exton removes Richard accord-ing to the wishes of King Henry Boling-

broke.

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SECTION 4

Act V, Scene iv

Richard is imprisoned in Pontefract Castle and is visited by a boy that previously worked in his stable. The prison keeper visits Richard as well. Exton later enters with a number of

armed men and Richard  kills several of them in self-defense before Exton finally kills Rich-

ard.

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SECTION 5

Act V, Scene v

King Henry hears about the capture of the leaders of the conspiracy against him. The King pardons the Bishop of Carlisle. Exton

brings Richard’s dead body to Henry who pro-ceeds to banish Exton for murder. King

Henry decides to go to the Holy Land to rid himself of his personal guilt.

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SECTION 6

Act V, Scene vi

• Why does King Henry banish Exton after ex-plicitly telling him to kill Richard?

• How do you interpret Richard’s soliloquy at the beginning of Scene v?

• Why does York beg King Henry to take kill his own son.

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SECTION 7

Discussion Topics

King Henry IV

Chapter 7

REFLECT ON THE PLAY

-Discuss the importance of word choice in the play.

-How is gender significant throughout this play?

-Discuss how this play hints at what makes a good king versus a bad king.

-Looking back, what examples of foreshadow can you find in the text?

-How does this play follow, as well as break, the typical rules and conventions of the gen-res of history and tragedy? Elaborate.

-How do you think this play was received when it was first written and performed? Why?

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Reflection Topics

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"American Illiterati." : Shakespeare: King Henry IV Part 1 & 2. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://americanilliterati.blogspot.com/2011/05/shakespeare-king-henry-iv-part-1-2.html>.

Delahoyde, Michael, Ph.D. "Richard II." Public.WSU.edu. Washington State University, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013.

<http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/shakespeare/richardII.3.html>.

"File:FirstFolioRichardII.jpg." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FirstFolioRichardII.jpg>.

"Flint Castle 01." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.

<http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flint_Castle_01.JPG>.

"John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/101362/John-of-Gaunt-duke-of-Lancaster>.

"KING HENRY IV OF ENGLAND (1367-1413) [Henry Bolingbroke, Henry Lancaster]." KING HENRY IV OF ENGLAND

(1367-1413) [Henry Bolingbroke, Henry Lancaster]. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/henry4.htm>.

"King Richard II (1367-1400)." YouTube. YouTube, 06 Oct. 2010. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-wCTP741bI>.

"King Richard II." King Richard Armitage. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://kingrichardarmitage.rgcwp.com/history/biography/>.

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Works Cited

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"A King's Verse Fails to Prevent His Decline." Shakespeare's 'Richard II,' From the Pearl Theater Company. N.p., 24 Nov. 2011.

Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://theater.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/theater/reviews/shakespeares-richard-ii-from-the-pearl-theater-company.html?_r=0>.

"The Language of Shakespeare." The Language of Shakespeare. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://www.uni-due.de/SHE/SHE_Shakespeare-s_Language.htm>.

McAvoy, Dave, Ph.D. "Richard II." Indiana University Eng-L220 Spring 2013. Ballantine Hall, Bloomington. Jan. 2013. Lecture.

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