The Tragedie of King Richard the Second Act 1 – “Take honour from me and my life is done."

The Tragedie of King Richard the Second  Act 1 – “Take honour from me and my life is done."

While 1595 seemed like a tumultuous year for the Ottoman Empire, the Russians, the Swedes and even Henry IV of France (who although he defeated the Spanish, he almost died in the process) in England it was a relatively quiet year. After the Catholic Robert Southwell was hung, drawn and quartered in London in February, nothing much happened except intermittent news arriving about Sir Walter Raleigh’s exploits in South America and Sir Francis Drake’s exploration in Spanish Main (Southern North America and Meso-America).

It is unlikely that Shakespeare thought that he was writing a highly politically charged History play when he put quill to parchment to write Richard II. Elizabeth the First was in good health and a force had been sent off to Ireland in what people in London thought would be quick campaign. He probably just wanted to bring the ‘Henry IV Part 1’ and ‘Henry IV Part 2’ into a trilogy. Little would he know the furor it would cause in 1601 when the Earl of Essex commissioned a performance to stir a riot and a revolt in 1601. It was probably not seen as controversial in June 1595 when it was probably first performed, although a private performance in December 1595 at Canon Row at Sir Edward Hoby’s house may have been more controversial since Queen Elizabeth I’s health was not so good in December of 1595.

Richard II  is a great piece of theatre. It has lyrical rich poetic verse throughout the whole play with hardly any prose. It is cram packed with metaphors, symbolism and allegories yet despite that, it starts in what seems like a confusing way. Of course you have to remember that Elizabethan audiences knew their English history well, so to see history and the lives of nobles acted out with all the grittiness that the stage brings was a voyeuristic fantasy. We are thrown into the middle of court matter at Windsor Castle and Richard II is trying to arbitrate a dispute between Henry Bolingbroke (the Duke of Herford) and Thomas Mowbray (Duke of Norfolk) who Bolingbroke accuses of treachery and embezzlement. Mowbray is remarkably cool and disinterested considering the charges against him. Bolingbroke loses his cool and insults fly across the court until Richard II settles the issue by setting a date for a good old fashioned duel.

A short scene between Bolingbroke’s father John of Gaunt and the elderly Duchess of Gloucester (his sister in law) is touching and underplayed considering the horrific description of her husband’s death with an ax. The Duchess has an ax to grind since she wants justice for the family but John of Gaunt will not enact revenge and insists that “… put we our quarrel to the will of heaven…” John of gaunt also suggests that the king himself may have been involved in the killing. The subtle blanket of political intrigue is laid. The Duchess curses all and sundry and hopes both Bolingbroke and Mowbray will die in the duel.

In a field in Coventry, Mowbray and Bolingbroke prepare for the duel. Proclamations of accusations, innocence and virtue are stated and just when they are about to start the duel, Richard II stops the duel and decrees that he will banish both of them rather than have them fight. Bolingbroke is banished from the shores of England for ten years and Mowbray is banished for life. Mowbray is grief stricken since he sees banishment from England as worse than death. Richard II feels sorry for Bolingbroke’s father John of Gaunt and promptly reduces Bolingbroke’s exile to 6 years instead of 10. Bolingbroke does not seem very grateful for this and exits still feeling hard done to.

Richard II returns to the court but muses at the popularity of Bolingbroke with people as he was banished and his “…courtship of the common people…” Richard is reminded by an advisor that he and the kingdom is almost broke and that a he has to raise money for another campaign against the Irish. This would ring bells with the audience in 1595 since they were probably worried about how Elizabeth was going to raise money for another campaign in Ireland. He decide to lease or rent out public assets but has a complicated method that will rob from the poor in taxes so that he can give to the rich in tax concessions. Obviously, Richard II was ahead of his time since this seems like a wonderfully modern form of taxation. This scene ends with the news of John of Gaunt being on his death bed. Richard II, who has not endeared himself to an audience through meddling in others affairs, changing his mind consistently, advocating leasing the family silver to pay for his wars and court, is overjoyed at this news and decides he will take all the money and property of John of Gaunt upon his death to pay for the new war in Ireland. It is only the end of Act 1 and I think a modern or Elizabethan audience wants to see Richard II dead.