Essay Richard II PDF

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DM British Literature L3 semestre 2 : Shakespeare, Richard II
"Richard II, hero or antihero?"...

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Fanny DURIEZ L3 Histoire-Anglais

British Literature Essay: SHAKESPEARE, Richard II Topic: Richard II, hero or antihero? Already at the time of its creation, "Richard II" was considered a subversive play, depicting the crisis of monarchical power. In 1601, the aging Queen Elisabeth was worried about the play's repercussions: "Richard II, it's me, don't you know?". Indeed, the play depicts the fall from power of a legitimate, but incompetent king, underlying principle of tragedy, in which the hero causes his own downfall from great heights. Here lies the fatality of Richard's downfall: the hero cannot avoid his tragic fate. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero must be of noble birth - this is unquestionably true for Richard, since he is the King of England in power. In addition, the hero must suffer from a "fatal" tragic defect that leads to his own death - in the case of this play, its fatal defect is its propensity for flattery. Richard is so deceived by flatterers that he can no longer rule his country, which means he falls prey to the attacks of others. He does not cultivate loyalty among his followers. In the end, the tragic hero must suffer a reversal of fortune because of this fatal flaw. In the play, Richard is deposed again and finally killed because he doesn't have the necessary qualities. Conversely, one may wonder about the concordance of the character of Richard with the figure of the antihero. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an antihero is a character who Is the opposite or reverse of a hero; especially a chief character in a poem, play or story who is totally unlike a conventional hero. The antihero is a main character opposing the qualities of the ancient hero. This is a recent concept that emerged with the character of Don Quixote created by Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes in early 17th century. He can also be an antagonist. Endowing the main character with typical features of the antihero is a way for the author to add plot twist and chaos to the plays. Antiheroes also have more important roles in that sense that they change our perspectives of the heroes themselves and to reveal to the reader true societal and human flaws. It emerges from this preliminary analysis that Richard II is above all an ambivalent character, beyond knowing whether he corresponds more to the hero or the anti-hero. We can in any case confront ourselves with the following reflection: to what extent does the character of King Richard II successively or simultaneously adopt the dramatic posture of hero and anti-hero in Shakespeare's eponymous play? After showing how Richard first appears as a hero of his time, we will see that he is nonetheless a notorious anti-hero, as evidenced by the unflattering portrait of his darkest facets. At first sight, Richard appears as a hero of his time. Indeed, Richard is first and foremost a hero because of his nobility. In fact, the king is a nobleman who bends to the principles of his rank.Thus, even on the threshold of his death, when the king has lost his

allies, his forces and his omnipotence, his honor remains intact, and he is still considered a man of high rank by his entourage. This is evidenced by the greetings he receives from the groom while the sovereign is reduced to the state of a prisoner: GROOM Hail, royal prince! KING RICHARD II Thanks, noble peer; The cheapest of us is ten groats too dear. What art thou? And how comest thou hither, Where no man never comes but that sad dog That brings me food to make misfortune live? (5.5.67-72) Much more, Richard's nobility is reflected in the courage he displays in the face of death. In scene 5 of Act V, which is the last scene of the play, Richard shows us how his relationship with death is one of courage.With Richard II, Shakespeare provides a first tragic version of a king presiding over his own deposition ceremony, staging a counter-liturgy of the royal deposition. When Exton enters upon the Richard's prison (5.5), it is here Richard rallies against death by killing the officers before being killed himself. Richard dies heroically instead of pathetically because he meets his death with disdain.The story of King Richard invokes the tragic passions deserved for such a hero. While Richard is dead, the new king Henry holds respect for the former king and hate[s] the murderer (5.6.40) The new king puts on black clothes and mourns the remembrance of the old king. Richard, at last, takes his place in the line of death of kings. Moreover, Richard asserts himself as a hero through his spirit of enterprise and revolt. First of all, Richard is a hero revealed in contrast to his antagonists. Indeed, Richard is a pleasurable character, as his subjects that stand behind him prove. He is also much loved by his wife, who fears for his disposing. Perhaps, though the greatest call of appeal to his character is his being placed beside a more politic Bolingbroke. The public has compassion for Richard because he knows his true inner nature, and see a darker Bolingbroke take advantage of power. By the way, Bolingbroke appears more like a fine strategist, adopting Machiavelli’s The Prince’s policy Richard's heroic quality also translates into the identification of the reader/viewer with the character, according to the theatrical principle of catharsis. Indeed, the audience can see themselves as Richard, and thus join in his grief and rage. On the other hand, as the play proceeds, Richard conducts himself as an independent king, paying little attention to the recommendations of his advisers and relying above all on his instincts. He therefore appears to be a heroic figure despite setbacks, even an adventurer. Thus, in spite of his fall, which began with the error of misjudgment in Act 1, Scene 3, the figure of King Richard II is revealed in the course of the play in all his majesty and shows the extent of the king's power. Even in the face of adversity, Richard's power does not fail to

resurface, as in the case of scene 3 of act III when Bolingbroke returns to England and Richard remains confident in terms of his prior strength. The staging of Richard’s power boost over Bolingbroke is indeed translated by Bolingbroke’s kneeling gesture as a sign of submission. The independent and free character of Richard II also appears during act II, notably when Prince John of Gaunt gives a speech on his deathbed in an attempt to warn the king of his unfortunate path and of the manner in which England Is now leased out Like to a tenement or pelting farm (II.1.59-60) The king, however, does not listen to his words and relies on his own convictions. Here, it is the almost stubborn character of the king that is apparent, the stubbornness of Richard, who prefers to follow his own path. It could therefore be considered that it is at this precise moment in the plot that the tipping point is staged, and that Richard's change of character takes place. He thus becomes an anti-hero in the eyes of the public. The king is unfortunately resolved in his position, and it is at this point that he commits his tragic error, namely taking the Duke of Lancaster's possessions to fuel his own war. His choice goes against the ties of blood, which are the strongest and most able to withstand the miseries of time. It is from this act that the heir of Lancaster must take his revenge, and it is from this act that Richard loses the favour of the public. The king's violation is not only of Bolingbroke's rights. This transgression goes also against society as a whole, and the natural order of things. However, though endowed with the hero's Aristotelian attributes, Richard is nonetheless a notorious anti-hero revealed by the unflattering portrayal of his personality’s darker facets. Staging anti-heroism throughout the play may be interpreted as a response to modern man’s uncertainties about traditional values and as a feature of modernity. Indeed, modern antiheroism of the Shakespearian tragedy captures the sensibility associated with modernism, with its attempts at cultural renewal, and it ranges between the low mimetic and the ironic mode. This criticism addressed to the main character is firstly reflected in his actions. On the one hand, Richard is depicted as an unpopular king. From the start of the play Richard is presented as an inept king. Indeed, Richard's hesitations multiply as the play progresses, contributing to its unpopularity and undermining its legitimacy, as shown by the fact that in dealing with the quarrel between Bolingbroke and Mowbray, Richard has changed his decisions three times. His indecision and the inconsequence of his actions make him an irresponsible sovereign, unable to shoulder such a heavy burden. By squandering his ideological advantage as a ruler of divine right, spending irresponsibly and taxing his country harshly, and violating Bolingbroke's legacy, Richard makes himself a relatively easy target for deposition. While his bad reputation might have been limited to the circle of the court around him, his mismanagement of spending and taxes makes him unpopular throughout the kingdom. He imposes taxes to finance a sumptuous and courteous lifestyle: for our coffers with too great a court And liberal largesse are grown somewhat light, We are enforced to farm our royal realm (1.4.43-5).

Richard overestimates the loyalty of his subjects, for whom economic austerity outweighs the symbolic authority the king is supposed to carry. The governmental instability caused by Richard thus arouses the hatred of his subjects, rekindled by the severe fiscal policy that the king pursues. When the strategic alliances change and the cards are reshuffled, other nobles turn away from Richard to join the Bolingbroke camp. The king’s original fault manifests itself against an ancient order, and this struggle turns in favour of the Bolingbroke camp. But beyond a bad choice, Richard also has bad luck and time against him. In fact, Bolingbroke arrives in England after Richard's departure for Ireland, which gives the prince a means of pressure. Despite the support of his followers, Richard's downfall is accelerated by the fact that he arrives in England one day too late, and all his troops have " dispersed", proving to the king that his forces are far from unwavering. The king, however, again momentarily regains his position and pride by remembering that he has York's help, but he falls into despair when he discovers that he has lost all his power to Bolingbroke. Here we can see how an outside power leads the hero to his downfall. Richard's collapse is the result of his position as much as of the decisions he has made in the course of his office. It is precisely because Richard is king that his faults have such a great effect. Besides, Richard’s antiheroism in acts makes him appear as a coward and inconsistent king. If we approach the play from the point of view of theatrical representation, we can refer to French costume designer Christian Gasc for whom stage director Laurent Terzieff’s conception of Richard II’s role was the one of a king condemned as soon as he enters the stage, surrounded by traitors, an antihero, an anti-king made for the kingdom but not for the power. Indeed, soon after the play begins Richard publicly demonstrates weakness during the scene when he intervenes in the feud between Mowbray and Bolingbroke:

We were not born to sue but to command; Which since we cannot do to make you friends, Be ready as your lives shall answer it... (1.1.196-8) By allowing Bolingbroke and Mowbray to duel as they wish, Richard publicly contradicts his own previous command: Wrath-kindled gentlemen, be ruled by me (1.1.152) In this conflict, the king thus allows the random duel to decide in his place, rather than allowing his omnipotence to prevail in order to put an end to it. At a point of the play, Richard ceases to represent high majesty, and he does no longer command the confidence of the nobility. Thus, King Richard does have his vices. Foremost is a pride that snubs the former orders of England. The King is led by flatterers, and so his first blunder is to come(s) against those true nobles which hold him in place as testifies the exile of the two nobles Mowbray and Bolingbroke during the condemnation to banishment: Therefore, we banish you our territories (1.3.139)

Indeed, as Charles Norton Coe underlines in his work Demi-Devils: The Characters of Shakespeare’s Villains: “… whenever effective motivation of villains is found in Shakespeare, it is most likely to be found in the early expository scenes”. Second of all, king Richard appears as an antihero through the thoughts that he has for himself and that he expresses repeatedly during soliloquies. On the one hand, these thoughts are illustrative of Richard’s contempt. It is perhaps a way of making Richard II unpleasant before sending him to eternal damnation, as we can observe in this excerpt: As in a theatre the eyes of men, After a well-graced actor leaves the stage, Are idly bent on him that enters next, Thinking his prattle to be tedious, Even so, or with much more contempt, men’s eyes Did scowl on gentle Richard. No man cried God save him! (5.2.23-8) This passage presents the king’s reaction after his downfall became public knowledge. It portrays Richard as an unpopular or failed interpreter, which is all the more significant as Richard relies on the ceremonial and symbolic power of the throne. What's more, Richard II goes beyond the status of antihero to that of tragic hero, whose decadent and difficult journey only reveals the series of bad decisions he has made. In fact, Richard faces challenges, like any hero, but at the same time they are not challenges that can serve society as a whole, and it is these errors of judgment that earn him the crown. As the saying goes “the bigger they are, the harder they fall”, said to emphasize that the more important or powerful a person is, the more difficult it is for them when they lose their power or importance. In the same way, Richard’s fall is one from happiness and power to grief and wretchedness. But where the dramatic interest and tension of the tragedy lies is that it is not just about telling sad stories. Indeed, the main character, Richard, must be bold and fight against an inevitable ending. Shakespeare portrays this struggle in The Tragedy of the King Richard II by showing the king at the height of his reign, in full possession of his means and the authority of his kingdom, who then inadvertently fixes the scene of a revolt and his own downfall. Faced with his oppressor, Richard rises up one last time in defiance of his fall. These elements therefore make Shakespeare's story of the death of King Richard II, that of a tragic hero. Returning to a more theoretical approach to the text, we can refer to Aristotle who describes in his Poetics that dramatic tragedy has "incidents arousing pity and fear". Part of this tragedy is dedicated to the tragic hero, whose journey goes "from happiness to misery”. The cause of this situation should not be depravity, but a "great mistake" on his part. The tragic hero is condemned to make a great mistake, the result is known to him because his mistake has broken the first order of life. King Richard is first described as a powerful character who imposes the respect of a true sovereign and orchestrates the kingdom with full command. Thus, the audience first sees Richard seated on his throne. He insists on royal ceremonies and formalities, while showing his power of arbitration, as in the conflict between Bolingbroke and Mowbray (Act 1 scene 3) in which the king intervenes. The Coventry duel is followed by his verdict and the banishment of the two

nobles is indicative of the king's judicial power, who rules on the nobility's dispute and asserts himself as a judge-king. By a combination of circumstances, his verdict would lead to his own fall in a form of tragic irony introduced by Shakespeare. In that respect, antiheroes like Richard come about as a result of their own or other’s villainous acts. According to English professor Martine van Elk, “Richard as the master improviser is always trying to create his own sense of self in opposition to what he tells us is an identity imposed upon him by others” as can be read in her writing “Determined to Prove a Villain”. The tragic fall of the hero Richard II, rather than tipping him over to the side of the antiheroes, reminds the audience of his qualities as a fallible human being and immediately activates the principle of catharsis within the audience. The audience remembers Richard's humanity and the fact that he is only human. The audience can relate with Richard because although he is a powerful holder of temporal power on Earth, this power is nonetheless ephemeral and powerless against the forces of nature. It is at this point that Richard accomplishes his heroic challenge against his inevitable downfall, as evidenced by his reluctance to let go of the crown when he hands it over to Bolingbroke (Act IV, scene 1). While Richard accepts his resignation and is resilient in this regard, he remains filled with grief and pain in the deposition process. When Richard goes to trial, he reminds Northumberland that others have also committed crimes, although his own crimes are as great as his office. In the final act, Richard even rebels against his death. Public sympathy is eventually aroused by the visit of his former stable boy, and Richard's plea against fate that his horse should have fallen to Bolingbroke. It is the desperate king's act of rebellion against his fall that makes him a tragic hero

To conclude, Richard II not only appears as a multifaceted and ambivalent character, but above all, he asserts himself as a tragic hero. The play closes with the death of its main character. The vengeance of Heaven, announced from the beginning (“For God's sake, let us sit upon the ground, / And tell sad stories of the death of kings” 3.2.155-156), gives a tragic tone to this denouement, as the king has already begun his collapse towards the same end as those he is about to reminisce. Posterity, and the Romantic period in particular, saw in Richard II a disillusioned man, out of step with the times, who desperately seeks fulfilment and goes to his own death. This evolution of the myth also nourishes the vision we have today of Shakespeare's hero....