Richard II (Folger Shakespeare Library)

by William Shakespeare

  That blood should sprinkle me to make me grow.

  Come, mourn with me for that I do lament,

  And put on sullen48 black incontinent.

  I'll make a voyage to the Holy Land49,

  To wash this blood off from my guilty hand.

  March sadly51 after: grace my mourning here,

  In weeping after52 this untimely bier.

  Exeunt

  TEXTUAL NOTES

  Q = First Quarto text of 1597

  F = First Folio text of 1623

  F2 = a correction introduced in the Second Folio text of 1632

  Ed = a correction introduced by a later editor

  List of parts = Ed

  1.1.127 duly = Q. Not in F 163 Obedience bids = Ed. F erroneously prints the words twice 203 we shall = Q. F = you shall

  1.2.20 faded spelled vaded in F 43 to = F. Q = and 62 my = F. Q = thy

  1.3.28 plated = Q. F = placed 29 formally = Q. F = formerly 76 furbish = Q. F = furnish 86 King = Q. F = Kings 256 as foil = Q. F = a soyle 266 never = Q. F = euer

  1.4.7 blew = Q. F = grew 22 Bagot here = Q. F = heere Bagot 27 smiles = Q. F = soules

  2.1.18 found = Q. F = sound 118 chasing = Q. F = chafing 191 grip spelled gripe in F 234 thou wouldst = Q. F = thou'dst 286 Brittany = Ed. F = Britaine

  2.2.3 life-harming = Q. F = selfe-harming 27 weeps = Q. F = weepe 54 son young = Q. F = yong sonne 74 hope lingers = Q. F = hopes linger 95 as ... called = Q. F = I came by, and call'd

  2.3.87 nor uncle me no uncle = Ed. F = nor Unckle me 92 then more = Q. F = more then

  3.2.26 rebellion's = Q. F = Rebellious 102 makes = Q. F = make 107 Whitebeards = Q. F = White Beares 177 And ... yourself = Q. Not in F

  3.3.39 most royal = Q. F = Royall (F's lineation is also aberrant in these lines)

  3.4.11 joy = Ed. F = Griefe 26 come = Q. F = comes 61 we at = Ed. F = at 62 Do = Q. F = And 70 and = F. Q = of

  4.1.27 I say thou = Q. F = Thou 34 sympathy = Q. F = sympathize 113 noblesse = Q. F = noblenesse 132 his = F. Q = this 139 rear = F. Q = raise

  5.1.39 thy = Q. F = my

  5.3.36 be = Q. F = me 49 reason = F. Q = treason 62 held = Q. F = had 93 kneel = F. Q = walke

  5.5 [Scene 5] = Ed. F = Scoena Quarta (i.e. numbered 5.4, since previous scene break is not noted) 31 prison = F. Q = person 95 Spurred, galled = Q. F = Spur-gall'd

  5.6 [Scene 6] = Ed. F = Scoena Quinta

  QUARTO PASSAGES THAT DO NOT APPEAR IN THE FOLIO

  Following 1.3.127:

  And for we think the eagle-winged pride

  Of sky-aspiring and ambitious thoughts,

  With rival-hating envy, set on you

  To wake our peace, which in our country's cradle

  Draws the sweet infant breath of gentle sleep;

  Following 1.3.232:

  O, had it been a stranger, not my child,

  To smooth his fault I should have been more mild:

  A partial slander sought I to avoid,

  And in the sentence my own life destroyed.

  Following 1.3.257:

  BULLINGBROOK Nay, rather, every tedious stride I make

  Will but remember me what a deal of world

  I wander from the jewels that I love.

  Must I not serve a long apprenticehood

  To foreign passages, and in the end,

  Having my freedom, boast of nothing else

  But that I was a journeyman to grief?

  GAUNT All places that the eye of heaven visits

  Are to a wise man ports and happy havens.

  Teach thy necessity to reason thus;

  There is no virtue like necessity.

  Think not the king did banish thee,

  But thou the king. Woe doth the heavier sit,

  Where it perceives it is but faintly borne.

  Go, say I sent thee forth to purchase honour

  And not the king exiled thee; or suppose

  Devouring pestilence hangs in our air

  And thou art flying to a fresher clime:

  Look what thy soul holds dear, imagine it

  To lie that way thou go'st, not whence thou comest:

  Suppose the singing birds musicians,

  The grass whereon thou tread'st the presence strewed,

  The flowers fair ladies, and thy steps no more

  Than a delightful measure or a dance;

  For gnarling sorrow hath less power to bite

  The man that mocks at it and sets it light.

  Following 3.2.28:

  The means that heaven yields must be embraced,

  And not neglected; else, if heaven would,

  And we will not, heaven's offer we refuse,

  The proffered means of succour and redress.

  Following 4.1.52:

  LORD I task the earth to the like, forsworn Aumerle;

  And spur thee on with full as many lies

  As may be holloaed in thy treacherous ear

  From sun to sun: there is my honour's pawn;

  Engage it to the trial, if thou darest.

  AUMERLE Who sets me else? By heaven, I'll throw at all:

  I have a thousand spirits in one breast,

  To answer twenty thousand such as you.

  OATHS FROM THE QUARTO

  The following oaths were altered in the Folio text as a result of the Parliamentary Act to Restrain the Abuses of Players (spelling has been modernized in this list):

  1597 QUARTO FOLIO

  1.1.188 O God defend my soul O, heaven defend my soul

  1.2.37 God's is the quarrel for God's substitute Heaven's is the quarrel, for heaven's substitute

  1.2.43 To God the widow's champion To heaven, the widow's champion

  1.3.18 (Which God defend ...) Which heaven defend

  1.3.37 To prove by God's grace, To prove, by heaven's grace

  1.3.78 God, in thy good cause Heaven in thy good cause

  1.3.85 How ever God or Fortune However, heaven or fortune

  1.3.101 ... and God defend the right And heaven defend thy right!

  1.3.174 that y'owe to God, that you owe to heaven

  1.3.177 so help you truth and God so help you truth and heaven

  1.3.198 But what thou art, God, thou, and I, do know But what thou art heaven, thou, and I, do know

  1.4.58 Now put it (God) in the physician's mind Now put it, heaven, in his physician's mind

  1.4.63 Pray God we may make haste Pray heaven we may make haste

  2.1.240 Now afore God Now, afore heaven,

  2.2.41 God save your majesty, Heaven save your majesty!

  2.2.78 Uncle, for God's sake Uncle, for heaven's sake,

  2.2.99 God for his mercy Heav'n for his mercy!

  2.2.101 I would to God, I would to heaven--

  3.1.37 For God's sake fairly For heaven's sake, fairly

  3.2.55 God for his Ric[hard]: Heaven for his Richard

  3.2.150 For God's sake let us For heaven's sake let us

  3.4.108 Pray God the plants I would the plants

  4.1.8 Marry God forbid Marry, heaven forbid!

  4.1.127 Stirred up by God Stirred up by heaven

  5.2.80 God for his mercy! Heaven for his mercy,

  5.3.4 I would to God I would to heaven,

  5.3.73 ... for God's sake let me in For heaven's sake, let me in

  5.3.132 I pardon him as God shall pardon me I pardon him as heaven shall pardon me

  5.3.148 I pray God make thee new I pray heaven make thee new

  SCENE-BY-SCENE ANALYSIS

  ACT 1 SCENE 1

  The scene begins in medias res, emphasizing that the events of the play are part of a much wider span of English history, also shown by many references to the past, present, and future.

  Lines 1-151: Gaunt has brought his son, Henry Bullingbrook, Duke of Hereford, to court to make his accusations against Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. Richard has the two men called "Face to face And frowning brow to brow," introducing recurrent themes of oppositionconflict and "mirroring." Bullin
gbrook and Mowbray greet the king formally, emphasizing the importance of status and ceremony, but Richard responds that one of them merely "flatters" him, drawing attention to the secrecy and plotting under the surface. Bullingbrook calls Mowbray a "traitor and a miscreant," an accusation he claims his "divine soul" will answer "in heaven," establishing the religious aspect of Bullingbrook's characterization and the play's Christian framework. The furious Mowbray calls him a "slanderous coward," at which Bullingbrook throws down his gage as a challenge to personal combat, and Mowbray accepts by picking it up.

  Bullingbrook outlines three charges. First, Mowbray spent money intended for paying Richard's soldiers on "lewd employment." Second, he has instigated "all the treasons" against Richard for the last "eighteen years." Third, he is implicated in the Duke of Gloucester's murder. Bullingbrook repeatedly refers to "blood," a key motif in the play signifying both violence and lineage. His comparison between Gloucester's blood and "sacrificing Abel's," however, perhaps implicates a family member, a hint at Richard's involvement. Mowbray denies everything, although his arguments are ambiguous. He, too, throws down his gage.

  Lines 152-206: Richard tries to command peace, declaring "Lions make leopards tame," revealing his awareness of the power and importance of the king. He fails to reconcile them, however, reluctantly recognizing that their dispute can only be resolved through personal combat.

  ACT 1 SCENE 2

  Gaunt is visited by his sister-in-law, Gloucester's widow. He assures her that he grieves for Gloucester, but is unable to do anything, believing "correction lieth in those hands / Which made the fault," a reference to Richard's part in the murder. He says that they will have to place their faith in "the will of heaven." The duchess argues that this is not enough and urges him to take action, reminding him of the ties of kinship through the metaphor of a tree, part of the play's natural imagery. Gaunt argues though that "Heaven's is the quarrel" and that Richard is heaven's "deputy anointed on earth," establishing the concept of the "divine right of kings" that is central to the play. Despite believing that Richard "Hath caused his death," Gaunt will not avenge Gloucester since it would become an act of treason, introducing a recurring tension between personal feelings and traditional codes and duties.

  ACT 1 SCENE 3

  Lines 1-137: The ceremony and formal language emphasize the protocols of the court that conceal the personal emotions beneath. Richard commands the Lord Marshal to ask "yonder champion / The cause of his arrival." Mowbray declares his identity and cause: to defend his "loyalty and truth." Bullingbrook in turn declares that he is there "To prove, by heaven's grace," that Mowbray is a traitor. Bullingbrook and Mowbray are given lances, but, as the charge is sounded, Richard stops proceedings. His motives are not entirely clear, although he argues that he does not wish blood to soil the "kingdom's earth." He announces that Bullingbrook is to be banished for a period of ten years while Mowbray is banished forever.

  Lines 138-201: Bullingbrook seems to accept his fate, taking comfort from the fact that the same sun that shines on England will "gild" his banishment. The sun, a recurring image in the play, is usually associated with kingship and juxtaposed with images of night/darkness. Mowbray complains at being sent where he may not use his "native English," claiming that Richard has "enjailed" his tongue, implying that he has been banished to ensure his silence. Bullingbrook urges Mowbray to confess his "treasons" before he goes, but Mowbray continues to proclaim his innocence and warns that what Bullingbrook is, "heaven, thou and I do know," and that "all too soon" the king will "rue."

  Lines 202-273: Seeing Gaunt's "sad aspect," Richard shortens Bullingbrook's banishment to six years, but Gaunt knows he will die before then. He tries to encourage his son to look upon his banishment as "a travel" that he takes "for pleasure," but Bullingbrook, sad and angry, refuses to be comforted. He bids "farewell" to England's "sweet soil," establishing the sentimental, nationalistic representations of the country, apparent in Bullingbrook's reference to England as his "mother" and "nurse."

  ACT 1 SCENE 4

  Aumerle describes Bullingbrook's emotional departure to Richard, adding that he himself was unmoved. Richard complains about Bullingbrook's popularity with "the common people," describing how he showed the English people "humble and familiar courtesy." Richard shows his own attitude to his people and the contrasts between the cousins when he describes this as a "reverence ... throw[n] away on slaves." Green reassures Richard that Bullingbrook "is gone" and urges him to think about the Irish rebels instead. Richard decides to go "in person" to war in Ireland, but realizes that he will need more money as the excesses of his court mean his coffers "are grown somewhat light." He intends to "farm [his] royal realm" to raise the money, or to demand it through enforced loans. Both this and his departure to Ireland emphasize Richard's greed and neglect as a king. Bushy brings news that Gaunt is "very sick." Callously, Richard hopes that Gaunt will die so that he can appropriate his wealth "for these Irish wars."

  ACT 2 SCENE 1

  Lines 1-68: York warns Gaunt that it is useless to "counsel" Richard, arguing that he is deaf to anything but the "flatt'ring sounds" that are poured like "venom" into his ears, one of many images of poison and decay. Gaunt, however, regards himself as a "prophet" who will "foretell" that Richard's "rash fierce blaze of riot cannot last," setting out a series of prophecies and forebodings. In a well-known speech that epitomizes images of England throughout the play, Gaunt laments the effects of Richard's kingship. Using a series of strong but often opposing images that evoke both pride and defensiveness, he describes England's power and majesty, "this seat of Mars," "This fortress" and "This precious stone," but balances them with a simultaneous series of more intimate, domestic images of a "little world," comparable to "a house" or a "plot." This last image of a "plot" evokes the natural imagery associated with England, perceived as an idyllic, pastoral space: "This other Eden," as Gaunt calls it. Gaunt places his description in a strongly Christian context, seeing the kingdom as synonymous with the people: "This happy breed of men." England is also gendered as female: like Bullingbrook at the end of Act 1 Scene 3, he refers to England as a mother and a nurse and concludes by lamenting the fact that England is "now leased out" by Richard, "Like to a tenement or pelting farm," echoing the king's own words in the previous scene.

  Lines 69-138: York warns Gaunt to "Deal mildly" with Richard, but Gaunt accuses him of being England's "landlord" rather than its king. Reminding us of the play's place in history, he claims that if Richard's "grandsire" (Edward III) could have seen what he would do to the country, he would depose him. With a final, direct accusation against Richard concerning Gloucester's death, Gaunt is carried away.

  Lines 139-225: Northumberland brings news of Gaunt's death, but Richard shows no emotion, merely commenting, "So much for that," and seizing Gaunt's estate to finance his Irish wars. York, whose "tender duty" to Richard has so far prevented him from commenting on his wrongs, is finally moved to speak out. He reminds Richard of Bullingbrook's claims, arguing that if Richard denies this fundamental right of lineage and inheritance then he is challenging divinely ordained order and potentially denying his own right to be king: "For how art thou a king / But by fair sequence and succession?" He warns Richard that his actions will make him unpopular, and leaves. Richard announces his intention to go to Ireland the next day, leaving York as "Governor of England."

  Lines 226-301: Northumberland, Ross, and Willoughby discuss Richard, commenting that he is "basely led / By flatterers." They are cautious, aware that Richard's spies will inform on them, but they agree that Bullingbrook is wronged and that Richard has lost the hearts of the commoners through taxation and the nobles through enforced loans. Northumberland reveals that Bullingbrook and several other noblemen have gathered an army and mean to land in the north once Richard has left for Ireland. They agree to join him.

  ACT 2 SCENE 2

  Lines 1-74: Bushy attempts to comfort the queen, but she refuses to be reassured, disturbed by a vag
ue sense of foreboding: "Some unborn sorrow, ripe in fortune's womb." Bushy argues that her grief at the king's departure is influencing her perspective, that sorrow "Divides one thing entire into many objects," and his references to sight, "perspectives," and "shadows" reinforce the theme of fragmentation (personal and national). Green brings news of Bullingbrook's arrival at Ravenspurgh and reports that Northumberland "and the rest" have been declared traitors, which has prompted Worcester to join them. The queen tells Green he is "the midwife" of her woe, reinforcing her earlier metaphor.

  Lines 75-151: York arrives, distressed and uncertain. He has been left to "underprop" Richard in his absence, but is "weak with age." His unhappiness is compounded by news of the Duchess of Gloucester's death. He knows that the current situation is Richard's fault: "the sick hour that his surfeit made," and he is torn between loyalty to his two nephews, the king and Bullingbrook. Despite the fact that his "oath / And duty" mean that he must defend Richard, his "conscience" favors Bullingbrook. His declaration that "All is uneven" emphasizes the literal and metaphorical disorder in the kingdom. Bushy, Bagot, and Green, followers and favorites of Richard, agree that they are in danger and leave; Bushy and Green to Bristol Castle, and Bagot to join Richard.

  ACT 2 SCENE 3

  Lines 1-81: Bullingbrook and Northumberland head for Berkeley Castle, where they are met by Harry Percy, Northumberland's son. Percy explains that Worcester has defected from Richard, and Northumberland introduces Percy to Bullingbrook. This formal presentation of the two Henries again introduces the themes of opposition and mirroring, reinforced by their shared name. Additionally, it compounds awareness of the play as part of a wider series of events: although Percy swears allegiance to Bullingbrook now, he is to become the opposition to his kingship in the future, playing the role that Bullingbrook currently plays to Richard (see Henry IV, Part I and Part II). Ross and Willoughby arrive.

  Lines 82-171: York berates Bullingbrook for daring to return from his banishment, and for marching upon England's "peaceful bosom" in Richard's absence. He points out that he is Richard's representative, but acknowledges that he is too old to fight as he once did. York is again divided between duty to Richard and sympathy for Bullingbrook, who reminds York of the wrongs Richard has done him. Bullingbrook shows his command over language as he skillfully uses rhetorical devices, claiming that he sees Gaunt "alive" in York, and addressing him as "my father." Torn, York decides that he will remain neutral, but his sympathy with Bullingbrook is evident as he offers him shelter for the night. Bullingbrook announces that they are going to Bristol Castle to capture Bushy and other "caterpillars of the commonwealth," reinforcing the image of England as an Eden threatened by decay.