Biblical Figures and Ideals in Shakespeare's Richard II

4165 Words9 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Reasearch on shakespeare

Biblical Figures and Ideals in William Shakespeare's Richard II William Shakespeare's Richard II tells the story of one monarch's fall from the throne and the ascension of another, Henry Bullingbrook, later to become Henry IV. There is no battle fought between the factions, nor does the process take long. The play is not action-packed, nor does it keep readers in any form of suspense, but rather is comprised of a series of quietly dignified ruminations on the nature of majesty. Thus, the drama lies not in the historical facts, but in the effects of the situation on the major characters and the parallels drawn by Shakespeare to other tales. The outrage felt by Richard and his fellow royalists is not due from a modern sense of personal loss, but from the much more important sense of loss of order, which came most predominately from the strictly Catholic sensibilities of the time. In Richard's time kings were believed to be divinely appointed and "not all the water in the rough rude sea can wash the balm off from an anointed king" (III.iii, 54-5). This disparity between the perceived will of God and the way in which the events unfold creates trouble in the minds of the characters and the audience. Shakespeare makes it clear that this is not just a simple switch of power, rather a series of events whose meanings and effects penetrate far deeper than the mere surface of the story. Although not as advanced in its stagecraft as many of Shakespeare's other plays, the intricate web of metaphor and poetry in Richard II makes it perhaps the most meaningful and intense of the historical plays. Richard is not the sniveling villain a lesser playwright might have made him, but a philosopher and a poet whose ideas of majesty have been c... ... middle of paper ... ...49-50), desiring to repent his sin toward Richard in Jerusalem. The historical reality of this story is merely that a bad king was replaced by a better one. However, Richard II is not merely a play about a few men long dead; it is about betrayal, dignity, sacrifice, and redemption. Seen through Shakespeare's eyes, the story is not even only about the characters contained in it, but about biblical figures and ideals that enrich the play, allowing this drama to speak to its readers no matter their location in time and space and enticing all to say, of Richard, as of Christ of Shakespeare: the King is dead, long live the King. Work Cited Shakespeare, W. "The Tragedy of King Richard the Second." The Complete Classic Shakespeare. Toronto: Harcourt Brace Johanovich, Publishers, 1997 The Holy Bible, New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.

Show More
Related

  • Eleanor Roosevelt A Personal And Public Life Essay

    1238 Words  | 3 Pages

    She traveled throughout the United States, one in particular she became a voice for those people in need, such as, the youth, African Americans, tenant farmers, and also the working women. These groups had been greatly affected by the economic crisis of the 30’s known as The Great Depression. During Franklin’s run as President he tried to battle the series of social programs known as the New Deal. Eleanor became a key contact within the administration for the officials that were seeking support from the President.

    Read More

  • Important Issues of Leadership in William Shakespeare's Richard II

    500 Words  | 1 Pages

    Richard II was one of Shakespeare's political works depicting the rise and fall of King Richard II. Richard became king of England as a boy at 10 years of age, although his advisors made most of the political decisions of the kingdom until he matured. During this maturation period, Richard was more interested in learning about aesthetic things in life rather than things more responsible to the monarch. He had very little experience and talent in the areas of military tactics and his decisions relating to the monarch seemed arbitrary.

    Read More

  • Eleanor of Aquitaine

    1074 Words  | 3 Pages

    During her life, Eleanor married two kings, participates in the second Crusade, played an active role in both the French and British governments, and contributed to the rules of courtly love. Eleanor further saw that her daughters were married to men of high power, and helped two of her sons become King of England, thus assuring her place in history as the greatest queen that ever lived. Eleanor encouraged poeple of Aquitaine to get an education, at the time when people did not usaually care if they could read or not. The reason why Eleanor was and still important is because women of her era were not known to play such an important political roles and many queens who also ruled during the medieval time would not have influenced both the French and British courts. In fact, there was not a lot of information about the others queens of England and France.

    Read More

  • Déjà Vu: Motifs of Hitler in Richard III(1995) and How They Help Modern Audience to Understand Shakespeare’s Richard

    1615 Words  | 4 Pages

    Indeed, Shakespearian classics are eternal because they are, like stories from Bible, stories about humanity. By stretching the motifs of Hitler into Richard, Loncraine and McKellen’s adaptation of Richard III in 1995 is mainly making efforts to make Richard more tangible that people could correlate to, for example, and digest Richard’s characteristics by hearing their grandparents talk about Hitler , like how audience in Shakespeare’s time hear about Richard III.

    Read More

  • First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt Research Paper

    439 Words  | 1 Pages

    To begin with, she was the first First Lady to hold all female press conferences. Eleanor traveled across the United States, acting as her husband’s eyes and ears and reporting back to him after she visited government institutions and programs and numerous other facilities. She was an early champion of civil rights for African Americans, as well as an advocate for women, American workers, the poor and young people. She also

    Read More

  • Eleanor Of Aquitaine Research Paper

    870 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first influence she brought is that the under Eleanor’s ruling, Aquitaine became that European art center, also known as the “ the land of love” and “ the center of the world”. Eleanor’s father is the Duke of Aquitaine, which is known

    Read More

  • The Short Lived Success of Richard III

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    Richard III, by William Shakespeare, is a play based on the amount of power and decisiveness needed to become the king of England. The main character Richard of Gloucester is the brother of the current king. The fact that Richard is evil for no apparent reason troubles readers. Yet overtime, the audience begins to warm up to Richard in part because of his skill with words. Richard's obvious skill of language allows him to successfully manipulate nearly every character in the play. This skill enables him to woo Lady Anne, have Clarence thrown in prison, blame the king for Clarence's death, and achieve Hastings's execution, all without any harm to himself. Although Richard's use of words permits him to manipulate and control those around him, it becomes evident that this is Richard's only defense. When the Princes match wits with Richard, they are quickly executed. The default action of the main character, if unable to manipulate, is to kill.

    Read More

  • A Hero, a King, and a Daemon

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gifted with the darkest attributes intertwined in his imperfect characteristics, Shakespeare’s Richard III displays his anti-hero traits afflicted with thorns of villains: “Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous / By drunken prophecies, libels, and dreams” (I.i.32-33). Richard possesses the idealism and ambition of a heroic figure that is destined to great achievements and power; however, as one who believes that “the end justifies the means”, Richard rejects moral value and tradition as he is willing to do anything to accomplish his goal to the crown. The society, even his family and closest friends, repudiate him as a deformed outcast. Nevertheless, he cheers for himself as the champion and irredeemable villain by turning entirely to revenge of taking self-served power. By distinguishing virtue ethics to take revenge on the human society that alienates him and centering his life on self-advancement towards kingship, Richard is the literary archetype of an anti-hero.

    Read More

  • Providentialism In King Richard III

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    The undeniable pursuit for power is Richard’s flaw as a Vice character. This aspect is demonstrated in Shakespeare’s play King Richard III through the actions Richard portrays in an attempt to take the throne, allowing the audience to perceive this as an abhorrent transgression against the divine order. The deformity of Richards arm and back also symbolically imply a sense of villainy through Shakespeare’s context. In one of Richard’s soliloquies, he states how ‘thus like the formal Vice Iniquity/ I moralize two meanings in one word’. Through the use of immoral jargons, Shakespeare emphasises Richard’s tenacity to attain a sense of power. However, Richard’s personal struggle with power causes him to become paranoid and demanding, as demonstrated through the use of modality ‘I wish’ in ‘I wish the bastards dead’. This act thus becomes heavily discordant to the accepted great chain of being and conveys Richard’s consumption by power.

    Read More

  • The Evil of Richard the Third

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    The task which Shakespeare undertook was to mold the hateful constitution of Richard's Moral; character. Richard had to contend with the prejudices arising from his bodily deformity which was considered an indication of the depravity and wickedness of his nature. Richard's ambitious nature, his elastic intellect, and his want of faith in goodness conspire to produce his tendency to despise and degrade every surrounding being and object, even as his own person. He is never sincere except when he is about to commit a murder.

    Read More

  • Comparison of King Richard III and Looking for Richard

    1514 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare constructs King Richard III to perform his contextual agenda, or to perpetrate political propaganda in the light of a historical power struggle, mirroring the political concerns of his era through his adaptation and selection of source material. Shakespeare’s influences include Thomas More’s The History of King Richard the Third, both constructing a certain historical perspective of the play. The negative perspective of Richard III’s character is a perpetuation of established Tudor history, where Vergil constructed a history intermixed with Tudor history, and More’s connection to John Morton affected the villainous image of the tyrannous king. This negative image is accentuated through the antithesis of Richards treachery in juxtaposition of Richmond’s devotion, exemplified in the parallelism of ‘God and Saint George! Richmond and victory.’ The need to legitimize Elizabeth’s reign influenced Shakespeare’s portra...

    Read More

  • Ambiguities Answered in Derek Jacobi's Richard II

    1863 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Derek Jacobi production of Richard II provides its own answers to many of the ambiguities posed by the text alone. Richard is portrayed as an ineffective ruler ripe for overthrow, and Bullingbrook as a more capable man boosted to power by the scheming of the Machiavellian Northumberland. Many other interpretations are valid -- indeed, some of this production's choices were made easier by judicious cuts in the script -- but this production provides an entertaining, reasonable, and self-consistent interpretation of the welter of events surrounding the deposition of a king. And, in so doing, the production proves the almost limitless variety of theater, particularly of Shakespeare.

    Read More

  • Illusion Of Truth In Richard III

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    Humanity's version of entertainment undeniably reflects a violent history rife with bloody quests for power. However, the stage has never seen a more villainous protagonist than in Shakespeare's Richard III. Our antihero, Richard of Gloucester, immediately engages the audience with a sweet soliloquy, his plot, filled with goals of betrayal and murder effectively forming a bond between himself and his listeners— a bond built on the illusion of truth. [Queen Elizabeth info] The illusion of truth is the goal of any successful performer, and Richard's ability to influence his listeners, both the audience and the characters in the play, demonstrates his power as a performer, which deteriorates once he is crowned king. His facade cracks and ultimately breaks down once he no longer has an audience to perform for, leaving Richard a victim of his own undoing.

    Read More

  • Richard's Sympathy In Oedipus The King

    70 Words  | 1 Pages

    I feel that Richard gains our sympathy when he resigns the crown, refuses to read the paper that highlights his crimes, and smashes the mirror, which represents his vanity. In terms of kingship, I interpret the play as an exploration between the contrast with aristocratic pride in the law and the king's omnipotent powers. It also shows the chain reaction on kingship as past events in history determine present

    Read More

  • Who Is Responsible For King Richard's Downfall

    1202 Words  | 3 Pages

    King Richard II, despite his rich royal bloodline, is a failure in his role as King of England. As William Shakespeare introduces his readers to The Tragedy of King Richard the Second, the audience learns that while becoming king at an early age, King Richard becomes obsessed with the power and prestige that comes with the thrown and forsakes developing himself as a leader. The volatility and disorder produced from unethical, corrupt and incompetent behavior during King Richard’s reign are a direct reflection of the actions of a man who lack the qualities of a good leader and ultimately lead to his demise.

    Read More

More about Biblical Figures and Ideals in Shakespeare's Richard II

Open Document