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The Characters of Bolingbroke and Richard II
"What tongue speaks my right drawn sword may prove" is the sentence which concludes a short speech delivered by Henry Bolingbroke to King Richard II (1.1.6). These words are but the first demonstration of the marked difference between the above-mentioned characters in The Tragedy of Richard II. The line presents a man intent on action, a foil to the title character, a man of words.
When Bolingbroke first appears in the play, he is accusing Thomas Mowbray of treason and then states that he is ready to act upon his accusations, to draw his sword against Mowbray. He declares, "Besides I say and will in battle prove . . ." (1.1.92, emphasis mine). Richard yields to the request of trial by combat. It is a ruling on which he later reneges, pronouncing banishment on the two parties rather than allowing their confrontation.
This is a prime example of Richard using his authority by way of rulings and pronouncements rather than action, even to the point of disallowing an action. Bolingbroke, on the other hand, is quite ready to do battle no matter what the consequences. Moments before Richard puts a stop to the proceedings, Bolingbroke says, ". . . let no noble eye profane a tear / For me, if I be gorged with Mowbray's spear" (1.3.58-59). Here is a man who is resolved in his intent.
To be sure, even in the ensuing banishment, Bolingbroke is not hindered. When he learns of the seizure of the estate of his dead father, John of Gaunt, by Richard, he comes back to England despite the ...
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...essing anyone who was around or even just addressing himself. However, Bolingbroke is not a man of many words; he feels the need to physically atone for his part in the murder, "To wash this blood off [his] guilty hand" (5.6.50).
Nevertheless, as a man of action, Bolingbroke has achieved for himself the goal of retrieving his father Gaunt's estates and much more. He, in the end, is king, King Henry IV. And though Richard as king was full of pomp and ceremony, those things were no match for ambition carried to its fullest. His strong words belied incompetence as a ruler, and he could not hold his position. It seems that it was inevitable that Bolingbroke would be the victor at last. Richard should have taken more note of his usurper, before he was such, this man he called "[Gaunt's] bold son" (1.1.3).
Richard III's Usurpation and His Downfall Richards rule was always unstable due to his unlawful usurpation to the throne and his part as far as the public was concerned in the death of the two princes. As a result right from the start he didn't have the trust or support from his country. As soon as he became King people were already plotting against him. After he was crowned he travelled the country trying to raise support by refusing the generous gifts offered to him by various cities. However unknown to him a rebellion was been planned in the South.
Anne is quite like a modern woman in the way that if a man tells her
Richard did not manage to recover from the usurpation of Edward and after allegedly murdering the two Princes in the tower his reputation had fallen greatly. He had lost a lot of respect from nobles and from the populus. Killing the Princes could be seen as one of the major factors of his downfall. It was common place in monarchical families to have brothers and sisters "put out of the picture", but even in these primitive times, the murder of innocent children was a taboo.
“This, by his voice, should be a Montague. Fetch me my rapier, boy. What dares the slave come hither, cover’d with an antic face, To fleer and scorn at our solemnity? Now, by the stock and honour of my kin, To strike him dead I hold it not a sin.” (Shakespeare, page 54).
Richard III took his own destiny and that of his country into his own hands. He disturbed the natural order of things, and for that God made pay. To conclude we in the end we say God take his revenge upon Richard and made him accountable for all his evil doing.
But Buckingham knows what to do. He tells Richard to take two priests with him, since the people are very religious and will follow the priest's’ actions. After doing as if he was denying the request for being the king, the crowd tried to persuade him. Because of doing as if he didn’t want the crown, the crowd thought they could trust him more, and begged him to be the king. Eventually he said yes, and finally became king of England. He orders Buckingham to kill prince Edward, but Buckingham refuses to. He asks for his Earlship, but Richard gets mad and dismisses him. He knows he also has to get rid of Buckingham now, since he is not loyal to him anymore. He hires a murderer called Tyrrel to kill the princes and finally he got rid of
As I thought of this article, many of the issues I have faced as a single Hmong woman in her mid-twenties came to mind. Should I discuss the functional reasons why marriage is so important in the Hmong culture, especially for women? Or do I talk about the lack of eligible, older Hmong men? Better yet, should I complain about the attempts by my relatives to find me a good husband as if it were an unfortunate circumstance that I was single instead of a conscious choice? Thinking it over, though, I decided that all those questions boiled down to one fundamental truth – the Hmong community is still trying to learn how to treat the increasing number of Hmong women who, like me, are making the choice to stay single in their mid-twenties.
As the former president of Harvard University, Derek Bok wrote “The most obvious purpose of college education is to help students acquire information and knowledge by acquainting them with facts, theories, generalizations, principles, and the like. This purpose scarcely requires justification.” America needs educated citizens to help maintain the level of intelligence we have in society. Students need to be taught to their specific career and the knowledge needed in that career. Though education students are strengthened for their futures as good citizens. College is a more specialized form of the education they have received throughout their entire schooling and will need for their careers. College prepares students for the future by specializing
This contributes to a very villainous role. Richard begins his journey to the throne. He manipulates Lady Anne. into marrying him, even though she knows that he murdered her first. husband.
He breeds anger in Clarence and the populace, not of himself, but of Edward and the rightful heirs. "We are not safe, Clarence, we are not safe,"3 he exclaims as his brother is hauled away to the tower. He preys on the "hateful luxury And bestial appetite"4 of the citizenry, catapulting himself to the thrown over a heap of bodies: deaths that hang on his head. But, it is Richard's attitude that his end goal of the crown justifies the murderous means that so closely links ...
I was in 1st grade when I found out that I had a learning disability. I still
Richard had weakened since he had become king and was no longer ruthless as he had no reason to be ruthless. He had got what he wanted and was pleased with himself. He thought he was invincible, and he was too confident, which cost him his life. If he had been more careful, he would have been aware of the danger that lied before him. But, he did use some similar techniques in both the scenes.
When we are young, we all have our own unique dreams and aspirations for what we wish to do when we are “older.” As we grow older, we begin to realize that some of our dreams are unattainable, while others are able to achieve their dreams. Whether one is the first person or the latter, we are spoon-fed the idea of attending college. We all hear how college is our “gateway to success,” and how “our entire lives depend on college.” Pressures bear down on high school students, telling them that they must attend college to be capable of anything in life. But people do not realize the detriments that are also associated with attending college. Students should not be pushed to attend colleges as there could be several factors that play in a student’s
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As a woman on active duty in the United States Coast Guard I have benefited from numerous experiences that have molded and prepared me for my academic career. As a Health Services Technician, I have had the unique opportunity to treat patients and truly help my fellow shipmates. Seven years of experience has shown me how much listening to someone’s story is treatment alone. I have selected Sociology as my major because I have learned that understanding how we operate in society is an essential tool when making an effort to really understand someone and more importantly understanding what tools are necessary to succeed in a particular environment. Sociology is a specialty that will aid in a future career in medicine because treating the person is as crucial as treating a disease. A focus in Sociology expands our imaginations, broadening our capacity to feel compassion for our fellow man.