1st Essay in LT 319 - Shakespeare and Other Theatres.
The second scene of Act 3 is one of the most crucial scenes in Shakespeare's "Richard II" (1595) in a number of ways, and the passage in hand might be considered the most important part of it. In the following essay, I will analyse both the dramatic and linguistic aspects of this passage, trying to determine their significance for the play as a whole.
Firstly, I will point out why Richard's long monologue marks a transformation in the king's behaviour and how this is evident in the text. Secondly, I will focus on the language Shakespeare employs, trying to establish how Richard's metamorphosis impacts on his diction, or, conversely, how the poet expresses the king's change through language. .
On the basis of my findings, I will finally assess how significant the passage is in comparison to other key scenes, pinpointing reasons why or why not it could be more important.
At the beginning of Act 3, Scene 2 , Richard learns that all the Welsh troops departed the previous day on the assumption that he was already dead. At that point, Richard knows that this means a loss of "twenty thousand men"1 and thus a significant blow to his ambition to remain in power, but he quickly asks himself "am I not king?"2 - reminding himself of his divine investiture. His confidence crumbles completely, however, upon Scrope's entry on the stage. The nobleman reveals to the king not only that "all goes worse"3 in his country as men defect to Bullingbrook, but also that three of his most steadfast supporters were .
1. Shakespeare, William (ca. 1595) (Richard II) - King Richard II - The New Cambridge Shakespeare, 3.2.76., cf. Bibliography.
2. ibid.: 3.2.83.
3. ibid.: 3.2.120.
executed (Bushy, Green, and Earl of Wiltshire), which leaves Richard with hardly any .
chance of defeating Bullingbrook in battle. It is in this context that one has to read the passage in question: Richard's speech is quite understandably marked by a feeling of inconsolable loss.
