![]() ![]() ![]() The final section of this contribution traces the play’s performance history from its first staging to the present and discusses how scholarship has shaped the reception and perception of the play. ![]() The play explores the power of language to construct the image of England as a ‘blessed isle’ and evokes a growing sense of nationalism. ![]() Written entirely in verse, Richard II foregrounds poetic language and probes the limitations of words to render meaning, while also displaying the rhetorical power of speech. These two foci revolve around the question of whether a king anointed by God is accountable to his subjects, and whether a nation dominated by factions can act as a legitimizing ‘body politic.’ As the debate unfolds, the play’s two principal characters, Richard and Bolingbroke, tease out ideas of kingship that are situated between Plato’s ideal of the philosopher-king, medieval notions of a divine king, and the early modern concept of the amoral ruler as outlined by Machiavelli in his Il Principe (1513). Shakespeare’s play can be read as a dramatic exploration of two interlinked themes which were prevalent at the time: political theology and national identity. Your FREE sample of our No Fear Translations ended above. With this set of four plays, Shakespeare re-invented a genre, going back to Aeschylus’s The Persians (472 BCE), that we now refer to as the history play. Richard II William Shakespeare Study Guide No Fear Translation Table of contents No Fear Act 1 Scene 1 Continue reading with a SparkNotes PLUS trial Start your FREE trial Already have an account Log in Enjoy a FREE sample of our No Fear Translations below. Richard II is part of a tetralogy that dramatizes the historical events from the deposition of Richard II to the reign of Henry V. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |