King Richard II

by William Shakespeare

Overview

The young King Richard has legitimately inherited the throne, yet he rules with self-serving arrogance, neglects his subjects and spends liberally. Tensions among the nobility mount as his favoritism and miscalculations turn many against him. When he is forced to cover his involvement in the murder of his uncle he banishes two nobles, Henry Bolingbroke and Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. But Bolingbroke soon returns, enraged that Richard has seized property and wealth that he had rightfully inherited. Despite his tyrannical behavior, Richard is defended by many as God's chosen ruler. But, having created a rift in the nobility that will continue to fester for a hundred years, Richard has also set in motion the events that may cost him the crown. Written entirely in verse, Richard II is one of Shakespeare's finest history plays.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781605126081
Publisher:	Akasha Publishing
Publication date:	02/12/2010
Pages:	126
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	16 - 18 Years

About the Author

"He was not of an age, but for all time," declared Ben Jonson of his contemporary William Shakespeare (1564–1616). Jonson's praise is especially prescient, since at the turn of the 17th century Shakespeare was but one of many popular London playwrights and none of his dramas were printed in his lifetime. The reason so many of his works survive is because two of his actor friends, with the assistance of Jonson, assembled and published the First Folio edition of 1623.

Date of Death:

2018

Place of Birth:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Place of Death:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Table of Contents

Introduction, with new section on recent stage and critical interpretations; Note on the text; List of characters; The play; Textual analysis; Appendixes: Shakespeare's use of Holinshed; 'An Homilie Against Disobedience'; Extracts from England's Parnassus; Reading list.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Gurr's account is hard-headed and scholarly, very deftly interweaving comment on the play's action with discussion of contemporary political events...thorough, scholarly and continuously helpful." The Times Higher Education Supplement

Editorial Reviews

"Gurr's account is hard-headed and scholarly, very deftly interweaving comment on the play's action with discussion of contemporary political events...thorough, scholarly and continuously helpful." The Times Higher Education Supplement

From the Publisher