The Character of King Richard II in William Shakespeares...

The Character of King Richard II in William Shakespeares Play Shakespeare wrote ‘King Richard II’ in the 16th/17th Century, about 200 years after Richard was on the throne. His initial intent was to point out key factors within the Elizabethan monarchy. Queen Elizabeth was compared to King Richard because of her lack of an heir, her inclination towards heavy taxes and the indulgence of her favourites. Elizabethan critics viewed the play as being politically dangerous towards Queen Elizabeth’s monarchy. Richard is presented , by Shakespeare, as being a man who pays more attention to his appearance rather than the duties and responsibilities of a king. Shakespeare also shows two key sides to†¦show more content†¦Shakespeare shows contrast between two key characters: King Richard and Henry Bolingbroke. We see that through the course of the play, that it is due to Richard and the path that he chose, whilst on the throne, that lead to his downfall and the rise of Bolingbroke. Richard’s poor ruling as a King lead to many of his people losing favour with him and, when Richard goes away to Ireland, these downtrodden ‘subjects’ are quick to take favour with Bolingbroke when he returns to England to fight for Richard’s crown. There are small, but key, issues which arise through Shakespeare’s writing. One of which is the argument over the divine right to rule and the legal right to rule. Richard sees himself as ‘God on Earth’ and feel s that he should be allowed to rule for this reason. In this sense, Richard can be seen as a modern day martyr, he rules over the country in the name of God and dies in Christ’s honour. Controversially, the people of Elizabethan England would have argued that there should be a legal right and that the currents King or Queen’s first born child should become the next heir to the throne. One major factor in the deposition of Richard, is his banishing of Bolingbroke. 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