Incompetence and Usurpation:
Richard II's First Impression
Carley Becker
Richard II, a descendent of Edward III and Edward the Black Prince, does not quite have the heroic reputation of his family members. He was made king on 22 June 1377 when he was only ten years old (Tuck, 1). In the words of Raphael Holinshed, a sixteenth century chronicler, Richard was so young that "he was not able to gouerne himselfe, and therefore John duke of Lancaster, and Edmund earle of Cambridge, with other péeres of the realme, were appointed to haue the administration" (Holinshed, 418). Richard's early dependence on his advisors is evident in his first lines in Richard II. He says:
Old John of Gaunt, time-honored Lancaster,
Hast thou, according to thy oath and band,
Brought hither Henry Hereford, thy bold son,
Here to make good the boist'rous late appeal,
Which then our leisure would not let us hear,
Against the Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Mowbray? (I.i.1-6)
These are not only Richard's opening lines, his first impression on the audience, but they are the opening lines in the play of his own name. Yet, his very first words are somebody else's name, that of his uncle and advisor, John of Gaunt. This is significant because it shows the power that Richard's advisors have over him. In his own play, Richard first references somebody else.
Unfortunately for Richard, his advisors were not always on his side, and "when euerie one began to studie more for his owne priuate commoditie, than for the aduancement of the common-wealth...[they] were causers both of his [Richard's] and their owne destruction" (Holinshed, 418). These lines are referring to "the death of the old king and the erection of the new," when Henry Bolingbroke usurps Richard's throne (418). In Richard II, this immediate acknowledgement of Gaunt and Henry Bolingbroke, named in the above speech as Henry Hereford, foreshadows the later usurpation that will take place. Richard's kingly title, like the title of his play, will eventually be taken over by someone else, transitioning control from Richard II to Henry IV.
In addition to the mention of Gaunt and Henry, Richard's lines are the first example of his deeper character. Known as somewhat of a lush, "[Richard] strove to make a pageant of every moment of his existence" (Hilton, 277). Obsessed with "the size and splendor of his court" (277), Richard overstepped his boundaries. His "apparent extravagance, in years when the Commons were being asked to vote taxes for the defence [sic.] of the realm and for expeditions to France, was unacceptable to a wide body of opinion" (Tuck, 1), and his popularity within his own court sank dramatically when he confiscated Gaunt's estate as his own. Because "Richard has disturbed the old order of possession by insisting that possession of the crown means possession of Gaunt's estate" (Baines, 25), Henry's subsequent takeover is seen as morally sound.
Richard's first lines show his penchant for overindulgence. Instead of simply asking if Bolingbroke has arrived, Richard uses "the highly formalistic rhetoric, the convoluted syntax, and the slow pace" to frame his speech (Gopen, 341). Henry, on the other hand, asks questions simply and presents himself as a contrast to Richard as a far less indulged and more well-suited ruler. This continues throughout the play, with R2 sometimes regarded "as the most formal and ceremonial of all Shakespeare's plays" (Tillyard's Shakespeare's History Plays qtd. in Suzman, 356). Even from his first lines, Richard's impression is one of powerless incompetence and eventual usurpation.
Unfortunately for Richard, his advisors were not always on his side, and "when euerie one began to studie more for his owne priuate commoditie, than for the aduancement of the common-wealth...[they] were causers both of his [Richard's] and their owne destruction" (Holinshed, 418). These lines are referring to "the death of the old king and the erection of the new," when Henry Bolingbroke usurps Richard's throne (418). In Richard II, this immediate acknowledgement of Gaunt and Henry Bolingbroke, named in the above speech as Henry Hereford, foreshadows the later usurpation that will take place. Richard's kingly title, like the title of his play, will eventually be taken over by someone else, transitioning control from Richard II to Henry IV.
In addition to the mention of Gaunt and Henry, Richard's lines are the first example of his deeper character. Known as somewhat of a lush, "[Richard] strove to make a pageant of every moment of his existence" (Hilton, 277). Obsessed with "the size and splendor of his court" (277), Richard overstepped his boundaries. His "apparent extravagance, in years when the Commons were being asked to vote taxes for the defence [sic.] of the realm and for expeditions to France, was unacceptable to a wide body of opinion" (Tuck, 1), and his popularity within his own court sank dramatically when he confiscated Gaunt's estate as his own. Because "Richard has disturbed the old order of possession by insisting that possession of the crown means possession of Gaunt's estate" (Baines, 25), Henry's subsequent takeover is seen as morally sound.
Richard's first lines show his penchant for overindulgence. Instead of simply asking if Bolingbroke has arrived, Richard uses "the highly formalistic rhetoric, the convoluted syntax, and the slow pace" to frame his speech (Gopen, 341). Henry, on the other hand, asks questions simply and presents himself as a contrast to Richard as a far less indulged and more well-suited ruler. This continues throughout the play, with R2 sometimes regarded "as the most formal and ceremonial of all Shakespeare's plays" (Tillyard's Shakespeare's History Plays qtd. in Suzman, 356). Even from his first lines, Richard's impression is one of powerless incompetence and eventual usurpation.