Masculinity in Richard II
Julia Snider
There are instances in the play where Richard defines himself in a feminine way. For example, in Act three Scene two he returns from Ireland and promptly drops to his knees and says:
As a long-parted mother with her child
Plays fondly with her tears and smiles in meeting,
So, weeping, smiling, greet I thee, my earth,
And do then favours with my royal hands. (III.ii.8-11)
By likening himself to a mother and England as his child, he is setting himself up as the opposite of Henry Bolingbroke, who, earlier in the play, speaks of himself as a child and England his mother.
Despite being portrayed as weak and effeminate in the first few Acts, Richard makes an attempt in the wake of his deposition to rescue his masculinity. When he hears that Bushy, Wiltshire, and Green have been executed by Bolingbroke he assumes they have betrayed him and calls them "Three Judases, each one thrice worse than Judas," (III.ii.132). In Act Four, when Richard learns he is being deposed, he says to Bolingbroke "Showing an outward pity, yet you Pilates / Have here delivered me to my sour cross," (IV.i.240-41). By making these biblical allusions and setting himself up as a Christ-like figure, Richard is comparing himself to the Christian ideal of masculinity to try to rescue his manhood and his identity that will soon be taken away from him.
Despite being portrayed as weak and effeminate in the first few Acts, Richard makes an attempt in the wake of his deposition to rescue his masculinity. When he hears that Bushy, Wiltshire, and Green have been executed by Bolingbroke he assumes they have betrayed him and calls them "Three Judases, each one thrice worse than Judas," (III.ii.132). In Act Four, when Richard learns he is being deposed, he says to Bolingbroke "Showing an outward pity, yet you Pilates / Have here delivered me to my sour cross," (IV.i.240-41). By making these biblical allusions and setting himself up as a Christ-like figure, Richard is comparing himself to the Christian ideal of masculinity to try to rescue his manhood and his identity that will soon be taken away from him.