Richard II

‘'For God's sake, let us sit upon the groundAnd tell sad stories of the death of kings;How some have been deposed; some slain in war,Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed;Some poison'd by their wives: some sleeping kill'd;All murder'd: for within the hollow crownThat rounds the mortal temples of a kingKeeps Death his court and there the antic sits,Scoffing his state and grinning at his pomp,Allowing him a breath, a little scene,To monarchize, be fear'd and kill with looks,Infusing him with self and vain conceit,As if this flesh which walls about our life,Were brass impregnable, and humour'd thusComes at the last and with a little pinBores through his castle wall, and farewell king!Cover your heads and mock not flesh and bloodWith solemn reverence: throw away respect,Tradition, form and ceremonious duty,For you have but mistook me all this while:I live with bread like you, feel want,Taste grief, need friends: subjected thus,How can you say to me, I am a king?'' Richard II, Act 3, Scene 2

Last Saturday, I was watching what must be my favourite documentary, BBC's Shakespeare Uncovered. This particular episode was presented by the living legend and Theatre Icon, Derek Jacobi, dedicated to Richard II, one of the most particular and complex History plays (although I've always classified it under the Tragedies category).

Written entirely in verse, reflecting the Medieval ethic of the Divine Right of Kings, Shakespeare gives us a bitter lament over a monarch who has lost the people's trust and is now trapped in the hands of Bollingbroke, the ‘'new'' type of monarch who arms himself with machinations and violence to change the status quo. However, Shakespeare stretches the vanity and fickle nature of the monarchy as an institution on the whole. With the aforementioned monologue, one of the finest and truest pieces he ever produced, Richard finally understands that between the two bodies of the king there can only be struggle and strife...

Do yourselves a favour. If you haven't watched the great Derek Jacobi as Richard II, do so. The performance is available on YouTube.

‘'What must the king do now? must he submit?The king shall do it: must he be deposed?The king shall be contented: must he loseThe name of king? o' God's name, let it go:I'll give my jewels for a set of beads,My gorgeous palace for a hermitage,My gay apparel for an almsman's gown,My figured goblets for a dish of wood,My sceptre for a palmer's walking staff,My subjects for a pair of carved saintsAnd my large kingdom for a little grave,A little little grave, an obscure grave;Or I'll be buried in the king's highway,Some way of common trade, where subjects' feetMay hourly trample on their sovereign's head;For on my heart they tread now whilst I live;And buried once, why not upon my head?''