RIchard II

Roles

• Richard II - Young Adult (20-35), Adult (36-50), Senior (>50), Male

About this piece

Richard II reflects on his downfall

Summary

The play is about the fall from power and death of Richard II and the rise of the first king of the house of Lancaster, Henry Bolingbroke, who will become Henry IV. In the first scene we find Richard II acting as a judge for a dispute between Henry Bolingbroke, the king's cousin and son of John of Gaunt, and Thomas Mowbray, the Duke of Norfolk. Henry Bolingbroke accuses Thomas Mowbray of being a traitor and conspiring against the king. Eventually they decide to fight in a duel. At first the king accepts but then decides to banish them from England, Mowbray forever and Bolingbroke for six years. Richard II becomes less and less popular among the nobility, especially when John Gaunt dies and he seizes all his properties and money to fund his war with Ireland. They plan to overthrow the king and help Bolingbroke to return to England secretly. When Richard leaves to fight in Ireland, Henry Bolingbroke invades the north coast of England with an army. Richard eventually returns and Bolingbroke claims his lands back at first and then claims the crown. He becomes Henry IV and Richard is imprisoned in the castle of Pomfret. In this monologue, in ACT V, Scene 5, Richard is imprisoned and ruminates about being isolated from the world and having lost the crown.

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