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Lex-Ham
Community Theater Shakespeare Reading Series Richard II |
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Lex-Ham
Community Theater Shakespeare Reading Series Richard II |
For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground
And tell sad stories of the death of kings.
King Richard II, Act III, scene ii
So says King Richard II to the Duke of Aumerle in this sad story about the death of a king - and lots of other people for that matter.
The story focuses on the last days of the reign of Richard II - a boy who became king in 1377 at the age of 9 surrounded by many in-fighting relatives. Richard's downfall begins with a quarrel between Thomas Mowbray and Richard's cousin, Henry of Bolingbroke. Both are banished, and Richard then seizes Henry's property to fund a war in Ireland. What happens then? Who supports whom? Who should rule?
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Shakespeare never let historical accuracy get in the way of a good story. Here are a few historical inaccuracies in Richard II |
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| In the play | Historical fact |
| The queen is a mature woman | Richard's queen, Isabel, married him in 1396 when she was 7 years old to strengthen ties with France. |
| The Earl of Northumberland is a contemporary of Bolingbroke and has a young son, Harry Percy. | Henry Percy, the Earl of Northumberland, was close in age to John of Gaunt. His son, Harry, was two years older than Bolingbroke. |
Some good references for the play are:
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Last updated: 04/19/08