Shakespeare, William Richard II ISBN 13: 9780141396644

Richard II - Softcover

9780141396644: Richard II
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'Not all the water in the rough rude sea
Can wash the balm off from an anointed king'

Richard, a vain, despotic ruler, listens only to his flatterers. When his cousin Bolingbroke, previously banished, returns to seize the crown, Richard discovers that the throne given to him by God can be taken from him by men. Depicting a tortured and morally ambivalent soul wearing the 'hollow crown', whose illusions are brutally shattered, this tragic history play unravels the idea of kingship. It is also a work of epic lyricism, filled with some of Shakespeare's most intoxicating poetry.

Used and Recommended by the National Theatre

General Editor Stanley Wells
Edited by Stanley Wells
Introduction by Paul Edmondson

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Review:
One of Shakespeare's finest history plays, Richard II deals with one of the most sensitive and politically explosive issues of its day--the rights and wrongs of deposing a legitimately appointed king. Forerunner to the two parts of Henry IV, the play deals with the abdication of King Richard II in 1399, the subsequent succession of Bolingbroke, the future King Henry IV, and Richard's death in the spring of 1400. But the play has been celebrated above and beyond its stature as historical drama. Richard II begins with a portrait of Richard as a pompous, arrogant and self-regarding sovereign, with little sense of his people or his political responsibilities. As he consistently miscalculates in his attempts to destroy Bolingbroke, and watches his own power wane, he becomes a far more appealing, Hamlet-like figure, more interested in "talk of graves, of worms and epitaphs", and "sad stories of the death of kings". Richard's speeches become increasingly lyrical and poetic as his supporters desert him, until he finally takes on the stature of the pilloried Christ in the climax of the play, the deposition scene, one of the most politically risky scenes in all of Shakespeare. The play remains most famous for John of Gaunt's "This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle" speech, but historians believe that the play was also performed in the streets of London in 1601 in support of the Earl of Essex's attempt to depose Elizabeth I. Whilst the plot failed, it showed the power of the theatre of the time, and the politically controversial nature of Shakespeare's play. --Jerry Brotton
Review:
"Cmbridge University Press has provided a very great service to the scholarly community with its series The Early Quartos produced in parallel with....this text is a valuable contribution to the study of this play and of the history of Shakespare's texts in general." Shakespare Bulletin

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  • PublisherPenguin Classics
  • Publication date2015
  • ISBN 10 0141396644
  • ISBN 13 9780141396644
  • BindingPaperback
  • Number of pages320
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9781840227208: Richard II (Wordsworth Classics)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9781840227208
Publisher: Wordsworth Editions, 2013
Softcover

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    Signet..., 1999
    Softcover

  • 9781619493421: Richard II

    Empire..., 2012
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  • 9780521409469: King Richard II (Cambridge School Shakespeare)

    Cambri..., 2010
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  • 9780140714821: Richard II (Revised Edition) (The Pelican Shakespeare)

    Penguin, 2000
    Softcover

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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Part of the authoritative and acclaimed Penguin Shakespeare series, now rejacketed in the celebrated Penguin Classics liveryBanishing his cousin, Bolingbroke, King Richard II prevents a dispute from turning bloody. But Richard is an arrogant and despotic ruler, prone to tyranny and vanity, who listens only to his flatterers. As favour turns against him and Bolingbroke returns to reclaim his land, Richard is humbled and grieved to see that the throne given to him by God might be taken from him by men. Banishing his cousin, Bolingbroke, King Richard II prevents a dispute from turning bloody. But Richard is an arrogant and despotic ruler, prone to tyranny and vanity, who listens only to his flatterers. As favour turns against him and Bolingbroke returns to reclaim his land. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780141396644

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