Richard II: One Page Summary

December 6, 2013

Maybe you don't have time to read my epic 27-page stick figure rendering of Richard II. That's fine. I understand. However, you have absolutely no excuse not to read my one-page summary of Richard II.

And that wraps up my Richard II coverage! Next week I will be returning to my usual Monday-Wednesday-Friday update schedule, as completing three pages a day nearly drove me up the metaphorical wall. To all those who started following this blog during Richard II, I must warn you that I will occasionally cover non-Shakespearean topics. If that makes you really agitated, I suggest you subscribe to my Shakespeare-Only RSS feed, which will conveniently filter out all non-Bardic material.

Richard II, part 10

December 5, 2013

Two weeks and 27 panels later, we have finally reached the end of Richard II! Let's wrap everything up now. If you don't remember what happened yesterday, I'll give you a hint: Richard died.

And there we have it! But before we go, I'd like to do the obligatory death/marriage tally for Richard II. Generally it's agreed that if a lot of people die, it's a tragedy, and if a lot of people get married, it's a comedy. This doesn't really take the histories into account, where a lot of people die just because that's what tends to happen in history. But, just for the sake of numbers, let's take a look:

And there we have it, folks! Thanks to all of you who joined me for this romp. Stay tuned tomorrow, as I will be posting a one-page summary of the entire play for anyone who was too lazy to stumble through my rambling 27-page scene-by-scene epic narrative.

Richard II, part 9

December 4, 2013

Hang on to your metaphorical hats! We're almost there. When we last left our beleaguered cast of characters, Henry of Bolingbroke had just established himself as king, and has sent the deposed Richard off to Pomfret Castle. But things haven't been all that easy for Henry...

Piers of Exton is a fictional creation of Shakespeare's. Shakespeare also seems to have ripped off the "knight overhearing frustrated king's hyperbolic exhortation to kill someone and then taking it literally" gag from Henry II's famous "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" remark, which resulted in the horrible and totally unintended* murder of Thomas Becket.

*may or may not have been intended

So, this is what happens when you try to turn a deeply introspective and philosophical soliloquy into a one-page stick-figure comic strip. I fear most of Richard's profound, self-actualizing discoveries were lost in the translation. On the plus side, he does now have sock puppets.

And that, tragically, is the end of Richard. It is not, however, quite the end of the play. Check back tomorrow for the final scene and the obligatory "Death and Marriages" tally. Richard II is very short on marriages.

Richard II, part 8

December 3, 2013

The story so far: Richard has just been deposed by his cousin, Henry of Bolingbroke, and is being carted off to the Tower of London for safekeeping.

Point #1: The historical queen does actually have a name: Isabella of Valois. The only problem is she would have been about 10 years old at the time of Richard's deposition. Richard's first wife, Anne of Bohemia, died five years earlier. Anne was, by all accounts, a moderating force on the more capricious Richard, with whom she had a warm relationship. Since neither Dead Anne nor Toddler Isabella fulfilled Shakespeare's need for a tragic queen figure, he invented Nameless Queen a.k.a. Technically Isabella But Older.

Point #2: Northumberland shows up again in Henry IV parts 1 and 2, and is totally shocked when Richard's prophecy here turns out to be accurate.

This is the first of two York Family scenes, both of which I find adorable and hilarious.

This is one of those instances when a cartoon can't actually improve upon the adorableness and humor of the source material.

Here we get our first mention of Bolingbroke's son, also named Henry, and his burgeoning reputation as a bit of a wastrel. You'll see a lot more of him when I get around to doing Henry IV parts 1 and 2, not to mention Henry V.

Tomorrow we'll stop by Pomfret Castle and see how Richard is faring in captivity (spoiler alert: not very well).

Richard II, part 7

December 2, 2013

It's time for the big deposition scene, everybody! Are you excited? I am!

The story so far: Abandoned by his friends, Richard has surrendered to Bolingbroke, who brings him back to London. While Bolingbroke initially insisted he only came back to reclaim his inheritance, it becomes increasingly clear that he is angling for a higher prize: the throne itself. Oooooooo.

This part of the scene is often cut from performances, as it doesn't really advance the plot at all. However, I find it fantastically amusing, especially when Aumerle cries out "Some honest Christian trust me with a gage!" It's like "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" only with gloves instead of horses. Anyways, moving on....

The "Aye no no aye" line is quite famous, and is the kind of thing people like to interpret in all sorts of ways. Just for fun, here's a quick supercut of various Richards' take on it:

0:00 - An Age of Kings, 1960, Tom Fleming & David William
0:29 - BBC Shakespeare, 1978, Jon Finch & Derek Jacobi
1:05 - The Hollow Crown, 2012, Rory Kinnear & Ben Wishaw
1:33 - Royal Shakespeare Company, 2013, Nigel Lindsay & David Tennant

And there we have the deposition scene. I really haven't done it justice: it's a masterpiece of political theatre and emotional manipulation on everyone's part.

Tomorrow brings us finally to Act 5, and we can begin to wrap up this whole sorry affair!

Support Good Tickle Brain on Patreon!

LATEST COMICS

RSS FEEDS

Archives