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!

Richard II, part 6

November 30, 2013

The story so far: King Richard, bereft of supporters, decides to sulk in Flint Castle and wait for Henry of Bolingbroke to arrive. Not really the greatest plan in the world, but I'm not sure what else he should have done. Gone back to Ireland, perhaps?

Richard seems to have severe mood swings throughout the Flint Castle scene. One minute he's declaiming "God omnipotent is mustering in his clouds on our behalf armies of pestilence, and they shall strike your children yet unborn and unbegot!" The next minute he's all "We'll do whatever you want."

"Down, down I come, like glistering Phaethon, wanting the manage of unruly jades" is another one of those quotes that should be used more often in real life, preferably bellowed melodramatically while standing on a footstool.

I previously addressed the hard task those poor ladies-in-waiting have in trying to cheer up the Queen. In her defense, she has a lot of reasons to be depressed, but she seems to be going out of her way to make her ladies-in-waiting feel totally inadequate.

Richard II is famous for being one of Shakespeare's only plays written almost entirely in verse. Even the gardeners speak in verse, with a couple rhymed couplets thrown in for good measure. However, I have to admit that I can't help giggling internally every time I hear "bind up yon dangling apricocks". It's not just me, is it?

Stay tuned: The big deposition scene is coming up on Monday!

Richard II, part 5

November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers!

The story so far: After his inheritance is stolen by Richard II to finance the king's war in Ireland, Henry of Bolingbroke (now Duke of Hereford and Duke of Lancaster) returns to England from exile, rustles up support among the discontented nobles, and starts rounding up all of Richard's supporters. But Richard is on his way back from Ireland...

Bushy, Bagot and Green are referred to by Henry as "the caterpillars of the commonwealth", because they nibble and eat up everything in the garden of England. They were basically politicians (and, crucially, not noblemen) who became Richard's cronies, helping him him consolidate power and leech wealth from the country. You'll notice Bagot isn't depicted here. That's because when the three of them decided to run away in the last act, Bagot decided to run away in a different direction.

"Not all the water in the rough rude sea can wash the balm from an anointed king" is one of those quotes that I think people should try to work into everyday conversation more often. For example:

Them: Are you going to do the dishes?
You: Not all the water in the rough rude sea can wash the balm from an anointed king!

Them: What do you think about England's chances in the World Cup?
You: Not all the water in the rough rude sea can wash the balm from an anointed king!

Them: Would you like fries with that?
You: Not all the water in the rough rude sea can wash the balm from an anointed king!

It might not always make sense, but it will always sound impressive. Give it a try.

Time for another Shakespeare Speech Supercut! The "sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings" speech is second only to John of Gaunt's "this sceptered isle" speech in terms of "speeches people might possibly know from Richard II". I love this speech. Whatever you do, don't say the first lines of it within my earshot, because I will say compulsively say the rest of it, and there will be no way to stop me.

The performances are as follows:

0:00 - An Age of Kings, 1960, David William
1:53 - BBC Shakespeare, 1978, Derek Jacobi
4:28 - Playing Shakespeare, 1982, Richard Pasco
5:59 - Shakespeare's Globe, 2003, Mark Rylance

(Sorry Hollow Crown fans - my clip starring Ben Wishaw and his fabulous turban apparently fell foul of YouTube's copyright detection. It's a fair cop.) I can't decide if I like Jacobi's heart-breaking and pathetic version or Pasco's dry and morbidly ironic version the best. Let me know your preference in the comments!

Due to various local festivities involving the dismemberment of large birds, there will probably not be another installment of Richard II up tomorrow, but I will try to get the Flint Castle scene done for Saturday.

Richard II, part 4

November 27, 2013

The story so far: Richard has banished his cousin, Henry of Bolingbroke. Henry's father, John of Gaunt, then dies. By right of succession, John's wealth and property should be inherited by Henry, but Richard is short of cash to finance his war against the rebels in Ireland (there are always rebels in Ireland), so he seizes all of Henry's inheritance. He then leaves for Ireland. This is very rude and makes lots of people upset.

A word of warning: I've been referring to Henry of Bolingbroke as "Bolingbroke" throughout this endeavor, as that is what he's called most of the time. However, he is also, on occasion, referred to as "Hereford", because he's the Duke of Hereford. So if you see the play and people start going on about Hereford, that's who they're talking about. Don't blame me. It wasn't my idea.

One to watch: Harry Percy (not be confused with his father Northumberland, whose real name is also Harry Percy - but I digress) is pretty much a bit player in Richard II, but he shows up again as the star in Henry IV, part 1. By then he has acquired a really awesome nickname: Hotspur. (Yes, as in Tottenham Hotspur. )

And that wraps up Act 2! Tune in again tomorrow, when Richard comes back from Ireland to find his kingdom might not actually be his kingdom anymore. Oooooo, major drama there, folks.

Richard II, part 3

November 26, 2013

We've finally made it to Act 2! I'm so excited. I feel like my stick-figure beard-drawing skills have improved exponentially over the last week. Stick-figure beards for everyone!

Richard II is packed with awesome speeches, but John of Gaunt's paean to England is the one that has been most successful in escaping into the public consciousness. Here's a collection of filmed performances, for your viewing pleasure:

The performances are as follows:

0:00 - An Age of Kings, 1960, Edgar Wreford
2:01 - BBC Shakespeare, 1978, John Gielgud
3:58 - Shakespeare's Globe, 2003, John McEnery
5:35 - The Hollow Crown, 2012, Patrick Stewart

OK, now that we've got the first major quotable speech of the play out of the way, let's get on with business!

OK, so Bolingbroke is spelled "Bolingbroke", but in most of the productions I've seen it's been pronounced closer to "Bullingbrook", which kind of rhymes with "Falling Book" if you're not listening too closely. Hey, I'm not a linguist: take it up with David Crystal.

Anyways, that's all for today. Tomorrow we'll see Bolingbroke's triumphant return from exile! Ooooh, I bet Richard's not going to be happy about that...