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MonkeyNotes-Richard II by William Shakespeare
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In the first scene starts in medias res, with no explanatory talk
between the customary waiting men and attendants; Shakespeare
plunges straight into the action. There is no building of any setting
or mood, and the scene simply presents Richard arbitrating
between Bolingbroke and Mowbray. It is a courtly scene. The
audience does not know who is telling the truth and cannot rely on
any one character for the guidance. Shakespeare thus deliberately
forces the spectator's attention on the responses of Richard. This
is the medieval world of formality and convention. This is also a
largely male world, and the only characters present are the king
and his subjects. Lofty rhetoric conceals the true nature of men.
The discrepancy between appearance and reality creeps into the
play as the contenders reveal their true natures after indulging in
an empty show of loyalty and deference to the king. The
underlying Themes of power and principles also emerge in the first
scene.
The first scene also introduces the theme of loyalty and
patriotism. The opening lines list all four elements: fire, water,
earth and air. The effect of this imagery is to establish a contrast
between Richard, the representative of the sun, and Bolingbroke,
who is associated with flood. Their turbulent conflict ultimately
drowns Richard's fire in the flood of tears and transforms
Bolingbroke into the sun. Richard's end is burial in the earth.
However, the dominant image in Scene 1 is that of blood. Blood
combines fire and water. Blood also signifies the noble births of
Richard and the other members of royalty. Blood likewise carries
the underlying implication of murder, discord and battle, and the
fear of Englishmen's blood soiling English ground (civil war). At
the beginning of the play, it is implied that King Richard's hands
are stained with royal blood, while the play ends with King Henry
IV's hands stained with Richard's blood. Thus blood is the
dominant image of the whole play.
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