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William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest playwright the world has seen. King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare. Based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy followed by three plays concerning Richard's successors. The play spans two years in Richard's life opening with the king acting as a judge between Bolingbroke and Mowbray.

Shakespeare's finest verse play is also his first portrait of the psychology of power.The sensitive and poetic Richard II is undoubtedly the rightful king of England but he is unscrupulous and weak. When his cousin Henry Bolingbroke returns from banishment and mounts a challenge to his authority, Richard's right to the throne proves of little help to him. Richard is forced to abdicate, but as his power is stripped away, he gains dignity and self-awareness, and he meets his death heroically. Meanwhile Bolingbroke's seizure of the crown has caused resentment among the nobles of England. Rupert Graves is Richard II, and Julian Glover is Bolingbroke. John Wood plays John of Gaunt.

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The times have forced changes in the way we look at Richard II more than any other of Shakespeare's plays. What to his contemporaries was a balanced dramatisation of the central political and constitutional issue of the time, how to cope with an unjust ruler, has in the last century or so been translated into the poetic fall of a tragic hero. The introduction to this new edition of the play provides a full context for both the Shakespearean and the modern views of King Richard's fall. It relates the play's construction, imagery and staging to contemporary concerns and describes the changing views about Richard's deposition by means of a stage history. The accompanying illustrations suggest Elizabethan ideas of kingship and the staging of the play. The commentary is more detailed than for any previous edition of the play, and assimilates the most recent scholarship. The appendixes discuss the basis for Shakespeare's selection of material for his sources in this most carefully researched and composed of his history plays.

King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England (ruled 1377–1399) and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's successors: Henry IV, Part 1; Henry IV, Part 2; and Henry V. It may not have been written as a stand-alone work. Although the First Folio (1623) edition of Shakespeare's works lists the play as a history play, the earlier Quarto edition of 1597 calls it The tragedie of King Richard the second.

Richard II by William ShakespeareRichard II is one of Shakespeare’s great history plays. It is a prelude to his three Henry plays: Henry IV, part 1, Henry IV, part 2, and Henry V. Richard II is based on the life of the English king Richard II, who ruled in England from 1377 to 1399. The play details his last days as king, and his subsequent murder. At the onset of the play, Richard II is the content ruler of England, when he is called to judge a dispute between his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, and a man named Thomas Mowbray. Bolingbroke has accused Mowbray of wrongfully spending money given to him by the King to be spent on the King’s soldiers. Bolingbroke also insinuates that Mowbray is behind the murder of his uncle, the Duke of Gloucester. Richard tries to appease both men but is persuaded to preside over a duel. However, as soon as the tournament is about to begin, Richard stops the proceedings and banishes the two contestants from England. Soon after, Bolingbroke’s father, John of Gaunt, dies, and Richard confiscates the noble man’s riches and land, using them to fund his extravagant war against Ireland. Richard leaves to monitor the war and Bolingbroke seizes the opportunity to form an army and invade northern England. Richard has left himself vulnerable, and Henry Bolingbroke seems set to become the next king, King Henry IV, of England. First performed in 1601, Richard II is a fascinating play that is less popular than other of Shakespeare’s historical plays, including Richard III and Julius Caesar. Great actors that have played Richard II include Frank Benson and Kevin Spacey.