Name: Johsiah Imo

Subject: Literature Unit 1

Teacher: Mr. Pemberton
Topic: Shakespeare
Date: 28th February, 2018

"It is primarily through the use of stage conventions that the dramatist is able to explore
the relationship between leadership and identity in Richard II."

Discuss the extent to which this statement is a fair assessment of Richard II.
Shakespeare’s play Richard II revolves around kingship. This tragic drama, underscores the

Elizabethan view that a rightful king is identified by his divine right to rule the realm. On the

other hand, a king that does not obtain his power through divine right would develop a sort of

amoral perspective which would later introduce tragedy to the realm. In Richard II it is primarily

through the use of stage conventions that one is able to explore the relationship between

leadership and identity. Stage conventions are norms or practices that are recognized by the

audience and actors as an easy and quick way to understand what is happening on stage. Through

the use of dialogues, foreshadowing, stage properties and soliloquies the concept of leadership

and identity are brought to the forefront.

Firstly, dialogues are very important in Richard II as they reveal certain aspects of Richard's

identity which give way to his negative leadership. A quintessential example of a dialogue would

be the conversation between John of Gaunt and King Richard. This can be found in Act 2 Scene

1. In this dialogue King Richard’s identity as a king is revealed to the readership. For instance,

the fact that there is stichomythia present "Gaunt: O, no! Thou diest, though I the sicker be …

King Richard: I am in health, I breathe and see thee ill" underscores his arrogance as he is

unwilling to listen to dying Gaunt’s words of wisdom, which is simply a warning of his downfall

due to his poor leadership. Instead as stated in York and John of Gaunt’s dialogue which is also

in Act 2 scene 1, king Richard prefers to “listen to reports of fashion in proud Italy...so it be new,

there's no respect how vile...then all too late comes counsel to be heard.” It is this wasteful and

arrogant behavior that leads to his downfall, as he is so blinded by unimportant aspects of

kingship for example the newest fashion regardless how disagreeable it was, that he is unable to

realize what others think of his leadership. In other words, he is identified by most as a wasteful,

arrogant and uncaring king. Additionally, there is a strong simile “like a pelican”. This simile
aids the readership to further understand not only what type of person Richard is but what type of

king he is. A young pelican feeds on its mother's own blood in the same way Richard shed the

blood of his family to become king, so that kingship did not come through divine right. His

identity as a usurper overshadows any attempt at effective leadership.

Furthermore, another important dialogue that portrays the relationship between leadership and

identity to the readership is the dialogue between Exton and Bolingbroke, in Act 5 Scene 6.

Ironically, the bloodshed that Bolingbroke and others criticized Richard for characterized

Bolingbroke’s kingship as he also shed the blood of his family "Richard" to obtain power “To

wash this blood off from my guilty hand.” This would portray to the readership that both

Bolingbroke’s leadership and identity is no different from that of Richard. Exton's words also aid

the readership to identify Bolingbroke as a king "Great King, within this coffin I

present...greatest enemies... brought." Such a statement strengthens the irony present as

Bolingbroke is seen as a great king regardless to the fact that he lacks divine right. Moreover, as

a result of his power not being based on divine right, his kingship would lead to tragedy within

the realm. In addition, the readership would then tend to view Bolingbroke, York and many

others as hypocritical leaders as the same thing they despised Richard for was the same thing

they participated in.

Secondly, foreshadowing is also a very important convention used throughout Richard II as it

predicts the end of Richard's legacy as a king. This is not only present in dialogues but also

through the use of omens. Foreshadowing is found in the dialogue between John of Gaunt and

York in Act 2 Scene 1 when Gaunt states “his rash fierce blaze of riot cannot last, For violent
fires soon burn out themselves.” This proverbial statement prefigures Richard’s downfall as his

kingship is equivalent to wild fires as he lives an uncontrollable and wasteful lifestyle that would

be the cause of his rapid downfall. In addition, Gaunt’s symbolic reference to the Garden of Eden

“Eden, Demi-paradise" highlights the state England was in before Richard’s rule. This vivid

contrast reveals Richard's very destructive nature as he was destroying the precious England

Gaunt had once known. Moreover, in Act 2 Scene 5 omens are present, “the King is dead ... the

bay trees in our country are all wither’d ...moon looks bloody on the earth... these signs forerun

the death or fall of kings.” The fact that bay trees are known to be evergreen and now they are

‘all’ withered is a symbolic representation of Richard’s rule not only on society but on the land

itself. This event creates a parallelism between society and the natural environment which

highlights the effects of Richard’s self centeredness and uncaring character for his people. The

trees therefore act as a symbol of the people’s continuous suffering due to King Richard. As a

result it would be assumed by the readership that Richard II is not only an incompetent leader but

also self centered as he does not tend to the needs of the people of England. Due to such

incidents he begins to lose his support “O, call back yesterday... thou shalt have twelve thousand

fighting men,” (Act 3 Scene 2) such statements show his loss of support and further prefigures

King Richard’s downfall due to his identity and leadership being linked to destruction, greed and

wastefulness.

Thirdly, stage properties are used throughout Richard II to highlight the link between Richard's

style of leadership and his loss of identity. The mirror and crown both highlight the relationship

between leadership and identity. In act Act 4 Scene 1, the readership is notified that there is a

mirror present “let me command a mirror...give me that glass..dashes the glass... for there it is
crack’d in a hundred shivers.” It is in the aforementioned episode that Richard II starts to realize

that he is losing both his identity and leadership. As a result of such realization King Richard

starts to admit to all his wrong doings “faced so many follies”. He then submits to the fact that he

is nothing without his power, in other words the mirror is used to highlight the fact that without

power Richard thinks he has no identity. This loss of identity is underscored by the fact he looks

in the mirror expecting his physical features to change in correspondence with his loss of power.

He then dashes the mirror to the ground where it shatters into pieces. This act epitomizes the fact

his power is as shattered as the pieces of glass on the floor. The over confidence that he once

possessed is now absent as he comes to the self realization that his leadership style was not

appreciated and as a result he was labelled as incompetent for the realm by everyone except his

deceptive advisors.

The crown symbolically aids the dramatist to explore the relationship between leadership and

identity. “Give me the crown... that two buckets, filling one another...the other down... and full of

water.” The aforementioned statement can be found in (Act 4 Scene 1). This statement makes it

clear to the readership that Bolingbroke is being given Richard’s power. As a result of Richard’s

loss of power, it is therefore obvious that Bolingbroke is seen by most of the characters to be fit

to be the king in contrast to Richard. In other words, Richard loses position as King to

Bolingbroke. However, as stated earlier the fact that Bolingbroke is the cause of Richard’s death

his divine right to be the king is lost. The readership would therefore assume that he is a

hypocrite and is no different from Richard and his future would prove such.
Lastly, soliloquies are stage conventions that assist the dramatist to explore the relationship

between leadership and identity as they underscore the changes leadership has on one's identity.

Richard’s soliloquy in Act 5 Scene 5 notifies the readership of Richard’s transformation from a

callous king to a poetic king, due to his disposition as the King of England. The comparison

between himself and a clock is evidence of his newfound poetic skill as it emphasizes Richard's

state of disgust by referring to time. What this does is create an image in the readership's mind of

Richard's continuous growing misery, second by second. Also, throughout this scene Richard

becomes lonely “And here is not a creature but myself” his loneliness teaches him an important

lesson and he moves from being a callous and self-absorbed elitist to becoming a more tolerant

and poetic person. Altogether, this transition highlights the change of his personality (identity)

due to his loss of his power (leadership). What Shakespeare does is wait until the end to

emphasize to the readership the fact that power tends to change individuals.

Conclusively, stage conventions are critical throughout Richard II as they aid both the readership

and actors to evaluate the relationship between one’s identity and leadership. Their existence is

efficient especially in evaluating Richard. This is so as they highlight Richard’s characteristics

which forms his identity. His identity was based on negatives while he was king whereas he took

on a new identity as he became more down to earth. The didactic nature of Richard II allows it to

educate the readership about subjects relating to the effects that power has on one's identity.