/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.23219620]

This royal throne of kings, this scepter’d isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,
This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,
Fear’d by their breed and famous by their birth,
Renowned for their deeds as far from home,
For Christian service and true chivalry,
As is the sepulchre in stubborn Jewry
Of the world’s ransom, blessed Mary’s Son,
This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,
Dear for her reputation through the world,
Is now leased out, I die pronouncing it,
Like to a tenement or pelting farm:
England, bound in with the triumphant sea,
Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege
Of watery Neptune, is now bound in with shame,
With inky blots and rotten parchment bonds:
That England, that was wont to conquer others,
Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.
Ah, would the scandal vanish with my life,
How happy then were my ensuing death!”

[Anonymous No.23219767]

>>23219620
>Richard II
I have heard so little mention of this among Shakespeare's others. Is it good anon?

[Anonymous No.23219775]

>>23219767
It has some good parts, but overall I found it kind of dull and not all that memorable compared to the other histories. Richard himself is just kind of a passive, wishy washy character bemoaning his fate, rather than doing anything about it.

[Anonymous No.23219779]

>>23219767
Not OP, but I've read it. It's great. Richard is a fascinating character and Shakespeare makes him surprisingly sympathetic, given that he's essentially writing Tudor propaganda and Richard was regarded as a "bad guy" from that perspective.

It's also got the most rhyming of any of the history plays. Many scenes end with a character speaking in rhymed couplets, especially Richard himself, who does it quite a lot.

Also, it's the start of the Second Tetralogy, the Henriad. Prince Hal himself is first mentioned in Richard II. So if you want to enjoy Henry IV Part 1 and Part 2, and Henry V, you must read Richard II first.

[Anonymous No.23219827]

>>23219620
Its hard to imagine anyone speaking of England in such a way today - and if they did, such is the current state of things, I don't think I could take them seriously

[Anonymous No.23219923]

>>23219767
Yeah it's very good. Richard is wishy washy but I don't think it hurts his character. As he's deprived of his 'friends' and kingdom, Richard-as-Richard and Richard II come into conflict to an extent. The two scenes where he's captured and then forced to give up his crown show this, with him oscillating between the hopeless desire to remain king and facing reality, "Ay, no; no, ay, for I must nothing be". Keep in mind he was king since he was 10, he basically knew nothing else. He has to completely re-adjust, so it's no surprise he just breaks down.
All just my (not super close) reading of course, but I would recommend it, for the great speeches if nothing else.

[Anonymous No.23219957]

>>23219620
Then loudly cried the bold Sir Bedivere:
"Ah! my Lord Arthur, whither shall I go?
Where shall I hide my forehead and my eyes?
For now I see the true old times are dead,
When every morning brought a noble chance,
And every chance brought out a noble knight.
Such times have been not since the light that led
The holy Elders with the gift of myrrh.
But now the whole Round Table is dissolved
Which was an image of the mighty world;
And I, the last, go forth companionless,
And the days darken round me, and the years,
Among new men, strange faces, other minds."