The essence of kingship : a study of the monarchs in Shakespear's Richard II, 1 and 2 Henry IV, and Henry V

William Shakespeare's plays, Richard II, 1 and 2 Henry IV and Henry V, form a tetralogy in which the conditions and nature of kingship are extensively explored. Richard II is an incapable ruler because his own desires are always uppermost in his mind while the welfare of the realm matters little to him. However, in spite of his faults, Richard II is a divinely ordained king, God's deputy on earth, and, therefore, he is the only legitimate monarch. When Henry IV usurps Richard II and has him murdered, he commits an unforgivable crime. Thus, in spite of the fact that he is a more capable ruler, his reign is plagued by rebellion and civil war. Only his son, Henry V, a legitimate ruler, can restore order to the chaotic nation. This study is an analysis of the reigns of these three monarchs. It is based on four aspects of the text: dramatic action, speeches on kingship, figurative patterns, and thematic movements.Taken as a unit, the four plays create a portrait of the ideal "statesman-king"; viewed individually, they produce added insight into the variations in interpretations of inadequate king, Henry IV, who is troubled human. of his kingship, king and its occupant. Richard II is an but a very talented poet, in contrast to a capable ruler, but a guilt-ridden, Henry V can be characterized only in terms as he is forced to subject his personal of the office self to his political role in order to be a successful monarch.Thesis (M.A.