Richard II Summary | Play by William Shakespeare | Neb English Support Class 12

Neb English Support Class 12

Richard II Summary | Play by William Shakespeare | Neb English Support Class 12

Richard II by William Shakespeare

SHORT STORYLINE

Richard II by William Shakespeare 

Richard wastes his money, steals land, and kills his political rivals; people are angry and rebel; Henry becomes king. He kills his political rivals.

SHORT SUMMARY

Richard II by William Shakespeare 

King Richard II banishes Henry Bolingbroke, confiscates great lands, and wastes money to fund wars. Henry returns to England to reclaim his lands, gathers an army of those who oppose Richard, and deposes him. Richard is murdered inside the prison while Henry IV is imprisoning him.

DETAILED SUMMARY

Richard II by William Shakespeare 

Act I 

This play begins at the court of King Richard, as Henry Bolingbroke, son of Gaunt (Duke of Lancaster), challenges Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. Henry accuses Mowbray of involvement in the recent death of the King's uncle (who is also Henry's uncle; Henry and the King are cousins). Richard meets their demands to settle their differences in a one-on-one fight in Coventry.

As the tournament begins, the uncertain and impulsive Richard crashes the competition. Richard instead chooses to exile both Henry and Mowbray. He banishes Mowbray for a lifetime and responds to the pleas of Henry's father, Lancaster. He limits Henry's exile to six years.

Act II

In line with his customary behaviour, Richard is misguided by his friends into the poor governance of the country. Henry's father, Gaunt, dies and finally breaks with his son's exile and the kingdom under Richard's rule. Richard takes possession of all of Gaunt's land and money. It is learned that he is also leasing out royal land. Both of these monetary acquisitions helped him a lot to finance the war against Ireland. His nobles are despondent, not only because of the waste of state money but also because of their fear for the safety of their estates.

To make matters worse, Richard leaves on an expedition to Ireland. When Henry hears that his father has died and that Richard has taken his inheritance, he comes back from exile with an invading army. All the commoners and nobles are already critical of Richard. They welcome Henry to the north under the leadership of Henry Percy, the powerful Earl of Northumberland. Henry marches through England, gathering his willing army.

Act III

Richard returns after the Irish War to find that his Welsh allies have been scattered. Furthermore, his cousin, the Duke of York, unable to prevent Henry's victorious return, has joined him instead. Some of Richard's other friends also betrayed the King's cause. Others are executed on Henry's orders. Taking refuge in the Castle of Flint, Richard surrenders and agrees to go to London, where all the Lords will decide what should happen next.

Act IV-V

Seeing a rebellion against him, King Richard is persuaded to step down in favour of Henry Bolingbroke, now King Henry IV. In a ceremony, Richard hands over his crown. Henry later imprisons him at Pontefract Castle. Later, Richard's queen is sent home to France. Some of the lords join a conspiracy against Henry, but York, the father of one of the nobles, relates their conspiracies to Henry. Henry spares York's son, but he is now aware of his weakened position as King.

Henry implies to Exton that he would like to be relieved of his threats, and Exton later murders Richard. He brings the body back to London. Henry claims innocence, whereas Exton blames Exton for mistaking his intentions. The play ends when King Henry exiles Exton, orders a funeral for Richard, and takes an oath to atone for his cousin's death by going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

His dealings with the regency of King Henry IV (and his son, Hal, who eventually becomes King Henry V) are the subject of Shakespeare's plays, Henry IV Part 1 and Henry IV Part 2.

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RICHARD III BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE SUMMARY

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