FREE ESSAY ON RICHARD II VS LEAR II

RICHARD II VS LEAR II

Richard II vs Lear II 
From the very opening of the play when Richard III enters solus, the protagonist's
isolation is made clear. Richard's isolation progresses as he separates himself from the
other characters and breaks the natural bonds between Man and nature through his efforts
to gain power. The first scene of the play begins with a soliloquy, which emphasizes
Richard's physical isolation as he appears alone as he speaks to the audience. This idea
of physical isolation is heightened by his references to his deformity, such as rudely
stamp'd...Cheated of feature by Dissembling Nature, deformed, unfinished. This deformity
would be an outward indication to the audience of the disharmony from Nature and
viciousness of his spirit. As he hates the idle pleasures of these days and speaks of his
plots to set one brother against another, Richard seems socially apart from the figures
around him, and perhaps regarded as an outsider or ostracized because of his deformity.
His separation from is family is emphasized when he says Dive, thought's down to my soul
when he sees his brother approaching. He is unable to share his thought with his own
family as he is plotting against them. Thus, we are given hints of his physical, social
and spiritual isolation which is developed throughout the play. But despite these hints,
he still refers to himself as part of the House of York, shown in the repeated use of
Our. The concept of Richard's physical isolation is reinforced in his dealings with Anne
in Act I scene ii. She calls him thou lump of foul deformity and fouler toad during their
exchange. Despite these insults, she still makes time to talk to Richard, and by the end
of their exchange, she has taken his ring and been woo'd by him. After Richard has
successfully gained the throne, he isolates himself when he asks the crowd to stand all
apart in Act IV scene ii. And later, when Richard dreams, he is completely alone.
Physical isolation in Richard's deformity wins sympathy from the audience as we pity his
condition. But Richard uses his deformity as a tool against the other characters, to
portray them as victimizing Richard. Thus the sense of tragedy is lessened by his own
actions, even though his isolation may become greater as the play progresses. Richard's
psychological isolation is conveyed through his lack of conscience in his murderous acts.
Nowhere does he feel remorse for his murders, until Act V scene iii when he exclaims Have
mercy Jesu! and O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!. In this turning point,
Richard's division from his own self is made clear from I and I, and Is there a murderer
here? No. Yes, I am! He has conflicting views of himself and realizes that no creature
loves him, not even himself. We also never the real mind of Richard, for he is always
playing a role, of a loving brother to Clarence, a lover to Anne or a victim to the
others. We feel sympathy for Richard as he awakes in a vulnerable position and for the
first time acknowledges the evil that he has done. But as he only reveals his feelings of
guilt in the last act of the play, we do not see him in internal turmoil and thus the
sense of psychological tragedy cannot be built upon. Socially, Richard is isolated from
both the upper and lower classes of society. In Act I scene iii, Richard sarcastically
calls Elizabeth sister, and she contemptuously calls him Brother of Gloucester making a
mockery of familial bonds. Margaret calls him cacodemon and devil, and any unity that the
characters have on stage is temporary and superficial. In act III, the citizens are said
to be mum and deadly pale, which gives a sense of quiet opposition to Richard's
activities. Richard is thus separated from all around him. Temporarily, we see Richard
and Buckingham share a kind of bond, as Richard calls him My other self, My Oracle and My
prophet. But they part when Buckingham hesitates to kill the young princes when Richard
says I wish the bastards dead. This is the only time the audience sees Richard act with
any other man, but we realize that it is for purely political purposes and that the union
exists only while Buckingham remains useful to him. Our sympathy for Richard is limited
as we see that he has no true friendships, and does not genuinely care for his family or
friends. Thus even in his increasing isolation the sense of tragedy upon his death is not
really saddening to the audience as there is no real sense of waste at his loss. Richard
isolates himself from God, as he claims to be above God's law and only uses religion as a
tool to appear holy before he is King. But ironically, although he breaks the bonds
between man and Nature, he is a tool of Divine Justice as he kill those who were sinners,
for example Clarence who recalls his horrible dream and realizes his guilt early in the
play. As the murders accumulate so does his separation from God, and the need for his
death increases. But being closer to his death brings him closer and closer to being with
God. Thus although Richard may not realize it, he is never too far from God. But Richard
does not increasingly isolate himself from the audience. From our omniscient position, we
share in Richard's wit, sarcasm, and the dramatic irony brought about when other
characters are not fully aware of the implication of his words. Richard also shares his
feelings with us, although he is not always truthful. But the fact that he enjoys his
villainy to such a great extent, and feels no remorse for his murders reduces him to a
figure of Vice, and is not really seen to be a tragic figure of great proportions. In his
killing, we see the guilt of Clarence, King Edward, Rivers, Hastings Buckingham and Lady
Anne exposed before their deaths, along with all those who die. Thus their deaths are
necessary and the audience remembers that. Also, the deaths appear off-stage, which
lessens the impact of their deaths. The most poignant part of the play occurs in seeing
the young princes talk happily and innocently to their uncle and Lord Protector. York
says I shall not sleep quiet in the Tower, and we pity them, as they are young and
afraid, and are forced to go there because, as the Prince says, My Lord Protector needs
will have it so. The children had appeared happy , and the Prince had shown wit and
intelligence in his conversation with his uncle. This appears to be the greatest tragic
loss in the play, which is heightened because of their youth and innocence. The tragedy
of the protagonist is felt because of his attractiveness as a villain and as someone who
is not constrained by the rules of society. However, the audience never forgets that he
is wicked and therefore we cannot feel a sense of great loss of potential or waste in his
death. Many literary techniques are used to emphasize the theme of the Shakespearean play
King Lear. The dramas' theme is blindness, both mentally and physically, to the truth. In
King Lear, the techniques of imagery, foreshadowing, and irony help to reinforce the
drama's theme that people are blind to the truth. Imagery is used frequently and helps to
create a vivid image for the audience. Now all the plagues that in the pendulous air hang
fated over men's faults lights on thy daughters. This quote uses imagery because part of
the quote is lights on thy daughters which shows how Lear's daughters don't love him
except for Cordelia, who does. Another example of imagery, is when Cornwall stomps out
Gloucester's eyes. When Gloucester realizes his mental and figurative blindness, Cornwall
physically blinds him. At the end of the play, everyone betrays everyone else. This is an
example of imagery because the characters are also betrayed mentally by one another.
Foreshadowing also enhances the idea of figurative blindness because the character's
actions are hinted at before they actually occur. I've escaped the pursuit therefore to
survive I'll disguise myself as a crazy, dirty, beggar. Edgar, by dressing so poorly, is
foreshadowing that he will have to do a dirty deed, which is killing his brother, Edmund,
at the end of the play. In act 2, scene 4 the fool is telling Lear that poor fathers
treat their children badly, when rich fathers make their children happy, but Lear's
children were still unhappy and wrong, even if he was rich. The fool was trying to tell
King Lear that there was trouble amongst his daughters. This is an example of
foreshadowing because the trouble the fool was telling Lear about could and did turn into
something much more serious. Never! I was king, but I gave away my kingdom. The storm is
my master now. This quote demonstrates foreshadowing because the way Lear is babbling,
and talking about the storm, can mean that he is going crazy. A third literary technique,
irony, underscores the theme of the play. EYou'll say they are Persian; but let them be
changed. This is a comment made about Edgar's messy, old clothes in act 3, scene 6. The
comment is ironic because the word Persian usually refers to something beautiful and
colorful. Away and let me die. This quote was made by Gloucester in act 4, scene 6. He
was speaking to Edgar who had led him to a hill to jump from, but Gloucester expected to
jump from a cliff. The quote is an example of dramatic irony because the audience knows
that Gloucester is only jumping from a small hill, but since he is blind, he thinks he is
jumping from a mighty cliff. In act 1, scene 1 Lear says, EGive me the map there. Know
that we have divided in three our kingdomEto shake all cares and business from our age
conferring them on younger strengthsE This is another example of dramatic irony because
the audience knows that giving his kingdom to his daughters is a bad idea on King Lear's
part. They know that Goneril and Reagan will betray Lear, but Lear is not yet aware of
this fact. The use of imagery, foreshadowing, and irony significantly develop the play's
central theme of physical and figurative blindness.