Richard II:
Engendering Show
Conclusion of Last Class:
• the second gage scene represents the
structure of the first but brings out the element
of show
• all men are playing out a political game
• oath-making becomes farce
– And the farce keeps being re-presented, as
evidenced in the ridiculous scene put on for
Bolingbroke by the Duke and Duchess of
York in 5.3.23-145.
Bolingbroke’s comment about this “show”:
Our scene is alt’red from a serious thing,
And now changed to “the Beggar and the King”
(5.3.78-79)
The “farcical show” in Act 5, which
Bolingbroke dubs “the Beggar and the
King,” is a contest between a man/husband
(Duke of York) and a woman/wife (Duchess
of York) over the life of their son, Aumerle.
Remember, in the very first scene of the
play, Mowbray says,
'Tis not the trial of woman's war,
The bitter clamor of two eager tongues,
Can arbitrate this cause betwixt us twain;
The blood is hot that must be cooled for this.
(1.1.47-50; emphasis mine)
Further Representations of Women/Femininity:
Gaunt (p. 29; 2.1): "this precious stone set in a silver sea“
[England] is also "this nurse, this teeming womb of royal
kings."
Duchess of Gloucester (p. 11; 1.2.11-21): conceit of the seven
vials/branches of Edward III --> "Ah! Gaunt, his blood was
thine; that bed, that womb, / That metal, that self mold that
fashioned thee, / Made him [Gloucester] a man" (21-23).
Queen: (p. 39; 2.2.9-11): "Yet again methinks / Some unborn
sorrow ripe in Fortune's womb / Is coming towards me."
Bushy (in response to the Queen) (p. 39; 2.2.33): "'Tis nothing
but conceit, my gracious lady."
Duchess of York (p. 100; 5.3.99-109): "prayer" conceit; we
show true prayer--we outpray him, i.e., York (with a play on
"outplay"/"outpray").
Richard himself, the great "conceiter" or teller of tales (p. 103;
5.5.6-8, in prison): "My brain I'll prove the female to my
soul, / My soul the father, and these two beget / A generation
of still-breeding thoughts."
What best describes the position of
women/femininity in Richard II?
A) Empowered
B) Disempowered
Femininity is repeatedly linked to the idea of
“show” or “mere” representation.
Can femininity be associated with “show” or
“mere” representation and still be
empowering?
A) No
B) Yes
The Double-Edge of Femininity and Show
• on the one hand, womb imagery is a very positive
part of the old world vision (e.g., speeches of Gaunt
and Duchess of York).
• But, on other hand, women and femininity are also
seen in the old world view as substanceless "talk,"
i.e., mere conceit (e.g., Mowbray’s comments)
• And yet, the Queen's "unborn sorrow" metaphor is
not mere conceit: it is realized in the return of
Bolingbroke.
• And in the new world order supposedly ruled by
Bolingbroke, femininity and "show" dominate, as
witnessed in the Duchess of York “winning” in the
mini-show “The Beggar and the King.”
What powerful woman who is a master
of manipulating representation stands “in
the wings” of Richard II?
In Summary:
Through its association with women or the "female," the
new world of "representation" and "show" (manned by
Bolingbroke) is diminished:
men : women : : ceremony : show
But women do have power in this new world (however
farcical that power may be shown).
A description of the new world could be thus: it is a world
where women are rulers of representation (see
Queen Elizabeth).
The Engendering Mind of Richard
We see Richard alone with only his mind in his final
prison soliloquy (pp. 103-104; 5.5.1-66)
How would you best describe Richard at this
point in the play?
A) Bisexual
B) Resigned
C) Master of language
D) Aware of his uncontrol of mind
E) In tune with himself
What is the significance of Richard’s extended
conceit of himself as a clock, ll. 48-60?
A) His time is up
B) His is out of touch with natural reality
C) He still sees himself as part of the Chain of
Being universe
D) A and B
E) A and C
Compare Richard’s almost grotesque conceit of
himself as a mechanical clock to Elizabeth’s natural
conceit of herself as a flourishing landscape in the
Rainbow Portrait.
Does your attitude to Richard as a person
change in the course of the play?
A = very much so; B = not at all
See the Woodman production of Richard's
concluding scene (with David Birney as
Richard):
Does this film interpretation change your
already formed conception of Richard at
the end of the play (based on your reading
of the text and seeing the BBC film
production)?
A= very much so; E = not at all