Desire- 3/20/14

Emily Lagarde

King Richard II Desire for Monarchy


Richard II continually abuses his power as king in order to hold influence not only over his
subjects, but also of the land. His desire for control and having a stable English monarchy leads
him on multiple quests over his domain and those who inhabit it, which leads to his demise.

Control over subjects:
In the first act, Richard II speaks of Bolingbroke as a subject of royal blood,
"Now by my septer's awe I make a vow,/ Such neighbor nearness to our sacred blood/
Should nothing privilige him nor partilize/The unstooping firmness of my upright soul./
He is our subject, Mowbray; so art thou;/Free speech and fearless I to thee allow" (1.1 115-123).
Already Richard is speaking how both Bolingbroke and Mowbray are subjects of the king and that speech from them is accepted on Richard's condition only. Also the vow he makes is easily broken when he banishes Bolingbroke. Richard's desire for control over his court means that he constantly moves the line of promises and truth. He is continually leaving the people in his wake confused and scared with constantly questioning themselves what would displease or please the king, "to monarchize, be feared, and kill with looks" (3.2 165). In this instance, Richard has created a control through fear. Especially that he would banish his uncle's son, leaving his uncle without an heir and therefore leaving no lineage, no trace of Gaunt after his death, that is until Bolingbroke comes back with vengeance. When Richard is speaking to Gaunt in this dynamic conversation between the dying and the health of a strong king, we see Gaunt have long speeches about what is right and what is wrong and very articulate ways of giving advice of the role of a king, but Richard replies, "I am in health, I breathe, and see thee ill" (2.1 92). This could be looked at very interestingly as Richard discarding everything Gaunt is saying because his uncle is dying, he has no power and therefore is no use to Richard. The king is in pure health and his health allows him to act in the way he does. Gaunt is dying, therefore the words he is saying, the opinions he gives, is dying as well. This could be concreted by Gaunt's last words, "and thy unkindness be like crooked age/To crop at once a too-long withered flower/Live in thy shame, but die not shame with thee!" (2.1 133-135) He is saying Richard is aged because he is a bad king and does not deserve to rule. This also signifies Richards desire for power, for a monarchy because he would be feared not just individually but by his predecessor as well. He monopolizes his ruling by using the land that he deems his because he is king and therefore owns the land and the people on it.

 Desire or (lack of desire) for Land ?

A big theme in this play is about the use of land. Should land belong to the king for his desires or where does the extent of power a king has stop-- how should he behave?
In the beginning Richard dictates his power very bluntly, "we were not born to sue, but to command" (1.1 196), meaning his power is not on loan, it does not have limits. His power, his desire for monarchy, for absolute power, means his command is god given and rightfully his. This leads to his takeover of land, because he commands it. Gaunt is the only one who stands against Richard, speaking that his taking of land and leasing it is like a sickness, which again leads Richard to be sick, to be diseased in some way (which is an omen of his future death). So, if Richard owns all the land and he is sick in someway, then the land must be sick too, because it is an extension of his monarchical body. Then when the two common men are speaking of the garden and symbolizing England we see another example of land being sacred and should be free of sickness, "oh what a pity it is that he had not trimmed and dressed his land/ as we this garden!" (3.4 56-57). Richard is not tending to his land as he should. He is not devoted to his land the way others would be and not seeing the threats that a common man can see.
Richard's desire for absolute, god given power leaves him blind to common problems and that his threats and schemes do not work out-- which is very obvious when his men and army abandon him later-- and that his desire for the sun, for the absolute, leaves him to not see clearly what is transpiring in his own kingdom. His desires, his intentions for himself are thwarted by the very simple fact that the does not have an heir. It is a reversion of what a monarch's ultimate goal is, to keep it in the family.

Desire plays a key element in most Shakespearean plays. A king's desire is all encompassing however. If Richard were to slip up just a little, he would be ruined, which is what happens. His desire is that slip. His desire for land, for scaring subjects, for conquering Ireland is all apart of his self centered attitude that he is king and the burden rests on his shoulders. His desire for monarchy fails and he dies because of it. A king being murdered or mysteriously dying is extremely scary and confusing for people, but what is interesting is that Richard had to die (because there could only be one king obviously) but also that his desire for monarchy would not die on its own, but would have to die with the form it took in the person of Richard. Yet, that desire gets fixed on King Henry later. Desire never goes away, there is always something to be desired and the need for it can cause anyone into a constant state of moving towards that goal. Richard's desire for monarchy fails because he was only aiming towards one object and not seeing the rest of the moving parts around him.