FREE ESSAY ON 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.
Bibliography
internet, books,