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Cobbe Portrait of William Shakespeare
Monthly Archives: May 2012
“A brittle glory shineth in this face;/As brittle as the glory is the face.”
Richard II Act Four, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ————————————- More from Marjorie Garber on language, symbols, and the loss of a crown: “Indeed, all around Richard in the opening scenes of the play language itself seems to be dying. … Continue reading
“You may my glories and my state depose,/But not my griefs; still am I king of those.”
Richard II Act Four, Part One By Dennis Abrams —————————————- Act Four: As Bolingbroke attempts to discover the truth behind Gloucester’s murder in Parliament, Richard’s abdication is announced. Carlisle warns that civil war will break out if Bolingbroke becomes king, … Continue reading
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Tagged abdication, Act IV, Bolingbroke, crown, deposition, drama, Edward II, language, literature, lyric poet, Marlowe, philosophy, renaissance humanism, Richard II, Shakespeare, theology, William Shakespeare
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“O, that I were a mockery king of snow,/Standing before the sun of Bolingbroke/To melt myself away in water-drops!”
Richard II Act Three, Part Two By Dennis Abrams —————————— For me, we probably have yet to read a line from Shakespeare more haunting than “For God’s sake let us sit upon the ground/And tell sad stories about the death … Continue reading
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Tagged "the kings two bodies", Act Three, ascent, balcony scene, Bolingbroke, deposition, descent, drama, El Greco, Flint Castle, kingship, literature, names, patterns, renaissance humanism, Richard II, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare, sun, The Dream of Philip II, William Shakespeare
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“For God’s sake let us sit upon the ground /And tell sad stories about the death of kings.”
Richard II Act Three, Part One By Dennis Abrams ——————————— Act Three: Returning to face the emergency from Ireland, Richard faces an impossible situation: his army has been dispersed, three of his closest friends have been executed by Bolingbroke, and … Continue reading
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Tagged Act Three, Bolingbroke, Bolingsbroke, deposition, drama, Flint Castle, For God's Sake let us sit upon the ground, gracious lord, impossible situation, John of Gaunt, literature, politics, renaissance humanism, Richard II, Shakespeare, William Shakespeare, York
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“What dies with John of Gaunt? Nothing less than a vision of the world.”
Richard II Act Two, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ————————- As I was re-reading Act Two of Richard II last night, I was struck by the bitterness in the exchange between the dying John of Gaunt, Ill in myself to … Continue reading
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Tagged Act Two, blot, Bolingbroke, Bolingsbroke, deposition, drama, dramatic terms, great speeches, Holinshed Chronicles, John of Gaunt, Lancaster, literature, Mercutio, politics, renaissance humanism, rhetorical terms, Richard II, Shakespeare, shakespearean drama, tongue, William Shakespeare
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“This happy little breed of men, this little world,/This precious stone set in the silver sea,/Which serves it in the office of a wall,/Or as the moat defensive to a house /Against the envy of less happier lands;/This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England…”
Richard II Act Two, Part One By Dennis Abrams ——————————— Act Two: Joined by the Duke of York, the dying Gaunt bemoans the state of the country, which is struggling under Richard’s increasingly unpopular rule – a point that Gaunt … Continue reading
“We will descend and fold him in our arms.”
Richard II Act One, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ———————- For a play that I thought would be as relatively straightforward as the Henry VI plays were (unhappy king, etc.) even Act One is turning out to be more complex, … Continue reading
“We were not born to sue, but to command;”
Richard II Act One By Dennis Abrams ——————- MAJOR CHARACTERS KING RICHARD II of England Queen Isabel, Richard’s wife John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, Richard’s Uncle Harry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford, Gaunt’s son (later King Henry IV) Duchess of … Continue reading
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Tagged act one, Bolingsbroke, Christopher Marlowe, drama, John of Gaunt, kings, literature, politics, renaissance humanism, Richard II, Shakespeare, William Shakespeare
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“The subject of Richard II is the reign and deposition of an English king. It is also the beauty of the English language considered as an instrument upon which music can be made.”
An Introduction to Richard II By Dennis Abrams —————— We’ve read his lyrical tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. We’ve read his lyrical comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Now, it’s time to read Shakespeare’s lyrical history (is such a thing possible? With … Continue reading
“Farewell! thou art too dear for my possessing,/And like enough thou know’st thy estimate:/The charter of thy worth gives thee releasing;/My bonds in thee are all determinate.”
Shakespeare Sonnet #87 By Dennis Abrams SONNET 87 Farewell! thou art too dear for my possessing, And like enough thou know’st thy estimate: The charter of thy worth gives thee releasing; My bonds in thee are all determinate. For how … Continue reading
The Play's The Thing 