King Richard II

King Richard II by William Shakespeare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is Shakespeare’s masterclass in portraying controversial political material in such a finely balanced way as to avoid controversy – he was the only playwright of his time to avoid tussles with the law. This for me is a more successful staging of a regicide than Julius Caesar, because the charismatic ruler remains on stage until the end, and indulges in ever more fantastic self-pitying flights of fancy. Richard is a bad king and a great poet. In his heart of hearts he probably knows it, which is why he is weirdly eager to give up his title and his responsibilities. Shakespeare’s point (if he has one) may be that poetry is ultimately an easier vocation than politics.

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