King Richard As A Tragic Hero Essay

In William Shakespeare’s famous historical play, Richard II, the character of King Richard is portrayed from the very beginning as a very shifting character. King Richard displays a nonexistent connection with his country; which for a man who was raised to be a king, shows a lack of control both over himself and the country. During the course of the play it is shown that his ultimate flaw was thinking like a man, instead of a king. As a man, he saw himself above his people and as a king, he failed to notice the political situations that led to his demise; coupled with his godlike thoughts of himself, King Richard was not a tragic hero, but a tragic fool. King Richard thought like a man instead of a king and this lead him to not only losing his title, but his credibility. In the first place, one of the reasons

A hero should always do well for his followers; Richard only proved to be loyal to himself. He abused his people by saying he was “enforced to farm our royal realm, the revenue whereof shall furnish us” (1.4.45-46). King Richard taxed the poor to fund his luxuries and wars, without thinking of how it affected his people. He thought like a man instead of a king and this lead him to not only losing his title, but his credibility. Instead of becoming a tragic hero, he became a tragic fool; not only did he abdicate his throne, because he could not handle the pressure, he showed that was not fit to be a king, even if he was born for it. Shakespeare’s play, Richard II, portrays a king that was not born to be one and how thinking like a man could be a king’s ultimate flaw; because a king needs to be strong enough to handle the weight of the crown and selfless enough to be humble before his people. Shakespeare’s King Richard thought like a man instead of a king and this lead him to not only losing his title, but his credibility as a