Shakespeare's King Richard II: An Analysis
The Colorful Language of Shakespeare’s King Richard II
A great portion of Gaunt’s dialogue throughout the play makes strong reference to God. For instance, his philosophical, holy dialect in the play is first evident in the conversation between the Duchess of Gloucester as her emotions are heightened in regard to her husband’s death (Bevington, 2014). Gaunt then speaks more in-depth about Richard’s incompetent ways of ruling in a conversation with York, and he describes Richards leadership in England by utilizing a colorful analogy of a garden and the ways of nature. The conversation between Gaunt and York along with the biblical imagery that Gaunt conveys throughout the play has brilliant meaning to it beyond what is palpable on the surface.
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She makes her presence known and she explodes and responds with anger, “Thou, old Adam’s likeness, Set to dress this garden, how dare Thy harsh rude tongue sound this unpleasing news” (Bevington, 2014, 3.4. p. 356). Without a doubt, the Queen has made harsh reference to the gardener being the same as biblical Adam, whose disobedience to God caused both he and Eve to be removed from the Garden of Eden. The Queen continues her rath by blaming the gardener’s gossiping for this catastrophe and cursing his garden before running off to find her husband. Her comparison to the Garden of Eden is closely connected to Gaunt’s speech when he describes England’s current state as the second fall of mankind. In this case, the Queen suggests that her husband’s takedown is far worse than the first outcome of the Garden of Eden.
Shakespeare wisely utilized Gaunt’s character to disclose the true tragedy of King Richard II throughout the play. Gaunt’s words stemmed from worry for his nephew and the future of England, and also from him being disappointed in Richard’s incompetent ways. Shakespeare brilliantly used biblical imagery to bring the play to life comparing the tragedy of King Richard to the first fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden. The main characters in the play were used to paint pictures of how one ruler so simply affected an entire land due to his own
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