Journal Twenty-one: The Political Agenda
I don't think I'm entirely certain of what you're looking for here, but I'll give it a shot.
The image of ideal government that I get from reading Richard II is that the king should be honest, just and mature. Richard is presented as none of those and is quickly struck down by the people. In the final act, with York, the Duchess of York, her son, and the King, we also see a theme of mercy (or forced mercy). The King finally pardons Aumerle after he apologizes. However justice comes back and the other men who conspired against the king are sent for. I guess the standard for society's relation to government is pretty average, all things considered. When Richard began to be overthrown, they just kinda went with it. We aren't shown much of the common people, but they don't seem too upset. They simply want something better than Richard and so they aren't too sad to see him go. In scene two of act five, York describes such a situation to the Duchess. He says, "You would have thought the very windows spake, so many greedy looks of young and old through casements darted their desiring eyes upon his visage, and that all the walls with painted imagery had said at once, 'Jesu preserve thee! Welcome, Bolingbroke!'" So I guess the standard is that the society will get the ruler they desire sooner or later.
Rulers.
I wonder if all of Richard's subjects, rich to the poor, desired to have a new ruler... it kind of seems like those close to Richard and Henry were the ones getting upset over everything. But like you pointed out, we didn't get much of a picture of what the commone people thought.
Megan Baeth-Brison
Aumerle
I wrote this in another blog, but I found through wikipedic research that prior to events that occurred in this play, Richard had already shown mercy to Bolingbroke by letting him off the hook after he had been involved in a rebellion. With this in mind, is the perspective you take on Richard altered any since him exiling Bolingbroke now seems more just?
Ryan K Bishop
Richard the just?
Pretty straightforward
I think your conjecture that the standard is that society gets the leader they want is a fair one... but do you think Shakespeare is saying this is a good thing or a bad thing? The play talks a lot about God putting the king in his place, and this was commonly believed... but it does seem that even though there may be negative consequences of Henry's coup, his actions are viewed as just.
Erin Kay Schulz
Undecided
I was trying to figure that out myself. I don't know really if he's saying it's good or bad. Maybe he's just commenting on the fact that it happens. The fact that it is Richard's tragedy maybe shows that he thinks it's too bad. But in the end, it is better for the people.
-Renee Ward