How is Richard II portrayed in act I? Essay

In Act I of Richard II, Richard is portrayed as indicatorful, pompous and arrogant, all somewhat contrastingly to his act to wards the end of the tend. We live even as early as Act I glimpses of Richards shameful flaws and the crucial mistakes he makes which determine his dramatic fall. The genre of the variation is historic tragedy, so the audience know the main protagonist in this case Richard is doomed from the start. So, in Act 1 Shakespeares portrayal of him is not only purposeful for his fall, nevertheless in like manner hugely ironic, qualification his descent to even more dramatic. Immediately in Act I, Richards power and authoritative presence is unpatterned.The setting in Windsor Castle is a very formal occasion, as Richard gives Bullingbrook and Mowbray a formal hearing. It is really ceremonious and grandeur setting for the opening scene and so even ahead some(prenominal) speech, Richard is perceived as being powerful and omnipotent. On stagecoach Richard, i s central and stationed upstage to observe the proceedings. When he descends from his raised platform (which was traditional) and walks downstage to stop the proceedings later in the scene, he travels quite a distance on stage, reinforcing his pivotal place on the stage and in the political picture.These proxemics physically symbolise how Richard was the most powerful, which is extremely ironic as at the end of the play the roles are reversed as Bullingbrook defeats Richard. Richard is beca give the first character to speak, and refers to Bullingbrook and Mowbray by Henry Hereford (I/I/3) and Duke of Norfolk (I/I/6), making it expect very occasional and formal, so he appears as the voice of authority and as he is the first character to speak, it again re-emphasizes his ascendency.Alongside the first scene being a hugely occasional event, w here(predicate)by Richards importance and authority is greatly established, is it scripted in rhymed couplets to a fault the rest of the pl ay. Richard II is the only one of Shakespeares plays not written in prose, which gives it a sense of importance and authority. As the title of the play is Richard II, this then dramatizes how much power Richard initially had and so how much was at stake. As king of England in the 14th Century, Richard along with the majority of his hoi polloi believed in the Divine Right.As we can see by his use of the royal We(I/I/24) us(I/I/24) and our(I/I/84), by this he is referring to himself and God, which shows Richards arrogance and audacity, as he refers to himself with a heightened sense of authority. However, as the Act continues we realise that although Richard is King of England so along with the title comes odd wealth and power, Richard is not all that powerful and authoritative. When he uses the metaphor fierceness must be withstood/ Give me this gage.Lions make leopards time (I/II/173-4) here he is trying to assert his dominance and gain back experience over the hearing as Bullin gbrook and Mowbray demand a fight. He is reminding them of his pre-eminence, which makes him seem not only egotistical but shows his lack of control curiously following Mowbrays reply Yea, but not change his musca volitans (I/II/175). His undaunted and scintillating response show is lack of trustworthy and honest respect for Richard, aside from formalities.It shows Richards lack of intrinsic power if a noble can under-mine him, and feels the need to knowing what the consequences may be. not only is the whole play written in poetical rhyming couplets, but much of Richards speech is written very poetically and Shakespeare uses a lot of colourful and figurative language in his speech. By face to face brow to brow the accuser and the accused Richard is repeatedly utilise mirroring imagery to re-enforce the idea of the standoff coming between Bullingbrook and Mowbray, but also signifies the ultimate standoff between himself and Bullingbrook.However, this repetition creates a racy r hythm method making him sound arrogant and pompous. From Richards continuous use of dramatic and poetic language, we can see he is not a man of put through a conclusion which is supported as in Act I Scene I he stands away and watches Bullingbrook and Mowbray fight, he is higher than them, symbolically and physically. Also, by him stopping Bullingbrook and Mowbrays joule Let them lay by their helmets and their spears/ And both return back to their chairs again (I/III/119-20) he looks unmanlike and weak.Although he has an extraordinary flair for poetry but this appears to be his fatal flaw, he relies on language and terminology rather than traditional war and achievement. This is totally contrasting to Bullingbrooks characterisation in Act I, he is willing to fight Mowbray till death And as I actually fight, defend me heaven (I/III/41), he is a man of action and it is this which ultimately leads to Richards fall and defeat.However, this is somewhat ironic as his impuissance is words, but Shakespeare himself is a man of words and beautifully poetic language, which makes his failing and collapse even more dramatic as it is totally un-expected for his audience. As well as seeing Richards dependence on words and poetry we also are also introduced to another of Richards fatal mistakes. In Act 1 Scene 4 we see Richard in a completely new light, when Bushy informs him of Gaunts deteriorating health and the particular he is close to death, instead of feeling grief or any malice or despondency his first thought is of his inheritance.His response is uncivilised and heartless, only focusing on his financial gains from Gaunts death, The ocean liner of his coffers shall make coats/ To deck our soldiers for these Irish wars. Gaunts inheritance is right-fully his intelligences, Bullingbrook, so by taking it Richard is giving Bullingbrook a reason to punish and try to destroy him. Not only does this make Richard seem roughshod and callous, but also narcissistic an d gallant as he does not even consider Bullingbrooks reaction.As Richard believes he is Gods representative on earth, he sees himself as untouchable impenetrable, so Bullingbrooks anger does not matter as he cannot defeat him as he is protected by God- an idea certain to make Richard fall, and all the way apparent to the audience. Overall, Richards portrayal changes throughout Act I as his flaws and cracks begin to show. He is shown to be authoritative and powerful initially but we then see him to not be as powerful as he believes himself to be. However, there is no doubt that he is egocentric and contemptuous, apparent through his exaggerated self-opinion.