Aug 30, 2008

Richard II | Bolingbroke (Character Analysis)

Also: Bullingbrook, Henry Bolingbroke (Bullingbrook), Duke of Herford; afterwards, King Henry IV of England

Bolingbroke is John of Gaunt's son and King Richard's cousin. With the death of his father, Bolingbroke is supposed to inherit Gaunt's title—the duke of Lancaster. By V.iii he has become King Henry IV.

In the play, the defining moments for Bolingbroke are his banishment by the king in I.iii, followed by Richard's expropriation of his inheritance in II.i—for Richard's taking of his property and the revocation of his new title (Duke of Lancaster) provoke Bolingbroke to defy...