Study Questions

1. Which two characters does Bolingbroke order to be executed?

2. What reasons does Bolingbroke give for these executions?

3. Why does King Richard believe that Bolingbroke’s rebellion will fail?

4. Where does Richard resolve to seek refuge from Boling¬broke’s forces?

5. Who shares Richard’s refuge?

6. What does Bolingbroke claim as his purpose in confronting the King with his army?

7. What does King Richard anticipate if he submits to Boling¬broke?

8. What is Bolingbroke’s first response when the King comes down from the walls of the castle?

9. What diversions does the Queen’s Lady-in-Waiting suggest to cheer her spirits?

10. What herb does the Gardener promise to plant at the spot where one of the Queen’s tears fell?

Answers

1. Bolingbroke orders the executions of Bushy and Green.

2. Bolingbroke asserts that Bushy and Green have misled the King and caused a breach between the King and Queen. He also claims that they made the King misinterpret him and subsequently pillaged his estate.

3. Richard maintains that Bolingbroke’s rebellion will fail because he is king by divine right. He comments that “Not all the water in the rough rude sea/ Can wash the balm off from an annointed king;/ The breath of worldly men cannot depose/ The deputy elected by the Lord.”

4. King Richard decides to seek refuge from Bolingbroke’s forces at Flint Castle in Wales.

5. The King is accompanied to Flint Castle by the Duke of Aumerle, the Earl of Salisbury, Sir Stephen Scroop, and the Bishop of Carlisle.

6. Bolingbroke claims that he will swear “allegiance and true faith of heart” to the King and lay at his feet his “arms and power” if the King will repeal his banishment and restore his lands.

7. King Richard anticipates that if he submits to Bolingbroke he will be deposed and reduced to the status of a commoner. He also anticipates his own death and burial in “an obscure grave.”

8. When King Richard comes down from the walls of Flint Castle, Bolingbroke commands his nobles and soldiers to “show fair duty to his Majesty.” He kneels before Richard and addresses him as “My gracious Lord.”

9. The Queen’s Lady-in-Waiting suggests lawn bowling, dancing, and storytelling; she also volunteers to sing.

10. The Gardener promises to plant a bed of rue, the herb of sorrow, at the spot where one of the Queen’s tears fell.