Study Questions

1. Where does King Richard urge his Queen to make her future home?

2. Where does King Henry IV send Richard to be imprisoned after changing his mind about sending him to the Tower of London?

3. What humiliations does the Duke of York tell his wife that King Richard suffered as he was led into London?

4. What information is contained in the letter the Duke of York seizes from his son?

5. What do the Duke and Duchess of York urge King Henry to do with their son, the Duke of Aumerle?

6. What duties did the Groom perform at one time for King Richard?

7. Why does the Keeper refuse to taste King Richard’s food?

8. Who murders King Richard?

9. What sentence does King Henry pronounce upon the Bishop of Carlisle?

10. What does King Henry plan to do to absolve his guilt about the murder of Richard II?

Answers

1. King Richard tells the Queen to seek refuge in a convent in France.

2. King Henry revokes his order sending Richard to the Tower of London and decides to send him instead to imprisonment at Pomfret Castle.

3. The Duke of York tells his wife that King Richard, as he was being led through the streets of London, had dust and rubbish thrown on his head. York also tells his wife that Bolingbroke was cheered by the crowd, while “no joyful tongue” gave Richard “his welcome home.”

4. The letter that the Duke of York seizes from his son contains information about a plot against King Henry’s life and the names of the conspirators.

5. The Duke of York urges King Henry to forget his promise of a pardon and to deal harshly with his son. The Duchess begs the King to be merciful.

6. The Groom tended and dressed the King’s horses.

7. The Keeper refuses to taste King Richard’s food as he had in the past because he has been told not to do so by Sir Pierce of Exton.

8. Sir Pierce of Exton murders King Richard.

9. King Henry commands that the Bishop of Carlisle live out his life at a remote religious retreat, far removed from the politics of the court.

10. King Henry plans a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to absolve his guilt about King Richard’s murder.