Let me just throw this out there: I am really bad with names. When I meet people, I focus more on waiting for them to finish speaking so that I can say “nice to meet you,” than listening to what they say their name is. Needless to say, this is something I really need to work on. Along with this terrible habit, I am also the worst at keeping characters’ names straight in plays such as this. Richard II poses and extremely difficult task for me: so many names, second names, nicknames, aliases, it seems, I feel like my head is going to explode. Not only are there several names, but so many names are alike or the same; there are two Thomas’, several Dukes, and some characters have titles attributed to them by where they live as well as where they govern. It makes following the story extremely difficult for me and turns into more of a project when I have to write down character names and create a sort of summary just so I avoid further confusion. I figured that maybe, for this blog post, I’d simply delve into the characters and plot in a way that hopefully can be commented on for accuracy. I hope someone is up for the challenge of reading this blabber…
I’ll begin with Richard. Richard II is the king who begins Act I Scene I attempting to settle an argument between two men. One of the men is Henry Bolingbroke, also known as the Duke of Herford. He is the son of John of Gaunt, who happens to be Richard’s uncle. This would make Bolingbroke Richard’s cousin. The other man is Thomas Mowbray, also known as the Duke of Norfolk. Bolingbroke is accusing Mowbray of several crimes, including participation in the murder of one of the king’s uncles, Thomas of Woodstock/ Duke of Gloucester. Mowbray denies these charges although, he does confess that he had once plotted to kill another of Richard’s uncles, John of Gaunt, without success. We are then introduced to John of Gaunt himself, as he and Richard attempt to make Mowbray and Bollingbroke settle their argument. John of Gaunt, as noted earlier, is Bolingbroke’s father. If I may go off on a tangent, this part confused me a bit- how can John of Gaunt try to stop Bollingbroke from fighting Mowbray when Mowbray just admitted that he was plotting to murder him? Wouldn’t John want Mowbray to be punished? Regardless of this issue, we’ve now got King Richard II, Henry Bolinbroke, John of Gaunt, and Thomas Mowbray. Richard is Bolingbroke’s cousin and John of Gaunt’s nephew. Thomas Mowbray, I believe, does not have any familiar relations to other characters at this point. I think…
Then we are introduced to the first female character, the Duchess of Gloucester, the widow of Thomas of Gloucester. Thomas of Gloucester is the deceased brother of John of Gaunt, uncle to both Bolingbroke and Richard. Thomas of Gloucester gives us the second Thomas to keep track of, although this should be easier since Mowbray is usually addressed as so. The Duchess also mentions another of Richard’s uncles, Edmund Duke of York.
In summation, Richard's uncles include Edmund, John, Thomas. The Duchess is Richard's aunt. Bolingbroke is Richard's cousin, and Mowbray has no relation to other characters.
Am I right? I hope I can keep this straight...
3 comments:
First off, I loved the way you started your post with wanting us to try and comprehend your “blabber.” Secondly, I am great with names; however, this play had my head in the upside position as yours. There are definitely a lot of names in this play and titles as to where they live. I tried to forget which was Duke of Lancaster and stick with their straight names and repeat them as the play goes on. I don’t read Shakespeare easily and trying to understand it while remembering a gazillion names is impossible. Keep it simple. Also, while the family tree is definitely an important part, I just drew it out in my notebook and left it at that. I read as if each character is his/her own character. When I find out what happens in the end, then I’ll worry about who was who’s uncle, bother, cousin, or nephew. Don’t stress about each detail since this will throw you in a tizzy.
It's more about organizing your thoughts and trying not to think of a million things when you are trying to read.
I have to completely agree with you. I am often confused while reading each character's names. It's best to make a chart or list of all of the names, basically what you did, in order to keep track. Is the point of so many names to keep us confused or to force us to pay more attention? I don't know. I still find myself confused even after your post, which was thorough, and all of my notes.
I like what you said about Mowbray admitting his former plot to kill John of Gaunt. This bit of information, which seems highly important and damning to me, is ignored by everyone including John of Gaunt himself. It came off as such a terrible excuse for Bolingbroke's accusations. Mowbray essentially mean: “Well, I swear I didn't kill Thomas of Woodstock, the only thing I ever did wrong was conspire to kill another one of the King's uncles.”
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