s not giving a damn about the Gaunt’s condition, only his wealth which he covets for his own military and personal purposes. Richard says of the ailing John of Gaunt, “Now put it, God, in his physician’s/To help him to his grave immediately!/The lining of his coffers shall make coats/To deck our soldiers for these Irish wars.-/Come, gentlemen, let’s all go visit him:/ Pray God we may make haste, and come too late!” (Shakespeare 401).
The character of Richard shows us the abuse of power that can occur when divine right affect the ego of the ruling king. He abuses his power and is only worried about his appearance as king, not his behavior as one. He cares only about the physical and majestic appearance of kingship and the accompanying power and wealth that accrue to royalty. Richard, above all else, must look the part of the king, a concern we see echoed in the words of York when he says in Act III, Scene III, “Yet looks he like a king: behold, his eye,/As bright as is the eagle’s, lightens forth/Controlling majesty:-alack, alack, for woe,/That any harm should stain so fair a show!” (Shakespeare 411). Where Richard II’s portrayal is concerned, we see a ruler who believes divine right means he alone has a special providence granted him by God, but we also see that he takes this in no way to translate to any kind of duty or obligation owed to the people whom he rules.
In direct contras to Richard II in the play, we have Henry Bolingbroke. Henry is portrayed as caring about the welfare of the people over whom he will one day rule. This concept is basically foreign to a man who thinks as the character of Richard II is portrayed. Richard II appears to have no moral or political concerns about kingship. His cousin Bolingbroke, on the other hand, is in direct contrast to this. He, on the surface at least, appears to have concern and compassion for the common man unlike his cousin. This kind of concern an...