Richard II,one of the great historical tragedy written by William Shakespeare c. 1595.it ia also a difficult play. it hero not easily fit in the usual tragic pattern.

Richard Ii "William Shakespeare"

Review:rizwantata
Richard II,one of the great  historical tragedy written by William Shakespeare c. 1595.it ia also a difficult play. it hero not easily fit in the usual tragic pattern.
He lacks the standard attribute of a historical tragedy  hero It is a study of a weak but sympathetic monarch who loses his kingdom to his forceful successor, Henry IV.
Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, defends himself against Henry Bolingbroke's (the future Henry IV) charges of treason by calling for trial by combat. Fearing Bolingbroke's popularity, King Richard banishes them both, then departs for Ireland to quell a rebellion. Short of funds, the king resorts to dubious means to finance his campaign, confiscating the estate of John of Gaunt (Bolingbroke's dead father). Bolingbroke gathers an invasion force to reclaim his lands. The Duke of York, left as regent without money or an army, goes to meet Bolingbroke. Fearing Richard is dead in Ireland, his supporters fall away; Richard begins to suffer bouts of depression and, when he hears York has joined Bolingbroke, surrenders to his fate. Despite warnings of civil war, Bolingbroke accepts the crown from the imprisoned Richard and banishes the queen to France. Believing the new king wants Richard dead, Sir Pierce of Exton murders him. He is rebuked by Bolingbroke when he arrives at the court with the coffin, and Bolingbroke (now Henry IV) resolves to go on a Crusade to atone for the murder.

About Richard II (1367-1400),
 King of England (1377-1399), whose reign was marked by national disunity and civil strife.
A younger son of Edward, Prince of Wales (the Black Prince), and Joan, called the Fair Maid of Kent, Richard was born on January 6, 1367, in Bordeaux, France. He was created Prince of Wales in 1376, the year of his father's death, and was placed in the care of his uncle John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. In 1377, on the death of his grandfather, King Edward III, Richard became ruler of England, then a country devastated by plague and oppressed by heavy taxes, the result of a war with France. Parliament, which had obtained greater power in the last years of Edward III's reign, now sought to secure control of the government, but was opposed by John of Gaunt and his followers. The speedy suppression of the Peasants' Revolt in 1381 was largely the result of Richard's courage and daring. A year later, at the age of 15, Richard married Anne of Bohemia, daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, and began to seek the downfall of the great nobles who controlled Parliament and prevented him from acting independently. Led by Richard's uncle Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, in 1388 a coterie of noblemen known in history as the lords appellant “appealed” or accused Richard's adherents of treason, banishing some and having others executed. The following year Richard, with the help of John of Gaunt, succeeded in asserting his authority.

Trying to re-establish English authority in Ireland, Richard led an expedition to the country in 1394; in the same year his queen died. In 1396 a marriage treaty was concluded between Richard and a French princess, Isabella. In 1397 Richard had Gloucester arrested and imprisoned at Calais, where he died, perhaps murdered. He also exiled John of Gaunt's son, Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford, who later became Richard's successor as Henry IV, and executed or banished others of the lords appellant. On his return from a second military expedition to Ireland in 1399 Richard found that Bolingbroke had returned from exile and placed himself at the head of a formidable army. Richard was captured by Bolingbroke in Wales and brought captive to London, where on September 30, 1399, he formally resigned the crown. On the following day his abdication was ratified by Parliament, which then confirmed Bolingbroke as King Henry IV. Richard was secretly confined in Pontefract Castle, where he either died of starvation or was murdered in February 1400.
  historical tragedy
Richard Ii "William Shakespeare" Originally published in Shvoong: http://www.shvoong.com/books/novel-novella/2062405-richard-ii-william-shakespeare/