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King Richard As A Tragic Hero Analysis

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In William Shakespeare’s famous historical play, Richard II, the character of King Richard is portrayed from the very beginning as a very fluctuating character. King Richard displays a nonexistent connection with his country; which for a man that was raised to be a king, shows a lack of control both over himself and the country. During the course of the play it is shown that his ultimate flaw was thinking like a man, instead of a king. As a man, he saw himself above his people and as a king, he failed to notice the political situations that led to his demise; coupled with his godlike thoughts of himself, King Richard was not a tragic hero, but a tragic fool. King Richard thought like a man instead of a king and this lead him to not only losing his tittle, but his credibility. In the first place, one of the reasons for his downfall was his lack of sympathy towards the poor. King Richard saw himself as God’s representation and thus did not bother to …show more content…

A hero should always do well by his followers; Richard only proved to be loyal to himself only. He abused his people by saying he was “enforced to farm our royal realm, the revenue whereof shall furnish us” (1.4.45-46). King Richard taxed the poor to fund his luxuries and wars, without thinking of how it affected his people. King Richard thought like a man instead of a king and this lead him to not only losing his tittle, but his credibility. Instead of becoming a tragic hero, he became a tragic fool; not only did he abdicate his thrown, because he could not handle the pressure, he showed that was not fit to be a king, even if he was born for it. Shakespeare’s play, Richard II, portrays a king that was not born to be one and how thinking like a man could be a king’s ultimate flaw; because a king needs to be strong enough to handle the weight of the crown and selfless enough to be humble before his

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