Similar to a couple of the posts under me, I found it interesting how the royals reference themselves as sent from God.
Throughout the entirety of the reading for class today it felt like the king was making it his priority to emphasize that HE IS A KING SENT FROM GOD OK. So that pretty much sums up most of what he has said so far.
In Act I it is obvious that the death of Thomas of Gloucester is a huge issue. The duchess urges Gaunt to seek revenge on the man who killed his brother out of loyalty to his family. She also says that if he does not he will not receive justice for the family and his political standing will be a joke. However, Gaunt (who seems to be the only normal one at this point) states that the man who murdered him will receive his punishment from God...good call ;)
I thought it was interesting how the duchess told Gaunt that he should seek revenge because he owed it to the royal family. Thus, just another example of the theme of divine right of kings. Gaunt is told he should seek revenge because the murder of Thomas was a sin against the "sacred blood" of the family and a sin against God. By that statement it shows how the royal family considers themselves to be Godly.
That is an interesting point. It does seem at times that Richard and the others with "royal blood" seem to believe that not only are they supported by God but that they are divine themselves. The way Richard compares himself to Christ that I talked about in my post makes more sense if you look at it that way.
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting point. It does seem at times that Richard and the others with "royal blood" seem to believe that not only are they supported by God but that they are divine themselves. The way Richard compares himself to Christ that I talked about in my post makes more sense if you look at it that way.
ReplyDeleteI think you make a good point with this. What struck me from this post is how naturally the King views his work and his Kingship from a divine perspective. To him, he is almost God. This post make me think about how, though the King views himself as such, the people who follow him rarely agree. I think it is really interesting that, while the King thinks he is from God, his people think that the position of being a King and the general kingship is divine. However, the person at the helm of the role (Richard) is not divine at all--only his position.
ReplyDeleteIt really does set up a sense of ignorance (or maybe innocence) on Richard's part to believe that divine appointment would save him from any uprisings. The spiteful part of me wants to say, "That's what you get!" but that's not very scholarly.
DeleteI think you make a good point with this. What struck me from this post is how naturally the King views his work and his Kingship from a divine perspective. To him, he is almost God. This post make me think about how, though the King views himself as such, the people who follow him rarely agree. I think it is really interesting that, while the King thinks he is from God, his people think that the position of being a King and the general kingship is divine. However, the person at the helm of the role (Richard) is not divine at all--only his position.
ReplyDelete