I Stab You in Order to Serve You

What struck me about reading Richard II was that the overthrow of the king was contrived and executed while maintaining throughout a façade of respect and flattery towards Richard. Bolingbroke could land an army and march it through England by claiming that it was for the benefit of the king that he did it, evening convincing fence sitters like the Duke of York of his loyalist intentions. When Northumberland left off king from the name of Richard, the Duke of York rebuked him for the lack of respect. Ultimately the crown was won by the hollow but respectful bowing of Bolingbroke’s knee, even as he claimed that the crown was not his intent.

Although it seemed that all the rebels had just reasons to want the king disposed, it is fascinating that in the England of Richard’s and then Shakespeare’s time, the regency was so important to their nation and culture that they could not dispose of a king without pretending to not be disposing him. The idea that God had place the king with “right royal majesty” to rule meant that any act against him would be an act against England and God. Therefore, it required a very careful choice of words and very careful set of professed motivations to try to overthrow an unjust king. Accordingly, the rebellion is enacted not against the king, because “the king is not himself but basely led by flatterers,” and is instead acted against the flatters who take the blame for the baseness surrounding the king. This careful negotiating of dangerous waters to avoid the appearance of treason mirrors the situation of Shakespeare himself, who had to be very careful about how he displayed this toppling of a monarch in order to not appear to suggest the toppling of his own monarch Elizabeth. The situation of defiance under the rhetoric of loyalty creates much of the drama and intrigue of the play, especially when viewed from the fact that the Romp Parliament would be executing Charles I only fifty years after the play was written using the same tactic of deference to the king. The play becomes a look into a fascinating historical development in the English nation that ends in regicide.

About Me

Hi everybody,

I'm Kimberly Jackman.  I am from a small town in Northeastern Oregon called La Grande. Because of that I love to do anything and everything outdoors such as hiking, camping, fishing, boating, and the list continues. This is my third year at BYU, however it is my first year back from an amazing mission.  I served in the Michigan Lansing Mission for one year until I received my visa to go to the Brazil Sao Paulo Interlagos Mission.  I got married just this summer to my best friend Cody Martin (still working on the Martin name change).  I am an English major, I have loved reading, writing, and speaking my entire life.  I was first introduced to Shakespeare in high school through the form of Romeo and Juliet, which I too hated as some of the other class members have mentioned. But then my sophomore year of high school I had an amazing teacher who taught Macbeth and I have loved Shakespeare ever since.  So far my favorite Shakespearean play is King Lear.

A Pacific Northwest Girl

Well, everybody in the class already knows that I'm an actor-although I wouldn't say that's completely accurate. I've acted before, but I'm not true actor. My love of theater originates in my deep and unending love for words. I love books, poems, essays, stories, speeches, etc. If you give me a beautiful sentence, or a word, I will fall head over toes in love with it before you can remind me that the sentence is part of a book. Nonetheless, acting has been, fun, mostly because I've done quite a bit of Shakespeare. I was Juliet in a high school production of Romeo & Juliet, as well as Hermia in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. I get to be a part of that play again this year in the role of Hippolyta. Other than that, my love of Shakespeare is as unending as my love of words, a passion that the bard himself shared. I've read many of his plays, memorized his sonnets, and seen some incredible, and not-so-incredible performances of his works. 

As for me, all you really need to know is that I am from Vancouver (not BC), Washington (not DC), and that I miss it every day. The rain, the trees, the unpolluted PNW air; it calls to me. I come from a half hispanic, half white family where cultural lines get blurred. The first picture is of me and my best friend/boyfriend enjoying the sunrise, the second picture is of my other great love, Oly the bunny. His predecessor, Jaro, was also named after a mountain. Olympus and Kilimanjaro. I would read all day long if I could, and I often do. My other interests include paleontology and baking, which I try to combine as much as I can. 

I'm looking forward to this class, and to getting to know everybody.

Thanks, 

Sarai

Hello all my literary friends! My name is Alyssa and I am from Versailles, Kentucky. Unfortunately, "Versailles" is meant to be pronounced phonetically with a Kentucky accent. This leaves one with a hearty Verrrr-sail-LLs, rather than with a soft ver-sehhh. As a reference, you can check this YouTube video.

Now that I've established my roots, I'll proceed with a short list of things I love:

• Running. I ran a marathon about two months ago... I hope to run an ultramarathon sometime in my life. 100 miles of sheer joy!
• Family. I love my three sisters and two parents. My mom was the one that helped me fall in love with reading. I got super swoll from all the heavy lifting.
• Nature. I love the smell of cut grass and pine in the morning.
• Reading. Duh. I just finished up The Road. It was fantastically dark and compelling--a dystopian novel like no other.

The theme that I noticed the most as I read through Richard II was that of Kingship. Shakespeare seemed to present a convoluted presentation of what “Kingship” really means, especially in regards to King Richard II. In Act one, Scene one, both Bolingbroke and Mowbray lavish praises on the King. Mowbray goes as far as to compare the king to something heavenly and God-like as he says, “Add an immortal title to your crown.” Though some players remark on the King’s divine majesty—especially towards the beginning of the play—most change their tune as they distance themselves from the King and revolt against his faults. Like in Act two, scene one where Northumberland remarks that they should, “Wipe off the dust that hides our scepter’s gilt, and make high majesty look like itself.” I thought that Shakespeare did a wonderful job at presenting a complex image of the reality of a King and his followers. The King lost the grace of a divinely appointed throne, but the perceived divinity of the throne was simply passed on to Bolingbroke.

Rosemary, the Fairy King

Hi. My name is Rosemary. I like to party.

By party, I mean I:

• work at a high school with teenagers who have turned me into an bitter old woman.
• have recently returned from a 8-year sabbatical from BYU.
• am trying to get a fee waiver from Homeland Security, which is as easy as getting teenagers to turn off their phones.
• read when I should be working...or sleeping...or eating.
• play video games instead of read sometimes.
• watch TV instead of play video games sometimes.
• get too excited about comic books.
• have adventures with my Misfits.

I was first formally introduced to Shakespeare through desperation. I was failing English. Luckily, my teacher was directing A Midsummer Night's Dream and her Oberon decided he didn't want to perform a week before opening night. In exchange for all of the extra credit, I memorized lines I didn't understand and ran around in tights. When I was around 17, I figured out that Shakespeare was a soap opera written in layers. I've been a fan since.

A Quick Introduction

Hi everyone! My name is Jordan and I am from New Jersey. Like any typical English major, I love to read. It's what I do 90% of my spare time. My favorite book series is Harry Potter and if there was a class just about the Marauders, I would take it! My biggest hobby, other than reading, is cosplaying. I make costumes and props and then wear them to conventions. I am a huge nerd and it's great! A cosplay that you might recognize is Jack Frost from Rise of the Guardians. It's always a blast to see little kids reactions when they see me as Jack. When I have to time, I like to do a bit of writing. I usually do short stories but I would like to work my way up to bigger projects. Eventually I would like to be an editor for fiction writers. The process of creating a story fasinates me and I would love to make being a part of it my career.

Me in a Minute

My name is Shelise Rupp. I am 21 years old, from Thousand Oaks CA, and - you guessed it - an English major.  There. In one sentence I have answered all the stereotypical questions that we have all heard fifty times these first few days of school. So now that that's out of the way, I can tell you that I am addicted to reading, I love drawing, my favorite thing to write is poetry, I am a nature freak who goes googly-eyed at every tree, sunset on the mountains, or starlit night. I am the oldest of six (three boys, three girls), I am considering going to law school, and I served my mission in the Philippines Quezon City Mission. I am obsessed with the Lord of the Rings and J.R.R. Tolkien's work, and my favorite color is blue and my favorite food, chocolate. So there. That's me in a minute. :)