Richard II · Chapter
Scene IV explained
In the Duke of York's garden, Queen Isabel and her ladies attempt to distract themselves from sorrow, but the Queen remains consumed by grief.
What happens
In the Duke of York's garden, Queen Isabel and her ladies attempt to distract themselves from sorrow, but the Queen remains consumed by grief. A gardener and his servants discuss the state of England, using the garden as a metaphor for the kingdom's neglect under Richard's rule. They reveal that Bolingbroke has executed Bushy and Green and seized Richard. The Queen overhears and confronts the gardener, who confirms Richard's deposition and Bolingbroke's triumph.
Themes in this chapter
Order and Chaos
The garden symbolizes the ideal of orderly rule, contrasted with Richard's neglect that led to chaos and usurpation.
Legitimacy and Usurpation
The gardener's commentary frames Richard's deposition as a consequence of his failure to govern, questioning the legitimacy of his rule.
Grief and Mortality
Queen Isabel's profound sorrow and the gardener's rueful planting reflect themes of loss and the transience of power.
Characters to notice
- Queen Isabel
Grieving and anxious, she seeks distraction in the garden but is overwhelmed by sorrow and foreboding.
- Gardener
Uses the garden as a metaphor for the kingdom, revealing Richard's downfall and Bolingbroke's rise.
- Henry Bolingbroke
Referenced as the one who has seized the wasteful king and gained the support of the English peers.
- King Richard II
Mentioned as deposed and held by Bolingbroke, his rule criticized as neglectful.
- Sir John Bushy
Reported as executed by Bolingbroke, along with Green.
- Sir Henry Green
Reported as executed by Bolingbroke, along with Bushy.
Key passages
“When our sea-walled garden, the whole land, Is full of weeds, her fairest flowers choked up, Her fruit-trees all unpruned, her hedges ruin'd, Her knots disorder'd and her wholesome herbs Swarming with caterpillars?”
Our entire kingdom, protected by the sea, is overrun with problems: the best people are suppressed, the nobility is neglected, defenses are broken, order is lost, and parasites infest what is good.
The servant uses the garden as a metaphor for England's decay under Richard's misrule.
“The weeds which his broad-spreading leaves did shelter, That seem'd in eating him to hold him up, Are pluck'd up root and all by Bolingbroke, I mean the Earl of Wiltshire, Bushy, Green.”
The parasites that Richard protected and that appeared to support him while actually consuming him have been completely eradicated by Bolingbroke—specifically the Earl of Wiltshire, Bushy, and Green.
The gardener explains how Richard's corrupt favorites have been removed by Bolingbroke.