Richard II · Chapter
Scene VI explained
Bolingbroke receives news that the rebels have been defeated and their leaders executed.
What happens
Bolingbroke receives news that the rebels have been defeated and their leaders executed. The heads of Oxford, Salisbury, Blunt, and Kent are sent to London, followed by those of Brocas and Sir Bennet Seely. The Abbot of Westminster dies of guilt, and the Bishop of Carlisle is sentenced to a peaceful confinement. Exton presents the coffin of Richard II, but Bolingbroke repudiates him, expressing guilt and sorrow, and vows to undertake a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to atone for the bloodshed.
Themes in this chapter
Kingship and Divine Right
Bolingbroke's guilt over Richard's murder and his vow to wash the blood off his hands highlight the sacred nature of kingship and the moral burden of usurpation.
Grief and Mortality
The chapter is steeped in mourning: the deaths of rebels, the Abbot's guilt-ridden demise, and the presentation of Richard's corpse evoke the finality of death and the sorrow it brings.
Loyalty and Betrayal
Exton's claim that he acted on Bolingbroke's words versus Bolingbroke's repudiation underscores the complex dynamics of loyalty and betrayal in political assassination.
Characters to notice
- Henry Bolingbroke
Now king, he receives reports of rebel executions, condemns Exton for murdering Richard, and expresses remorse, planning a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
- Earl of Northumberland
Reports the sending of the heads of Oxford, Salisbury, Blunt, and Kent to London.
- Lord Fitzwater
Brings news of the execution of Brocas and Sir Bennet Seely, rebels against Bolingbroke.
- Henry Percy
Presents the Bishop of Carlisle and reports the death of the Abbot of Westminster.
- Bishop of Carlisle
Brought before Bolingbroke and sentenced to a secret, peaceful life.
- Sir Pierce of Exton
Presents Richard's coffin to Bolingbroke, who rejects and curses him for the murder.
Key passages
“Exton, I thank thee not; for thou hast wrought A deed of slander with thy fatal hand Upon my head and all this famous land.”
Bolingbroke refuses to thank Exton, saying the murder has brought dishonor upon himself and the entire kingdom.
Bolingbroke distances himself from the murder, emphasizing the political and moral stain it leaves.
“With Cain go wander through shades of night, And never show thy head by day nor light.”
Bolingbroke curses Exton to wander like Cain, the biblical murderer, hiding in darkness forever.
The allusion to Cain reinforces the theme of guilt and divine punishment for fratricide/regicide.
“I’ll make a voyage to the Holy Land, To wash this blood off from my guilty hand.”
Bolingbroke declares he will go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to cleanse himself of the guilt of Richard's blood.
This reflects the medieval belief in pilgrimage as a means of atonement for grave sins.