The Tragic Elements in the Tragedy of King Richard II

Abstract

Adyar Saadi Khudhur*, Mohammed Khorsheed Rasheed and Mohammed Samyan Hayhat

This paper aims to discover the tragic elements in the History of King Richard the Second. It is worth investigating this play to see the different features of tragedy that have been used in forming the acts and scenes of this play. The play is compared to other tragedies of Shakespeare to display its similarities and differences with them. How do the people around the king behave or seek to get power? The research investigates the ambition of the other characters for the king’s throne which is followed by many murders. At the same time, the characteristics of Richard’s identity and personality are discussed and also compared to the other Shakespeare’s tragic heroes in terms of flow and fate. The play's structure is also investigated to figure out the common characteristics of the tragedy. How does the play start and how does it end? One of the important tools of the play is its language. Almost all of Shakespeare’s Histories and some acts or scenes of Comedies include terrifying scenes and frightening events in this play.