@prefix vivo: . @prefix edm: . @prefix ns0: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . vivo:departmentOrSchool "Arts, Faculty of"@en, "Theatre and Film, Department of"@en ; edm:dataProvider "DSpace"@en ; ns0:degreeCampus "UBCV"@en ; dcterms:creator "Alston, Brent"@en ; dcterms:issued "2010-07-12T00:39:39Z"@en, "1986"@en ; vivo:relatedDegree "Master of Arts - MA"@en ; ns0:degreeGrantor "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:description "A narrative description of an historical event reflects the nature of such an event as seen from a particular perspective. However, Shakespeare's History Plays equate history and drama by re-presenting the drama implicit in events that are surrounded by speculation and interpretation. The audience is thereby placed in the position of having to interpret the drama that purports to be both \"dramatic\" and \"historical\" or accept the impossibility of understanding history. Confronted with a representation of a past event, the audience is thrown back upon its own attitudes towards man in the world: the drama merely reflects human nature as the observer experiences and articulates his view of the historical drama. Confounded by what I term the \"tragic perspective\"—a perspective that the audience is encouraged to experience—the audience's prejudices are purged, momentarily. Finally, the tragic perspective encourages the audience to adopt a paradoxical view of man in the world; despite the seemingly incontravertable evidence that history affords as proof of the essentially \"bad\" nature of man, we are asked to adopt an essentially creative view that assumes that man is indeed made in the image of his Creator and basically \"good\". The drama draws upon a deeply rooted hope that man is at least redeemable. Shakespeare reveals the paradoxical consequences of assuming that man is fundamentally \"bad\" by showing the human suffering that results from assuming the worst. The audience is, of course, free to choose; but our views of the past and the present to a large extent determine the future. This realization is characteristic of the tragic hero's retrospective wisdom—a wisdom that is attained too late. By examining Richard II in the light of the historical sources, I hope to reveal how the audience is left in an ambiguous state when it comes to interpreting the motives of the characters that are both fictional and historical. The Machiavellian attitude toward man, which governs Richard III and is tempered in Richard II, is often brought to bear on the drama when critics attempt to judge the motives of the main characters. In writing History Plays, Shakespeare is recreating ambiguity in the broadest sense. Mystery, as opposed to definitive history, is perhaps the true subject and conclusion of the drama."@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/26356?expand=metadata"@en ; skos:note "FACT FICTION AND FACTION Study of Richard II i n the l i g h t o-f the H i s t o r i c a l Sources and C o n f l i c t i n g A t t i t u d e s Toward Man and h i s Role i n the H i s t o r i c a l Process. By ROBIN BRENT ALSTON B.A. , The U n i v e r s i t y o-f B r i t i s h Columbia, 1984 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS i n THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES Department o-f Theatre We accept t h i s t h e s i s as con-forming to the r e q u i r e d standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH November 1986 ffl Robin Brent A l s t o n , COLUMBIA 1986 In presenting t h i s thesis i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that the Library s h a l l make i t f r e e l y available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of t h i s thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. I t i s understood that copying or publication of t h i s thesis for f i n a n c i a l gain s h a l l not be allowed without my written permission. R.B. A l s t o n Department of T h e a t r e The University of B r i t i s h Columbia 1956 Main Mall Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Y3 _ . 19 August 1986 Date E-6 (3/81) ABSTRACT A n a r r a t i v e d e s c r i p t i o n o-f an h i s t o r i c a l event r e f l e c t s the nature o-f such an event as seen -from a p a r t i c u l a r p e r s p e c t i v e . However, Shakespeare's H i s t o r y P l a y s equate h i s t o r y and drama by r e - p r e s e n t i n g the drama i m p l i c i t i n events t h a t are surrounded by s p e c u l a t i o n and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . The audience i s thereby placed i n the p o s i t i o n o-f having t o i n t e r p r e t the drama t h a t p u r p o r t s to be both \"dramatic\" and \" h i s t o r i c a l \" or accept the i m p o s s i b i l i t y o-f understanding h i s t o r y . Con-fronted with a r e - p r e s e n t a t i o n o-f a past event, the audience i s thrown back upon i t s own a t t i t u d e s towards man i n the world: the drama merely r e f l e c t s human nature as the observer experiences and a r t i c u l a t e s h i s view o-f the h i s t o r i c a l drama. Con-founded by what I term the \" t r a g i c p e r s p e c t i v e \" — a p e r s p e c t i v e that the audience i s encouraged t o e x p e r i e n c e — t h e audience's p r e j u d i c e s a re purged, momentarily. F i n a l l y , the t r a g i c p e r s p e c t i v e encourages the audience t o adopt a p a r a d o x i c a l view o-f man i n the world; d e s p i t e the seemingly i n c o n t r a v e r t a b l e evidence t h a t h i s t o r y a-f-fords as proof of the e s s e n t i a l l y \"bad\" nature of man, we are asked to adopt an e s s e n t i a l l y c r e a t i v e view t h a t assumes t h a t man i s indeed made i n the image of h i s Creator and b a s i c a l l y \"good\". The drama draws upon a deeply rooted hope t h a t man i s at l e a s t redeemable. Shakespeare r e v e a l s the p a r a d o x i c a l consequences of assuming t h a t man i s f u n d a m e n t a l l y \" b a d \" by s h o w i n g t h e human s u f f e r i n g t h a t r e s u l t s f r o m a s s u m i n g t h e w o r s t . The a u d i e n c e i s , o f c o u r s e , f r e e t o c h o o s e ; b u t o u r v i e w s o f t h e p a s t and t h e p r e s e n t t o a l a r g e e x t e n t d e t e r m i n e t h e f u t u r e . T h i s r e a l i z a t i o n i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f t h e t r a g i c h e r o ' s r e t r o s p e c t i v e w i s d o m — a wisdom t h a t i s a t t a i n e d t o o 1 a t e . By e x a m i n i n g Richard II i n t h e l i g h t o f t h e h i s t o r i c a l s o u r c e s , I h o p e t o r e v e a l how t h e a u d i e n c e i s l e f t i n an a m b i g u o u s s t a t e when i t comes t o i n t e r p r e t i ng t h e m o t i v e s o f t h e c h a r a c t e r s t h a t a r e b o t h f i c t i o n a l and h i s t o r i c a l . T h e M a c h i a v e l l i a n a t t i t u d e t o w a r d man, w h i c h g o v e r n s Richard III and i s t e m p e r e d i n Richard I I , i s o f t e n b r o u g h t t o b e a r on t h e d rama when c r i t i c s a t t e m p t t o j u d g e t h e m o t i v e s o f t h e ma in c h a r a c t e r s . In w r i t i n g H i s t o r y P l a y s , S h a k e s p e a r e i s r e c r e a t i n g a m b i g u i t y i n t h e b r o a d e s t s e n s e . M y s t e r y , a s o p p o s e d t o d e f i n i t i v e h i s t o r y , i s p e r h a p s t h e t r u e s u b j e c t a n d c o n c l u s i o n o f t h e d r a m a . S u p e r v i s o r s D r . J . K a p l a n TABLE OF CONTENTS Ab s t r a c t i i Table o-f Contents i v Acknowledgements v I n t r o d u c t i o n 1 The Role o-f the H i s t o r i a n 8 The Audience and i t s A t t i t u d e s 17 The T r a g i c P e r s p e c t i v e 38 King Richard I I ' s Loss o-f the Crown o-f England . . . 45 T r i a l 49 Passion 64 D e p o s i t i o n 78 Death 97 Co n c l u s i o n : The Burden o-f F a c t i o n 102 Notes 104 B i b l i o g r a p h y 113 i v ACKNOWLEDSEIiENTS The U n i v e r s i t y o-f B r i t i s h Columbia has provided me with the environment and kind o-f n u r t u r e t h a t I am most grate-ful -for. The u n i v e r s i t y has awarded me s e v e r a l s c h o l a r s h i p s t o help me pursue my s t u d i e s , and my a d v i s o r s have been a constant source o-f i n s p i r a t i o n t h a t i n i t s e l - f i s reward enough f o r the years of study. In being p a r t of the u n i v e r s i t y community, both as a student and as a teacher, I have been f o r t u n a t e s I have had the o p p o r t u n i t y t o work as a teacher and study as a student, or viewed i n another way, t o study at being a teacher and work at being a student; t h i s d u a l i t y i n my r o l e at the u n i v e r s i t y has been a unique and v a l u a b l e experience. My f r i e n d s have given me much support by v i r t u e of t h e i r presence, and these words of acknowledgement seem a l t o g e t h e r inadequate t o express the g r a t i t u d e I f e e l . My f r i e n d s have taught me a great deal through a c t i o n s t h a t I f e a r i t would prove too t e d i o u s t o r e l a t e . I o n l y hope that I may teach w e l l , as indeed we are a l l t e a c h e r s , as I continue t o study the drama that i s the s t u f f of l i t e r a t u r e and l i f e . v \" F a i r c o u s i n , you debase your p r i n c e l y knee To make the base e a r t h proud with k i s s i n g i t . Me r a t h e r had my h e a r t miught -Feel your l o v e , Than my unpleased eye see your c o u r t e s y . \" Bo Iingbroke kneeling before King Richard st Flint Castle Taken from Jean C r e t o n ' s Histoire, and reproduced with the p e r m i s s i o n of the B r i t i s h L i b r a r y Board: BL MS. H a r l e y 1319.f.50 v i INTRODUCTION ... l e t t h i s world no longer be a s t a g e To -feed c o n t e n t i o n i n a l i n g ' r i n g a c t ; 2 Henry IV I.i.155-56. In r e c o r d i n g h i s t o r i c a l e v e n t s , the h i s t o r i a n must s e l e c t and compress the i n f o r m a t i o n c o n c e r n i n g those e v e n t s i n o r d e r t o h i g h l i g h t not o n l y the major h i s t o r i c a l developments but a l s o p o s s i b l e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o-f those e v e n t s w i t h i n a l a r g e r -frame o-f r e f e r e n c e . The documentation of an event- i s an acknowledgement of i t s s i g n i f i c a n c e , a t l e a s t i n the eyes of the r e c o r d e r , and the i n c l u s i o n of t h a t documented event w i t h i n a n a r r a t i v e d e s c r i p t i o n of a s e r i e s of e v e n t s i s f u r t h e r testament t o i t s s i g n i f i c a n c e i n a wider h i s t o r i c a l c o n t e x t . But the i n c l u s i o n of an event i n a n a r r a t i v e d e s c r i p t i o n of h i s t o r y i n v o l v e s an i m p l i c i t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s and man's r o l e i n t h a t p r o c e s s . The t h e a t r e of h i s t o r i c a l c o n f l i c t s , with i t s c h a r a c t e r s , s i t u a t i o n s , p l o t s and s u b - p l o t s , i s i n t e r p r e t e d by the h i s t o r i a n i n h i s n a r r a t i v e d e s c r i p t i o n as opposed to s i m p l y r e - p r e s e n t e d . He may s e l e c t m a t e r i a l i n or d e r t o impose an or d e r t h a t r e f l e c t s h i s own view of e i t h e r the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s or man's r o l e i n the s h a p i n g of the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s , t h e r e b y e x t r a c t i n g e v i d e n c e t o su p p o r t a p a r t i c u l a r t h e s i s ; however, he may si m p l y Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 1 p r e s e n t the drama i n an attempt t o d e f i n e and a r t i c u l a t e the e s s e n t i a l n a t u r e af a p a r t i c u l a r c o n f l i c t . In t r a n s l a t i n g the n a r r a t i v e d e s c r i p t i o n s of h i s t o r y i n t o d r a m a t i c a c t i o n , the m a t e r i a l s under c o n s i d e r a t i o n undergo a f u r t h e r p r o c e s s of s e l e c t i o n and compression i n o r d e r t o t u r n \" t h ' accomplishment of many y e a r s Into an h o u r - g l a s s \" , 1 Shakespeare's \" H i s t o r y P l a y s \" , which i n v o l v e a combination of \" f a i t h f u l l y \" r e - p r e s e n t e d h i s t o r i c a l f a c t s , f a c t s which may be c o r r o b o r a t e d by r e f e r r i n g t o v a r i o u s s o u r c e s , and a d d i t i o n a l t h e a t r i c a l f i c t i o n s , which i n c o n t r a s t d i v e r g e s i g n i f i c a n t l y from the s o u r c e s , r e f l e c t two ve r y d i f f e r e n t E l i z a b e t h a n a t t i t u d e s towards both the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s and man's r o l e i n t h a t p r o c e s s . The l i v e s of Ki n g R i c h a r d II and King R i c h a r d I I I p r o v i d e the h i s t o r i c a l frame t h a t encompasses an e r a of E n g l i s h h i s t o r y t h a t Shakespeare adapted to the l i m i t a t i o n s of h i s s t a g e ; j u s t as Richard II and Richard III p r o v i d e the t h e a t r i c a l frame t h a t encompasses Shakespeare's two t e t r a l o g i e s , t h e i r l i v e s and t h e s e two p l a y s may be e i t h e r viewed as the r e s u l t and m a n i f e s t a t i o n of p a t t e r n s of vengeance and r e t r i b u t i o n based upon and prompted by the p r i n c i p l e s of M a c h i a v e l l i a n Real paIitik or as the i n c o n c l u s i v e r e s u l t and p a r t i a l m a n i f e s t a t i o n of a P r o v i d e n t i a l p a t t e r n t h a t i s c o n t i n u a l l y e v o l v i n g w i t h time as the p r o g r e s s i v e r e v e l a t i o n of the Ward of God i s e f f e c t e d . Although Richard III precedes Richard II i n Shakespeare's c h r o n o l o g y , the d e p o s i t i o n of K i n g R i c h a r d II by Henry B o l i n g b r o k e i s the l o g i c a l s t a r t i n g p o i n t f o r the e x p l o r a t i o n of the d i s i n t e g r a t i o n of the commonwealth t h a t c u l m i n a t e d i n the d e p o s i t i o n of the Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 2 \" M a c h i a v e l l i a n \" K i n g R i c h a r d I I I by the E a r l o-f Richmond. In or d e r t o r e - p r e s e n t the h i s t o r i c a l drama on the s t a g e i n such a way as t o accommodate these two opposing views, or a t t i t u d e s , towards man and h i s r o l e i n the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s , Shakespeare must m a n i p u l a t e h i s s o u r c e s . Shakespeare's s e l e c t i o n o-f i n f o r m a t i o n -from the s o u r c e s r e f l e c t s h i s own p a r t i c u l a r h i e r a r c h y of s i g n i f i c a n c e , but when he r a d i c a l l y d i v e r g e s from the s o u r c e s the drama becomes p u r e l y f i c t i o n a l . These moments when the a c t i o n p r e s e n t e d on the s t a g e i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y d i f f e r e n t from the n a r r a t i v e d e s c r i p t i o n s as they appear i n the s o u r c e s may be regarded as b r o a d l y i n t e r p r e t a t i v e of the a c t i o n as a whole; s i m i l a r l y , the moments when the a c t i o n p r e s e n t e d on the s t a g e c l o s e l y resembles the h i s t o r i c a l e v i d e n c e , i n terms of c h a r a c t e r p o r t r a y a l , words spoken, and \"deeds performed\", may be regarded as the c e n t r a l h i s t o r i c a l moments t h a t demand i n t e r p r e t a t i o n — t h e s e a r e the moments when f i c t i o n and f a c t , drama and h i s t o r y , and i n t e n t i o n and a c t i o n become c o n c e p t u a l l y i n s e p a r a b l e . J u s t as the h i s t o r i a n i s engaged i n a r e t r o s p e c t i v e view of h i s t o r i c a l e vents, l i k e w i s e the \"p r e s e n t \" audience at one of Shakespeare's \" H i s t o r y P l a y s \" i s engaged i n a r e t r o s p e c t i v e view of h i s t o r i c a l e v e n t s t h a t a r e r e - p r e s e n t e d on the s t a g e ; the rea d e r , however, who i s p e r m i t t e d the r e t r o s p e c t i v e a n a l y s i s of the p l a y s themselves i n the l i g h t of the h i s t o r i c a l s o u r c e s may d i s c e r n Shakespeare's r o l e as h i s t o r i a n , as a \" p l a y w r i g h t -Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 3 h i s t o r i a n \" , through the o b s e r v a t i o n of h i s \" a c t \" of s e l e c t i o n , o r g a n i z a t i o n , and r e - p r e s e n t a t i o n of h i s t o r i c a l e v e n t s . If the H i s t o r y P l a y may be seen as the r e - p r e s e n t a t i o n of an h i s t o r i c a l a c t i o n as opposed t o the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of h i s t o r i c a l e v ents, and i f i t s o b j e c t i v e i s the marriage of i n t e n t i o n and a c t i o n , then by g l i m p s i n g Shakespeare's r o l e as a p l a y w r i g h t -h i s t o r i a n through an a n a l y s i s of h i s \" a c t \" of s e l e c t i o n , o r g a n i z a t i o n , and r e - p r e s e n t a t i o n one may i n f e r Shakespeare's i n t e n t i o n . However, t h i s approach t o the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of i n t e n t i o n through the a n a l y s i s of a c t i o n may o n l y be accomplished in r e t r o s p e c t . The H i s t o r y P l a y i t s e l f merely c o n f r o n t s the audience with the p r e s e n t a t i o n of p r e s e n t a c t i o n s t h a t demand i n t e r p r e t a t i o n ; but the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the p r e s e n t c o n t i n u a l l y c o n f r o n t s man with the inadequacy of h i s v i s i o n , f o r he i s denie d a r e t r o s p e c t i v e a n a l y s i s of h i s own a c t i o n s u n t i l they a r e complete. Although man must a c t w i t h i n a h i s t o r i c a l frame t h a t he may not be f u l l y aware o f , the audience i s t h e r e b y c o n f r o n t e d with an e s s e n t i a l l y t r a g i c view of man's l i f e : the thoughts, words, and deeds of a l i f e t i m e d e f i n e an i n d i v i d u a l , and t h a t d e f i n i t i o n can o n l y be completed i n death. The words and deeds of a h i s t o r i c a l f i g u r e d e f i n e h i s c h a r a c t e r i n the eyes of h i s p u b l i c , j u s t as the words and deeds of an a c t o r on the sta g e d e f i n e h i s c h a r a c t e r i n the eyes of h i s audience; and y e t t h i s t r a g i c view of man's l i f e , t h i s t r a g i c p e r s p e c t i v e , i n which man i s n e v e r t h e l e s s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the a c t i o n s t h a t he may o n l y be p a r t i a l l y aware o f , I would argue i s the o n l y o b j e c t i v e view D f man bound upon the wheel of h i s t o r y . Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 4 The a c t o r on the sta g e and the Ki n g upon h i s throne a r e both t o r n between two world s : the p a s t and the -future, and the p r e s e n t t h a t l i e s between thes e two worlds may be e i t h e r regarded as governed by a predetermined s c r i p t or s u b j e c t t o governance by man himsel-f. What i s c e r t a i n , however, i s t h a t man must a c t and s u f f e r f o r h i s a c t i o n s w i t h i n an u l t i m a t e l y i n c o m p r e h e n s i b l e world. And y e t i f i t were p o s s i b l e t o \"read the book of f a t e \" and r e t r o s p e c t i v e l y a n a l y z e a l i f e b e f o r e i t were l i v e d , then The h a p p i e s t youth, v i e w i n g h i s p r o g r e s s through What p e r i l s p a s t , what c r o s s e s to ensue, Would shut the book, and s i t him down and d i e . = While t h i s c y n i c a l view of man i n the world may f i n d ample su p p o r t and e v i d e n c e t o suggest the f u t i l i t y of man's l i f e , i n the l i g h t of such a t r a g i c p e r s p e c t i v e t h e r e emerges a s o r t of \"ho p e l e s s optimism\" t h a t i s i n f a c t born of t h i s v e r y d e s t r u c t i v e s k e p t i c i s m w i t h r e g a r d to man and h i s r o l e i n the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s . I t i s t h i s e s s e n t i a l c o n f l i c t between two d i a m e t r i c a l l y opposed views of man i n the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s t h a t f i n d s i t s analogue i n the c o n f l i c t of c h a r a c t e r i n a c t i o n on the st a g e t h a t merely h o l d s a m i r r o r up t o na t u r e , an a c t i o n t h a t i s i t s e l f subsumed by the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s t h a t encompasses i t w h i l e p u r p o r t i n g t o r e - p r e s e n t h i s t o r y i t s e l f as t h e s u b j e c t matter; and t h i s c o n f l i c t t h a t i s so apparent t o the audience t h a t p e r c e i v e s the dramati c i r o n y t h a t hangs over the a c t i o n i n Shakespeare's H i s t o r y P l a y s i s f u r t h e r generated and r e v e a l e d i n the a u d i e n c e ' s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of the sta g e a c t i o n . The audience and i t s a t t i t u d e s towards man and h i s r o l e i n the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s t h e r e f o r e becomes the t r u e s u b j e c t of the Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 5 drama: he who would i n t e r p r e t h i s t o r y as a v a s t c o r r o b o r a t i o n of a p a r t i c u l a r t h e s i s d i s t o r t s the f a c t s t o p r e s e n t h i s own p a r t i c u l a r f i c t i o n , which i s i n t u r n based upon p r i n c i p l e s t h a t make c e r t a i n assumptions about the na t u r e of man i n the world; he who would merely r e f l e c t d r a m a t i c a c t i o n , whether i t be \" r e a l \" or \" f i c t i o n a l \" , l i k e the d r a m a t i s t , sees f a c t i o n i t s e l f as the r e a l i t y . To d e f i n e t h i s word \" f a c t i o n \" i s perhaps analogous t o beheading \"the many-headed Hydra\", but the d r a m a t i s t seems t o acc e p t and accommodate f o r the n o t i o n of a s o r t of u n i v e r s a l c o n f l i c t i n a l l t h i n g s , and Shakespeare seems t o see the world i t s e l f as some v a s t and u n i v e r s a l t h e a t r e of human c o n f l i c t : which, i n a word, I c a l l \" f a c t i o n \" . While the audience i s a c t u a l l y o b s e r v i n g the drama, i t i s engaged i n the a c t of i n t e r p r e t i n g , and i n i n t e r p r e t i n g the a c t i o n each member of the audience does so a c c o r d i n g t o c e r t a i n p r i n c i p l e s t h a t determine what w i l l become hi_s d e s c r i p t i o n of the a c t i o n . And the way i n which one i n t e r p r e t s an a c t i o n i s i n e x t r i c a b l y bound to one's emotional response t o i t . In tragedy the audience v i c a r i o u s l y e x p e r i e n c e s an u n d e r s t a n d i n g of human a c t i o n t h a t a t the same time confounds u n d e r s t a n d i n g . In Shakespeare's H i s t o r y P l a y s , the audience h e l p l e s s l y o b s e r v e s c h a r a c t e r s t h a t come t o r e t r o s p e c t i v e u n d e r s t a n d i n g s of t h e i r s i t u a t i o n s when i t i s too l a t e t o e f f e c t any change; The audience, by o b s e r v i n g the a c t i o n s of h i s t o r i c a l f i g u r e s l i t e r a l l y on the s c a f f o l d , e x p e r i e n c e s the \" a l e m b i c a t i o n \" , to use one of Kenneth Burke's terms, of an a t t i t u d e . The p u r i f i e d Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 6 d i s t i l l a t e of an a t t i t u d e t h a t informs the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the a c t i o n i s , as Yeats would say, \"wrought t o c r i s i s . \" 3 Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 7 THE ROLE OF THE HISTORIAN T h i s wide and u n i v e r s a l t h e a t r e P r e s e n t s more wa-ful pageants than the scene Wherein we p l a y i n . As You Like It I I . v i i . 1 3 7 - 3 9 . H i s t o r y i s a s k i l l e d d r a m a t i s t , w i t h d r a m a t i c i r o n y as the main -feature o-f the p l o t . Kenneth Burke. The h i s t o r i a n i s engaged i n what E.H. C a r r c a l l s \"a p r o c e s s of s e l e c t i o n i n terms of h i s t o r i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e \" 1 t h a t c u l m i n a t e s i n what W.H. Walsh c a l l s \"a s i g n i f i c a n t r e c o r d . \" 3 H i s t o r y i s comprised of many such r e c o r d s , but the events themselves a r e l o s t t o time. J u s t as a p e b b l e s i n k s beneath the s u r f a c e t o l e a v e the t e l l - t a l e r i p p l e s of i t s momentary presence, so too the a c t s of men a r e surrounded by i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s and e x p l a n a t i o n s t h a t r e c o r d t h e i r a c t s , the t r u e n a t u r e of which ar e l o s t to time i n the waters of o b l i v i o n . The p e b b l e f a l l s and s e t s up waves of r e p e r c u s s i o n s ; the h i s t o r i a n , by o b s e r v i n g those waves, may attempt t o i m a g i n a t i v e l y r e c o n s t r u c t the o r i g i n a l event, but such a r e c o n s t r u c t i o n can a t best be merely a d i s t o r t e d r e f l e c t i o n of the r e a l i t y and cannot be e m p i r i c a l l y v e r i f i e d because the event i t s e l f i s l o s t to time. Even t h i s view of the h i s t o r i a n ' s r o l e i n r e c o n s t r u c t i n g p a s t e v e n t s i s e x t remely s i m p l i s t i c because i s o l a t e d a c t s do not i n r e a l i t y o c c u r , as a l l a c t s a r e i n t e r r e l a t e d to g r e a t e r and l e s s e r degrees. Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 8 U l t i m a t e l y , the events t h a t the h i s t o r i a n d e a l s with must be r e c o n s t r u c t e d i n h i s i m a g i n a t i o n -from the p e r i p h e r a l e v i d e n c e t h a t he may draw upon, and -from the a v a i l a b l e e v i d e n c e he t r i e s to e s t a b l i s h a n a r r a t i v e o-f the drama, -from h i s p e r s p e c t i v e , w i t h a c o r r e s p o n d i n g \" h i e r a r c h y of s i g n i f i c a n c e . \" However, the e v i d e n c e t h a t he must draw upon, the \" f a c t s and documents ... e s s e n t i a l t o the h i s t o r i a n t h a t do not by themselves c o n s t i t u t e h i s t o r y , \" 3 i s merely a c o l l a t i o n of v a r i o u s p e r s p e c t i v e s with r e g a r d t o a p a r t i c u l a r event or s e r i e s of e v e n t s . Because the d e s c r i p t i o n and e x p l a n a t i o n of a s i t u a t i o n i s i n e x t r i c a b l e from the a u t h o r ' s p e r s p e c t i v e , the e v i d e n c e a v a i l a b l e t o the h i s t o r i a n i s comprised of s e l e c t i v e a s p e c t s of an event, or s e r i e s of events, t h a t have been f i l t e r e d through a s e l e c t i o n of a u t h o r i a l p e r s p e c t i v e s . And as the problems i n h e r e n t i n j u d g i n g past a c t i o n s a r e connected with the problems i n h e r e n t i n j u d g i n g the p r e s e n t , the r e a d e r of h i s t o r y as opposed to the w r i t e r of h i s t o r y i s u l t i m a t e l y c o n f r o n t e d with the s u b j e c t i v i t y of judgments made by p a s t h i s t o r i a n s , h i s t o r i a n s of the p a s t , and those who attempt t o p r o g n o s t i c a t e f u t u r e developments based on p r e s e n t a t t i t u d e s towards man and h i s r o l e i n the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s . To observe an event as i t happens and then d e s c r i b e the event a-fterwards, whether t h a t event i s the phrase I have j u s t w r i t t e n i n a sentence t h a t I am i n the p r o c e s s of w r i t i n g , or the d e p o s i t i o n of K i n g R i c h a r d II and i t s s i g n i f i c a n c e w i t h i n the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s , i s to be engaged i n a \" p r o c e s s of s e l e c t i o n \" not u n l i k e t h a t of the h i s t o r i a n . I m p l i c i t i n such a p r o c e s s Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 9 i s what Kenneth Burke terms the \"sub-stance\" o-f the p e r c e i v e r , and i t i s t h i s \"sub-stance\", w i t h i t s c o r r e s p o n d i n g p r i n c i p l e s , t h a t governs the p r o c e s s of s e l e c t i o n . The v e r y o b s e r v a t i o n of an event i s s e l e c t i v e ; t h a t s e l e c t i o n i s r e v e a l e d i n the a r t i c u l a t i o n of a s u b j e c t i v e p o i n t of view; and t h e r e f o r e the a r t i c u l a t i o n of an event i s i n t e r p r e t a t i v e i n t h a t i t c o l o u r s the o r i g i n a l event. Thus, the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of an event i s r e f l e c t e d i n i t s a r t i c u l a t i o n , whether i t i s p o e t i c , n a r r a t i v e , or d r a m a t i c i n i t s form, and r e v e a l s a s e t of v a l u e s t h a t cannot be d i v o r c e d from the \" c h a r a c t e r \" of the o b s e r v e r . In d e s c r i b i n g and i n t e r p r e t i n g an event, the o b s e r v e r r e v e a l s a p o i n t of view t h a t , at the same time, r e v e a l s the nature of a p a r t i c u l a r event as seen from such a p e r s p e c t i v e . The d e s c r i p t i o n of an event mustj to a c e r t a i n e x t e n t , be a d i s t o r t i o n of i t , w h i l e r e v e a l i n g i t s n a t u r e as seen from a p a r t i c u l a r \" s t a n c e \" . However, d e s p i t e the s k e p t i c a l view of h i s t o r y t h a t t h i s argument i m p l i e s , we may, as C a r r hopes, l e a r n from the e x p e r i e n c e such a study a f f o r d s . We may hope t o l e a r n about the p r e s e n t i n the l i g h t of the p a s t and l e a r n about the p a s t i n the l i g h t of the p r e s e n t : The f u n c t i o n of h i s t o r y i s t o promote a profounder u n d e r s t a n d i n g of both p a s t and p r e s e n t through the i n t e r r e l a t i o n between them.'' Thus, the o b s e r v a t i o n and judgment t h a t f i n d c o m p l e t i o n i n a sentence, i n the thought made complete, are i n t r i n s i c a l l y p a r t of the c h a r a c t e r of the o b s e r v e r , and i t i s t h e r e f o r e p o s s i b l e to l_earn from an o b j e c t i v e view of the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s t h a t t a k e s Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 10 i n t o account the m u l t i p l i c i t y o-f p e r s p e c t i v e s t h a t surround an event. Consequently, i f the c h r o n i c l e i s a v a l u a b l e and y e t an u n r e l i a b l e s o u r c e of e v i d e n c e because the c h r o n i c l e r i s prone to judgmental d i s t o r t i o n s t h a t the o b s e r v e r i s s u b j e c t t o , then the h i s t o r i a n who would o b j e c t i v e l y observe an h i s t o r i c a l event w i l l s t r i v e towards an i m a g i n a t i v e r e c o n s t r u c t i o n of the h i s t o r i c a l drama. In h i s Philosophy of History, Walsh s t a t e s t h a t the h i s t o r i c a l i d e a l i s always t o get away from the s t a g e of c h r o n i c l e and a t t a i n t h a t of h i s t o r y i t s e l f . What every h i s t o r i a n seeks f o r i s not a bare r e c i t a l of unconnected f a c t s , but a smooth n a r r a t i v e i n which every event f a l l s as i t were i n t o i t s n a t u r a l p l a c e and b e l o n g s t o an i n t e l l i g i b l e whole. In t h i s r e s p e c t , the i d e a l of the h i s t o r i a n i s i n p r i n c i p l e i d e n t i c a l w i t h t h a t of the n o v e l i s t or d r a m a t i s t . 0 T h i s of c o u r s e presupposes t h a t h i s t o r i c a l e v e n t s can be r a t i o n a l l y understood as p a r t of an \" i n t e l l i g i b l e whale\". But Walsh goes on t o say t h a t h i s t o r y i s \" p r o p e r l y concerned with human thoughts and e x p e r i e n c e s \" and t h a t \"because of t h i s , h i s t o r i c a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g i s of a unique and immediate c h a r a c t e r . The c h r o n i c l e r ' s n a r r a t i v e d e s c r i p t i o n and the d r a m a t i s t ' s i m a g i n a t i v e r e c o n s t r u c t i o n of the p a s t a r e both s e l e c t i v e and i n t e r p r e t a t i v e and a l s o r e v e a l the a u t h o r i a l p o i n t of view and the i m p l i c i t s e t of v a l u e s a s s o c i a t e d with such a view. As C a r r says, \" i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i n h i s t o r y i s ... always bound up with v a l u e judgments, and c a u s a l i t y i s bound up with i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . ' \" \" Fact Fiction and Faction Page 11 Thus, any approach t o a h i s t o r i c a l -Figure, event, or s e r i e s o-f even t s i s i n e x t r i c a b l y connected with the o b s e r v e r ' s s e t of v a l u e s ; and when the h i s t o r i a n i s engaged i n a s c e r t a i n i n g p e r s o n a l or p o l i t i c a l m o t i v e s and reas o n s f o r c e r t a i n a c t s , he i engaged i n i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s t h a t a r e s u b j e c t t o assumptions about human na t u r e and the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s t h a t a r e u l t i m a t e l y u n v e r i f i a b l e when they a r e made e x p l i c i t . As C a r r s t a t e s , the h i s t o r i a n needs t o p e n e t r a t e i n t o forms of human behaviour i n which the w i l l i s a c t i v e , t o a s c e r t a i n why the human b e i n g s who a r e the o b j e c t of h i s study w i l l e d t o a c t as they d i d . T h i s s e t s up a r e l a t i o n ... between the o b s e r v e r and what i s observed. The p o i n t of view of the h i s t o r i a n e n t e r s i r r e v o c a b l y i n t o every o b s e r v a t i o n which he makes; h i s t o r y i s shot through and through with r e l a t i v i t y . \" Although the h i s t o r i a n may succumb to the tendency t o pass moral judgments upon the dramatis personae i n the h i s t o r i c a l drama, j u s t as the audience may i n o b s e r v i n g a d r a m a t i c event, C a r r argues t h a t the h i s t o r i a n ' s judgmental f a c u l t i e s s h o u l d be brought t o bear on the \"more p r o f i t a b l e q u e s t i o n of the p a s s i n g of moral judgments not on i n d i v i d u a l s , but on e v e n t s , i n s t i t u t i o n s , or p o l i c i e s of the p a s t . W a l s h goes even f u r t h e r to suggest t h a t because every h i s t o r i a n l o o k s a t the past from a c e r t a i n p o i n t of view, h i s t o r i c a l d i s p u t e s a r e at bottom concerned not with what i s t r u e or f a l s e , but with what i s and what i s not d e s i r a b l e and fundamental h i s t o r i c a l judgments ar e i n consequence not s t r i c t l y c o g n i t i v e but \" e m o t i v e \" . x o The tendency i s thus away from a p u r e l y r a t i o n a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g o h i s t o r y towards an emotional response t h a t i s s u b j e c t i v e l y e x p e r i e n c e d . The a r t i c u l a t i o n of what the h i s t o r i a n comprehend i s u l t i m a t e l y a d i s t o r t i o n of a t r u t h t h a t may o n l y be Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 12 i m a g i n a t i v e l y apprehended. Not o n l y i s the n a t u r e o-f h i s t o r y i t s e l f f a c t i o n a l i n t h a t i t more o f t e n than not d e a l s w i t h major c o n f l i c t s , but a l s o the n a t u r e of h i s t o r i c a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i s n e c e s s a r i l y f a c t i o n a l . In t r y i n g t o make e x p l i c i t the m o t i v a t i n g f a c t o r s t h a t the h i s t o r i a n sees a t work i n a p a r t i c u l a r s e r i e s of e v e n t s , the h i s t o r i a n i s c o n f r o n t e d w i t h a f u r t h e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n - - t h a t i s , i f he i s to attempt t o be at a l l o b j e c t i v e — a n d i t i s with r e g a r d to h i s own m o t i v a t i o n i n the a c t of w r i t i n g about h i s t o r y . In i n t e r p r e t i n g h i s t o r y he i s i n v o l v e d i n d e t e r m i n i n g m o t i v e s f o r a c t i o n s . T h i s i s a h i g h l y p r o b l e m a t i c o b j e c t i v e , because as Burke s t a t e s , i n h i s Permanence and Change, a v o c a b u l a r y of m o t i v a t i o n a l terms i s s p e c i f i c a l l y d esigned t o a c t u a l l y d e f i n e and r e d e f i n e s i t u a t i o n s a c c o r d i n g t o v a r i o u s p e r s p e c t i v e s . He m a i n t a i n s t h a t words f o r motives a r e merely shorthand d e s c r i p t i o n s of si.tuati.ons. One tends to t h i n k of a d u a l i t y here, t o assume some k i n d of breach between a s i t u a t i o n and a response. Yet the two a r e i d e n t i c a l . When we wish t o i n f l u e n c e a man's response, f o r i n s t a n c e , we emphasize f a c t o r s which he had u n d e r s t a t e d or n e g l e c t e d , and minimize f a c t o r s which he had l a i d g r e a t weight upon. T h i s amounts t o n o t h i n g o t h e r than an attempt t o r e d e f i n e the s i t u a t i o n i t s e l f . In t h i s r e s p e c t , our whole v o c a b u l a r y of m o t i v a t i o n i s t a u t o l o g i c a l . I t i s D.9.t t a u t o l o g i c a l i f we c o n s i d e r i t as merely an e l l i p t i c a l way of de-fining a s i t u a t i o n . I t i s t a u t o l o g i c a l i f we c o n s i d e r i t as though t h e r e were both s i t u a t i o n s and motives. The s i t u a t i o n was our motive, and our word f o r the motive c h a r a c t e r i z e s the s i t u a t i o n . 1 1 The h i s t o r i a n uses m o t i v a t i o n a l terms t o d e f i n e h i s t o r i c a l Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 13 s i t u a t i o n s , and h i s a r t i c u l a t i o n of the m o t i v e s o-f c e r t a i n i n d i v i d u a l s , i n s t i t u t i o n s , or n a t i o n s under c e r t a i n c i r c u m s t a n c e s d e f i n e s and c h a r a c t e r i z e s not o n l y the s i t u a t i o n but a l s o the c h a r a c t e r of the h i s t o r i a n h i m s e l f and the n a t u r e of h i s \" s t a n c e \" w i t h r e g a r d t o the event, or s e r i e s of e v e n t s . Hence, the a t t i t u d e of the h i s t o r i a n becomes a d e t e r m i n i n g f a c t o r t h a t must be taken i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n . The c o n t i n u a l r e d e f i n i t i o n of h i s t o r y - - t h e m o t i v e s of i t s h i s t o r i c a l f i g u r e s and i t s h i s t o r i a n s — i s a c o n t i n u a l and e v o l u t i o n a r y p r o c e s s : the p r e s e n t i s c o n t i n u a l l y i n the p r o c e s s of r e d e f i n i n g i t s r e l a t i o n t o the p a s t ; but whether t h a t e v o l u t i o n i s u l t i m a t e l y r e g r e s s i v e or p r o g r e s s i v e i s u n c e r t a i n . Although the h i s t o r i a n i s denied a p u r e l y o b j e c t i v e view of the p a s t , he may c o l l a t e d i v e r g e n t a c c o u n t s i n o r d e r t o r e c o n s t r u c t the drama at the h e a r t of the h i s t o r i c a l e v i d e n c e a v a i l a b l e to him. However, f o r such a r e c o n s t r u c t i o n to be f a i t h f u l t o the o r i g i n a l e v e n t — s o m e t h i n g t h a t , of c o u r s e , cannot be v e r i f i e d by any s c i e n t i f i c o b s e r v a t i o n - - i t must accommodate f o r the v a r i o u s p o s s i b l e m o t i v a t i o n s t h a t a r e i n f a c t documented i n the e v i d e n c e . Thus, the h i s t o r i a n who would attempt t o be o b j e c t i v e w i t h r e g a r d t o h i s m a t e r i a l must w r i t e with an a c u t e sense of h i s t o r i c a l , or d r a m a t i c , i r o n y . T h i s i s o b v i o u s l y a i d e d by h i s r e t r o s p e c t i v e v i e w p o i n t . A f a i t h f u l r e c r e a t i o n and r e - p r e s e n t a t i o n of the o r i g i n a l s i t u a t i o n t h e r e b y p l a c e s the onus of i n t e r p r e t a t i o n on the r e a d e r , or, i n the case of a d r a m a t i c r e - p r e s e n t a t i o n of an Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 14 h i s t o r i c a l event, on the au d i e n c e . i 3 The audience, i n i n t e r p r e t i n g the drama i s engaged i n the p r o c e s s o-f i n t e r p r e t i n g complete as the audience i s c o n f r o n t e d with the problems i n h e r e n t i n j u d g i n g human a c t i o n . Shakespeare's H i s t o r y P l a y s c o n f r o n t the audience w i t h d r a m a t i c s i t u a t i o n s t h a t p u r p o r t t o be h i s t o r i c a l on the one hand and y e t a r e n e v e r t h e l e s s p r e s e n t e d w i t h i n the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s i t s e l f on the o t h e r . The au d i e n c e ' s judgments of the p r e s e n t m i r r o r the judgments made by o t h e r s of the past as each j u d g e s a c c o r d i n g t o h i s p r e d i s p o s i t i o n . T h i s fundamental paradox has a dual i m p l i c a t i o n : the p l a y i t s e l f i s the r e b y p l a c e d w i t h i n a m e t a t h e a t r i c a l frame which i s the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s and the p l a y becomes a p l a y w i t h i n a u n i v e r s a l drama, and w h i l e the h i s t o r i c a l c o n t e n t i t s e l f r e c e d e s even f u r t h e r i n t o an i r r e c o v e r a b l e and u n v e r i f i a b l e p a s t the audience c o n s t r u c t s i t s own i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of the a c t i o n r e -pr e s e n t e d on the s t a g e i n what i s e n i g m a t i c a l l y c a l l e d the H i s t o r y P l a y , and those i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s r e f l e c t t h o s e of the c h r o n i c l e r s i n the f i r s t p l a c e . Shakespeare manages t o r e c r e a t e h i s t o r y on the s t a g e - - \" h i s t o r y \" i n the most ambiguous sense of the word. By v i e w i n g the past i n the g u i s e of the p r e s e n t , the audience i s u l t i m a t e l y c o n f r o n t e d with i t s own prejudgments and judgments of man i n the world and h i s r o l e i n the sh a p i n g of h i s t o r y , because i m p l i c i t i n ev e r y a r t i c u l a t i o n of an event t h e r e both the p a s t and the p r e s e n t s i m u l t a n e o u s l y . The c y c l e i s thus Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 15 l i e s an in-forming e t h i c — t h a t o-f the o b s e r v e r . Thus, the r e -p r e s e n t a t i o n of h i s t o r i c a l c h a r a c t e r s i n h i s t o r i c a l s i t u a t i o n s merely h o l d s the m i r r o r up to human nature, and we a r e l e f t t o a-f-forded by a m i r r o r i s i s o m e r i c ; i t i s u l t i m a t e l y di-f-ferent from r e a l i t y and may not be superimposed on the \" o r i g i n a l \" t h a t i t the m i r r o r i n which the audience i s g i v e n the o p p o r t u n i t y to see i t s e l f . A c h i l l e s , a l t h o u g h f a i l i n g t o understand the i m p l i c a t i o n s of what he says, c l e a r l y a r t i c u l a t e s t h i s i d e a when he says the f o l l o w i n g to U l y s s e s i n Trailus and Cressidai The beauty t h a t i s borne here i n the f a c e The b e a r e r knows not, but commends i t s e l f To o t h e r s * eyes; nor doth the eye i t s e l f , That most pure s p i r i t of sense, behold i t s e l f , Not g o i n g from i t s e l f ; but eye t o eye opposed S a l u t e s each other w i t h each o t h e r ' s form; For s p e c u l a t i o n t u r n s not t o i t s e l f T i l l i t hath t r a v e l l e d and i s m a r r i e d t h e r e Where i t may see i t s e l f . 1 2 a r t i c u l a t e our judgments as we w i l l . However, the image p u r p o r t s t o r e f l e c t . In t h i s r e s p e c t the H i s t o r y P l a y p r o v i d e s Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 16 THE AUDIENCE AND ITS ATTITUDES If we be enemies t D o u r s e l v e s , Whither s h a l l we -fly? P r o verb When A l b e r t Camus, i n The Myth of Sisyphus, s a y s t h a t the \" h i s t o r i c a l s p i r i t and the a r t i s t both want to remake the w o r l d \" , 1 he i n f e r s t h a t both the h i s t o r i a n and the a r t i s t d i s t o r t r e a l i t y . T h i s r e c o g n i t i o n l e a d s us t o a c a r e f u l c o n s i d e r a t i o n of the l i m i t s t h a t both the h i s t o r i a n and the a r t i s t , and by i m p l i c a t i o n the audience of any event, are s u b j e c t t o . Any p e r s p e c t i v e with r e g a r d to the world must remain an a t t i t u d e ; however, a t t i t u d e s h e l d by c o l l e c t i v e s become extremely powerful -forces in the s h a p i n g of the world. Burke, i n Permanence and Change, s t a t e s t h a t \"the a r t i s t u l t i m a t e l y a p p e a l s to an a u d i e n c e ' s a t t i t u d e s , which are u l t i m a t e l y grounded i n n a t u r a l s u s c e p t i b i l i t i e s q u i t e o u t s i d e t h e i r r o l e i n any one s p e c i f i c t r a d i t i o n . \" = These n a t u r a l s u s c e p t i b i l i t i e s may be s e p a r a t e d i n t o two m u t u a l l y e x c l u s i v e and opposing views of man i n the world t h a t f i n d t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r e x p r e s s i o n s i n d i f f e r e n t g u i s e s i n d i f f e r e n t ages. In the R e n aissance the c o n f l i c t between s c i e n t i f i c o b s e r v a t i o n and r e l i g i o u s t e a c h i n g and the subsequent c l a s h of p r i n c i p l e s found e x p r e s s i o n i n the w r i t i n g s of M a c h i a v e l l i , who Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 17 merely e x p r e s s e d h i s o b s e r v a t i o n s with r e g a r d t o man i n a h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s , and the t e a c h i n g s o-f the Church, which through i t s m i n i s t e r s a d m i n i s t e r e d the Word of God and \"commanded\" f a i t h f u l obedience to both s e c u l a r and r e l i g i o u s laws. The former view of man i s based upon the premise t h a t man i s a p o l i t i c a l animal; the l a t t e r , t h a t man i s made i n the image of h i s c r e a t o r and t h a t . h i s i n s t i t u t i o n s are d i v i n e l y s a n c t i o n e d . These two views of the world have p r o f o u n d l y d i f f e r e n t consequences when they are brought t o bear on i n t e r p r e t i n g a c t i o n . Because n e i t h e r view i s u l t i m a t e l y v e r i f i a b l e i n r e a l i t y , each i n d i v i d u a l must, a c c o r d i n g t o h i s b e l i e f - - a b e l i e f t h a t may be e i t h e r a r i g h t b e l i e f or a mere d e l u s i o n — i n t e r p r e t the world he p e r c e i v e s a c c o r d i n g l y . The i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of an a c t i o n i s t h e r e f o r e an a c t of f a i t h , and as a l l a c t s i n the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s have consequences I would argue t h a t the p r i n c i p l e i s i n f a c t the consequence because the consequence i s i m p l i c i t i n the p r i n c i p l e . Look at the world from a p a r t i c u l a r p o i n t of view and the world w i l l f u r n i s h you w i t h ample e v i d e n c e t o support your p e r s p e c t i v e . Because thes e apposing a t t i t u d e s t h a t so dominated Renaissance thought a r e so c a r e f u l l y b a l a n c e d in Shakespeare's p l a y s , and because these a t t i t u d e s f i n d e x p r e s s i o n i n d i f f e r e n t ages under d i f f e r e n t g u i s e s , or d i f f e r e n t r h e t o r i c s , A.W. S c h l e g e l c o u l d say t h a t Shakespeare's H i s t o r y P l a y s f u r n i s h us with \"examples of the p o l i t i c a l c o u r s e of the world, a p p l i c a b l e to a l l t i m e s . \" 3 Our p r e s e n t views of h i s t o r y may l i k e w i s e be accommodated f o r i n Shakespeare's r e - p r e s e n t a t i o n of Fact F ict ion and Faction Page 18 e v e n t s t h a t may appear to be -far removed -from contemporary s i t u a t i o n s . Although the problem o-f k i n g s h i p i s remote to us, the a c t i o n s of those i n s e a r c h of power i n the p o l i t i c a l \"realm\" a r e f a m i l i a r t o everyone. In h i s book e n t i t l e d Attitudes Towards History, Burke s a y s t h a t \" i n d e c i d i n g why people do as they do, we get the c l u e s t h a t p l a c e us with r e l a t i o n to them. Hence a v o c a b u l a r y of motives i s important f o r the f o r m i n g of both p r i v a t e and p u b l i c r e l a t i o n s h i p s . \" \" T h i s i s the a c t of i n t e r p r e t j _ n g t h a t we are a l l engaged i n whether we are p a r t i c i p a n t s i n a p a r t i c u l a r event, o b s e r v e r s of t h a t event, or a f a r removed audience watching an i m a g i n a t i v e r e - p r e s e n t a t i o n of what has become an h i s t o r i c a l event. And the p r i n c i p l e s t h a t inform such a c t s a r e of paramount concern t o the c r i t i c who would attempt t o encompass the drama w i t h i n as wide a frame of r e f e r e n c e as i s p o s s i b l e . The fundamental d i f f e r e n c e between M a c h i a v e l l i a n p r i n c i p l e s and r e l i g i o u s p r i n c i p l e s , as opposed t o the \" r h e t o r i c of r e l i g i o n \" , i s t h a t the l a t t e r a r e concerned with u n i v e r s a l v a l u e s , w h i l e the former a r e concerned with e s s e n t i a l l y n a t i o n a l i s t i c \" v a l u e s \" . As Burke says, the p r i n c i p l e s of Mach i a v e 1 1 i * s \" R e a l p o l i t i k \" l a i d the f o u n d a t i o n s f o r the m a t e r i a l i s t i c emphasis, i n p u t t i n g forward the cuj_t of p_ower as the b a s i s of human m o t i v a t i o n . 0 T h i s m a t e r i a l i s t i c emphasis i s by d e f i n i t i o n opposed t o the t r a n s c e n d e n t a l , and i t i s t h i s Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 19 n o n - t r a n s c e n d e n t a l t h e o r y o-f motives, i n a u g u r a t e d with M a c h i a v e l 1 i ' s d i s c o u r s e on w o r l d l y power, [ t h a t ] p r o v i d e d a r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n of a c t s i n f r a n k accordance with c r i t e r i a of m a t e r i a l aggrandizement.* Although t h i s t h e o r y f i n d s i t s most l u c i d advocate i n M a c h i a v e l l i , the p r i n c i p l e s themselves seem to be deeply r o o t e d i n the s o c i e t i e s , i n s t i t u t i o n s , and r h e t o r i c s t h a t man t h i s thought i s t h a t man's order i s supreme, but a c c o r d i n g to M a c h i a v e l l i , man's h i s t o r y i s a c o n t i n u a l r e p e t i t i o n of c y c l i c a l p a t t e r n s t h a t r e v e a l the c h a o t i c r e s u l t s t h a t a r e i n f a c t the supreme and y e t s e l f - d e s t r u c t i v e . Set i n o p p o s i t i o n to t h i s view of man i n the world and i t s consequent view of the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s i s the r e l i g i o u s p e r s p e c t i v e based upon the p a r a d o x i c a l premise t h a t man i s made in the image of a God t h a t i s Good and i s p l a c e d w i t h i n an h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s t h a t r e v e a l s p r o v i d e n t i a l p a t t e r n s t h a t r e f l e c t man's g r a d u a l e v o l u t i o n towards h i s G o d — a n e v o l u t i o n t h a t w i l l be e f f e c t e d i n time. The i d e a of p r o g r e s s i s f i r m l y embedded i n the C h r i s t i a n view of man i n the world. In h i s book e n t i t l e d Shakespeare's Eden, B.L. Joseph s t a t e s t h a t The d o c t r i n e of P r o v i d e n c e a s s e r t s t h a t when God c r e a t e d the world He d i d not withdraw H i s c o n t r o l and leave i t t o develop i n d e p e n d e n t l y , but c o n t i n u e d and c o n t i n u e s t o govern i t and w i l l do so up to i t s d i s s o l u t i o n on the Day of Judgment. P r o v i d e n c e i s the way i n which the d i v i n e power of c o n t r o l m a n i f e s t s i t s e l f . 5 \" Thus, i n such a scheme of t h i n g s order i s seen at the h e a r t of e s t a b l i s h e s t o impjose order on the world. The i m p l i c a t i o n of consequences of such a view. Order i s t h e r e f o r e seen t o be both the u n i v e r s e . What may appear t o be c h a o t i c , l i k e p o l i t i c a l Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 20 c o n f l i c t s or even the c o n f l i c t s between i n d i v i d u a l s i n the p r i v a c y of the home, may be seen as p a r t of a u n i v e r s a l \" v i o l a t i o n \" of the d i v i n e o r d e r , which i s of c o u r s e a statement f r a u g h t with p a r a d o x i c a l i m p l i c a t i o n s . Man i s a f a l l e n c r e a t u r e , and i t i s the F a l l of M a n - - i t s e l f prompted by the F a l l of L u c i f e i t h a t i s both the cause and consequence of r e b e l l i o n a g a i n s t a l l o r d e r . However, the almost i n v i s i b l e hand of God may be p e r c e i v e d , i t i s argued, by the p u n c t i l i o u s o b s e r v e r of man and h i s h i s t o r y . Two views of man and two views of man's r o l e i n the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s . M a c h i a v e l l i would t r y t o stamp out r e b e l l i o n a g a i n s t the order of the s t a t e ; the Church would t r y to accommodate f o r the i d e a of r e b e l l i o n and e x h o r t obedience. The former i s p r e s c r i p t i v e whereas the l a t t e r i s p r e s c r i p t i v e . The former would teach and propagate p r i n c i p l e s t h a t i n f a c t encourage f a c t i o n a l i s m , whereas the l a t t e r would teach p r i n c i p l e s t h a t endeavour t o reduce f a c t i o n a l i s m . M a c h i a v e l l i sees h i s t o r y as n a u s e a t i n g l y r e p e t i t i v e , and the Church sees h i s t o r y as the p r o g r e s s i v e r e v e l a t i o n of the Word of God to man. Burke argues t h a t M a c h i a v e 1 1 i ' s view of man i s based upon a t r a n s v a l u a t i o n of r e l i g i o u s p r i n c i p l e s i n t o the s e c u l a r world, a t r a n s v a 1 u a t i o n from u n i v e r s a l t o p a r t i c u l a r v i r t u e s , which i s i n e f f e c t a t r a n s f e r e n c e towards e s s e n t i a l l y f a c t i o n a l p r i n c i p l e s . The Renaissance was p a r t i c u l a r l y e x e r c i s e d by M a c h i a v e l l i because he so a c c u r a t e l y r e p r e s e n t e d the t r a n s v a l u a t i o n of v a l u e s i n v o l v e d i n the r i s e of n a t i o n a l i s m . A t r a n s v a l u a t i o n was c a l l e d f o r , because Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 21 J2fLLi.Si.SJ2 aimed at u n i v e r s a l v i r t u e s , whereas the v i r t u e s of n a t i o n a l i s m would n e c e s s a r i l y be £actionai, i n s o f a r as v i c e from the s t a n d p o i n t o-f u n i v e r s a l r e l i g i o u s v a l u e s might r e a d i l y be viewed as adm i r a b l e i-f i t helped some i n t e r e s t s p r e v a i l over o t h e r s . T h i s t w i s t g r e a t l y e x e r c i s e d M a c h i a v e l l i . But though (-from the u n i v e r s a l p o i n t o-f view) n a t i o n s c o n f r o n t one another as f a c t i o n s , from the s t a n d p o i n t of any one n a t i o n f a c t i o n a l i s m i s c o n c e i v e d i n a narrower sense, with n a t i o n a l i s m i t s e l f t a k i n g over the r o l e of the un i v e r s a l . s A c c o r d i n g to such p r i n c i p l e s , u n i t y i s o n l y a c h i e v e d at the expense of i n c r e a s e d f a c t i o n a l i s m , and the ve r y i d e a of communion, or even communication, i s thereby pre-empted. Co n g r e g a t i o n i s thus a c h i e v e d by s e g r e g a t i o n . The p r i n c i p l e s of n a t i o n a l i s m may be seen as founded upon d i v i s i v e p r e c e p t s : to argue f o r a n a t i o n a l u n i t y l i t e r a l l y at the expense of a n o t h e r ' s i s e s s e n t i a l l y i d e n t i c a l i n terms of m o t i v a t i o n to the i n d i v i d u a l who would e s t a b l i s h h i s v i r t u e by means of v i t u p e r a t i v e d e n e g r a t i o n of h i s opponent. Such a p a t t e r n dominates the e n t i r e sweep of Shakespeare's H i s t o r y P l a y s , i s p a r t i c u l a r l y apparent i n the Tudor view of the p e r i o d of h i s t o r y t h a t the p l a y s d e a l w i t h , and i s unambiguously s t a t e d by King Henry IV when he sa y s t o h i s son, my Harry, Be i t thy c o u r s e to busy giddy minds With f o r e i g n q u a r r e l s , t h a t a c t i o n thus borne out May waste the memory of the former days,* U n i v e r s a l v a l u e s a r e thereby b a s t a r d i z e d i n the form of a n a t i o n a l c r e e d t h a t i s e s s e n t i a l l y a g g r e s s i v e . Shakespeare's H i s t o r y P l a y s c l e a r l y r e v e a l a p r e o c c u p a t i o n with such f a c t i o n -a l i s m , which i s the s t u f f of drama. Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 22 U l t i m a t e l y , drama i s concerned with d i a l e c t i c , and the d r a m a t i c -form i s t h e r e f o r e , by d e f i n i t i o n , oD.p.osed to the p o l e m i c . To be more a c c u r a t e , i t accommodates f o r the d i d a c t i c i s m of the opposing arguments t h a t the drama encompasses. The H i s t o r y P l a y i s , by e x t e n s i o n of the argument, opposed to the s i m p l i s t i c and o n e - s i d e d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of h i s t o r y t h a t the h i s t o r i a n i s s u b j e c t t o . As Burke says , In e q u a t i n g \"dramatic\" with \" d i a l e c t i c \" , we a u t o m a t i c a l l y have a l s o our p e r s p e c t i v e f o r the a n a l y s i s of h i s t o r y , which i s a \" dramatic\" p r o c e s s , i n v o l v i n g d i a l e c t i c a l o p p o s i t i o n s . And i f we keep t h i s always i n mind, we a r e reminded, t h a t ©very document bequeathed us by h i s t o r y must be t r e a t e d as a s t r a t e g y f o r encomp_assi.ng a s i t u a t i o n . 1 ° Edward H a l l ' s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of h i s t o r y , L i l y B. Campbell's i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of Shakespeare's H i s t o r y P l a y s i n the l i g h t of c e r t a i n p o l i t i c a l e v e n t s t h a t were contemporaneous with the performances of the p l a y s ; and my i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of Richard II are a l l attempts t o determine d i f f e r e n t \" a c t s \" . I am appreaching the act of Shakespeare as an i n t e r p r e t e r of h i s t o r y i n i t s widest p o s s i b l e frame, and thus the t r u e s u b j e c t of the drama i s seen t o be the a u d i e n c e ' s a t t i t u d e s towards man h i m s e l f . And because the drama i s concerned with d i a l e c t i c , the audience i t s e l f , and I r e f e r to the c o l l e c t i v e as w e l l as the i n d i v i d u a l s themselves, a r e c o n f r o n t e d with p o e t i c meanings C t h a t l cannot be d i s p o s e d of on the t r u e - o r - f a l s e b a s i s . Rather, they are r e l a t e d to one another l i k e a s e t of c o n c e n t r i c c i r c l e s , of wider and wider scope. Those of wider diameter do not c a t e g o r i c a l l y e l i m i n a t e those of narrower diameter. There i s , r a t h e r , a p r o g r e s s i v e encompassment. 1 1 These ar e the emanations t h a t l e a d us to an u n d e r s t a n d i n g of not Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 23 o n l y the p a r t i c u l a r h i s t o r i c a l e v e n t s but moreover o-f the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s i t s e l - f . Whether the drama merely r e f l e c t s v a l u e s or a c t u a l l y engenders them i s , l i k e the c h i c k e n and the egg, u n c e r t a i n , u n l e s s the c o n f l i c t e x i s t s at such a depth i n the human b e i n g t h a t the c o n f l i c t t a k e s on an almost a r c h e t y p a l s i g n i f i c a n c e . But perhaps the drama r e f l e c t s c e r t a i n v a l u e s w h i l e a t the same time s u b t l y a d v o c a t i n g d i f f e r e n t v a l u e s . As R.C. K i m b e r l i n g says i n h i s d i s c u s s i o n of po p u l a r a r t , Popu l a r a r t r e f l e c t s s o c i a l v a l u e s because i t p r e s e n t s u n i v e r s a l p a t t e r n s of e x p e r i e n c e , p a t t e r n s t h a t the audience must r e c o g n i z e i f i t i s t o \"understand\" the work. I t engenders v a l u e s by p r e s e n t i n g s c e n a r i o s p l a c i n g o r d i n a r y v a l u e s i n c o n f l i c t s i t u a t i o n s , s i t u a t i o n s demanding t h a t some h i e r a r c h y of v a l u e s be e s t a b l i s h e d , and by s t i m u l a t i n g a u d i e nce i d e n t i f i c a t i o n with the p r o c e s s e s of v a l u e f o r m a t i o n . 1 2 These observed \" p a t t e r n s of e x p e r i e n c e \" are the r e s u l t of c e r t a i n v a l u e s , and they a l s o , to a c e r t a i n e x t e n t engender s i m i l a r v a l u e s i n o t h e r s . However, d e s p i t e the s e 1 f - p e r p e t u a t i n g n a t u r e of t h i s argument, Burke argues t h a t the p e r s p e c t i v e s t h a t encompass any event may be \" d i s t i l l e d \" i n t o two opposing camps, and t h a t the \" p o e t i c i d e a l would attempt to a t t a i n a f.ul.1. moral a c t by a t t a i n i n g a p e r s p e c t i v e atop. al.!. the c o n f l i c t s of a t t i t u d e . \" 1 3 T h i s i s where the p l a y w r i g h t - h i s t o r i a n , who p r o j e c t s onto h i s n e u t r a l and a b s t r a c t s t a g e the c h a r a c t e r s t h a t engage i n mock-mor t a l combat, remains n e u t r a l because f o r him the b a t t l e f i e l d Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 24 i s a p l a c e t h a t i s , l i k e M i l t o n ' s Heaven and H e l l , u l t i m a t e l y c o n c e i v e d and c r e a t e d by man; when a l l the b a t t l e s t o be -fought i n the e x t e r n a l world have been -fought, then the l a s t and most tempestuous one remains w i t h i n . As Burke says , The b a t t l e - f i e l d ... which p e r m i t s r i v a l c o n t e s -t a n t s t o j o i n i n b a t t l e , i t s e l - f \" t r a n s c e n d s \" t h e i r - f a c t i o n a l i s m , b e i n g \" s u p e r i o r \" t o i t and \" n e u t r a l \" t o t h e i r m o t i v e s , though the c o n d i t i o n s of the t e r r a i n may happen t o favor-one- f a c t i o n . The JBri.nci.Ei.es of war a r e not themselves w a r l i k e , and a r e u l t i m a t e l y r e d u c i b l e t o u n i v e r s a l p r i n c i p l e s of p h y s i c s and d i a l e c t i c . S i m i l a r l y , a poe t ' s i d e n t i f i c a t i o n with imagery of murder or s u i c i d e , e i t h e r one or the o t h e r , i s , from the \" n e u t r a l \" p o i n t of view, merely a concern with terms f o r t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i n g e n e r a l . 1 - * T h i s i s the p o i n t which the drama seeks to a t t a i n , and does so when the p r o t a g o n i s t of the drama reaches t h a t moment of r e t r o s -p e c t i v e wisdom. The p l a y w r i g h t - h i s t o r i a n , who i s e s s e n t i a l l y concerned with \"symbolic a c t i o n \" , t r a n s c e n d s the immediate concerns of h i s c h a r a c t e r s t D see them from above, and t o see the emanating \"shock waves\" s e t up by c e r t a i n e v e n t s . In A Rhetoric of flat ives, Burke argues t h a t t h e r e a r e t h r e e b a s i c t y p e s of language use: \" p o e t i c language i s a k i n d of symbolic a c t i o n , of i t s e l f and i n i t s e l f , ... s c i e n t i f i c language i s a p r e p a r a t i o n f o r a c t i o n , [and! r h e t o r i c a l language i s inducement t o a c t i o n (or to a t t i t u d e , a t t i t u d e b e i n g i n c i p i e n t a c t ) . \" 1 0 P o e t i c language attempts to encompass an event i n a l l i t s a m b i g u i t i e s ; s c i e n t i f i c language would examine, a n a l y z e , and d e f i n e an event; and r h e t o r i c a l language would endeavour t o ge n e r a t e i n the audience a p a r t i c u l a r s t a n c e . By r e - p r e s e n t i n g the past on the s t a g e , the p l a y w r i g h t - h i s t o r i a n i s i n e f f e c t Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 25 s a y i n g t h a t the p r e s e n t i s a -function o-f the p a s t as i t recedes i n t o the p a s t , and the a t t i t u d e s t h a t we h o l d i n r e g a r d i n g the pa s t w i l l i n t u r n shape the -future. David Hare, a contemporary w r i t e r of h i s t o r y p l a y s , s a i d i n a l e c t u r e g i v e n a t King's C o l l e g e Cambridge i n 1978 t h a t i f you w r i t e about now, j u s t today and n o t h i n g e l s e , then you seem t o be c o n f r o n t i n g s t a s i s ; but i f you b e g i n t o d e s c r i b e the movement of h i s t o r y , i f you w r i t e p l a y s t h a t cover passages of time, then you begin t o f i n d a sense of movement, of s o c i a l change, i f you l i k e ; and the f a c i l e h o p e l e s s n e s s t h a t comes from c o n f r o n t i n g the day and o n l y the day, the room and o n l y the room, b e g i n s t o d i s a p p e a r and i n i t s p l a c e the w r i t e r can o f f e r a r e c o r d of movement and change. l <-To w r i t e about the p r e s e n t i s to. w r i t e about s t a s i s , but to w r i t e about the p a s t i n the l i g h t of the p r e s e n t i s to w r i t e about change and, by i m p l i c a t i o n , the f u t u r e . The p l a y w r i g h t -h i s t o r i a n , i n t r y i n g to encompass an event w h i l e at the same time c r e a t i n g another, l e a v e s the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n up t o h i s audience; as Burke says, \" i f we choose to emphasize the s h i f t i n g p a r t i c u l a r i t i e s , we approach human problems h i s t o r i c a l 1 y . Cbutl i f we choose t o emphasize the u n d e r l y i n g s i m i l a r i t i e s , we r e t u r n through symbolism t o a p h i l o s o p h y of b e i n g . X 7 r The a t t i t u d e s of an a u dience a r e t h e r e f o r e of paramount concern t o the p l a y w r i g h t , whether he i s an h i s t o r i a n or not, and an u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the s h i f t i n g a t t i t u d e s t h a t dominated Shakespeare's time a r e important t o an u n d e r s t a n d i n g of h i s p l a y s . Theodore Spenser, i n h i s Shakespeare and the Nature of flan, s t a t e s t h a t Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 26 The con-f 1 i c t was t h i s : b e l i e f i n each one of the i n t e r r e l a t e d o r d e r s - - c o s m o l o g i c a l , n a t u r a l , and po 1 i t i cal--wh i ch ... were the -frame, the b a s i c p a t t e r n of a l l E l i z a b e t h a n t h i n k i n g , was b e i n g punctured by a doubt. C o p e r n i c u s had q u e s t i o n e d the c o s m o l o g i c a l o r d e r , Montaigne had q u e s t i o n e d the n a t u r a l o r d e r , M a c h i a v e l l i had q u e s t i o n e d the p o l i t i c a l o r d e r . i e The doubt t h a t s u b s e q u e n t l y dominated l e d to the s o r t o-f s k e p t i c i s m t h a t demands an ine-f-fable s o l u t i o n , and as the •foundations of a s u s t a i n i n g f a i t h were c r u m b l i n g , the v a r i o u s m a n i f e s t a t i o n s of o r d e r i t s e l f began t o dwindle away. Montaigne became the advocate of an i n t e l l e c t u a l s k e p t i c i s m t h a t q u e s t i o n e d the v e r y n a t u r e of man's p e r c e p t i o n , and i n t r o d u c e d the i d e a of a b s o l u t e r e l a t i v i t y i n a world of s u b j e c t i v e l y e x p e r i e n c e d \"appearances\". To judge the appearances we r e c e i v e of t h i n g s , we s h o u l d need a j u d i c a t o r y instrument; t o v e r i f y t h i s instrument, we s h o u l d need demon-s t r a t i o n ; to r e c t i f y t h i s d e m o n s t r a t i o n we s h o u l d need an i n s t r u m e n t : and here we a r e a r g u i n g i n a c i r c l e . 1 \" The i m p l i c a t i o n s of such an u n i v e r s a l r e l a t i v i t y a r e t e r r i f y i n g because the i d e a of a c r e e d , a s e t of p r i n c i p l e s t o which a man may say \"I b e l i e v e \" , i s t h r e a t e n e d by the a m b i g u i t y i m p l i c i t i n readi_ng. The q u e s t i o n , \"What do I b e l i e v e ? \" then becomes i m p l i c i t i n the statement, \"I b e l i e v e \" . T h i s was the c o n d i t i o n t h a t p r o v i d e d M a c h i a v e l l i with a r e c e p t i v e a u d i e n c e . M a c h i a v e l l i a r t i c u l a t e d a view of man i n the world t h a t i s founded upon a c y n i c i s m w i t h r e g a r d t o man's n a t u r e t h a t i s as a b s o l u t e and unaccommodating i n i t s c o n t r a d i c t i o n of the Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 27 p r i n c i p l e s o-f r e l i g i o n as the Church was a b s o l u t e i n i t s e x h o r t a t i o n s with r e g a r d to God and the meaning o-f the Word of God to man. And w i t h the d i s s o l u t i o n of the meaning of the Word of God carne the d i s s o l u t i o n of the meaning of a man's word, as language c o u l d be used and abused f o r the a t t a i n m e n t and maintenance of p o l i t i c a l power. As M a c h i a v e l l i s a y s i n The Prince, a prudent r u l e r cannot , and must not, honour h i s word when i t p l a c e s him a t a d i s a d v a n t a g e and when the reasons f o r which he made h i s promise no longer e x i s t . I f a l l men were good, t h i s p r e c e p t would not be good; but because men are wretched c r e a t u r e s who would not keep t h e i r word to you, you need not keep your word t o t h e m . = 0 Although the Word of God must be ambiguous t o man, whose u n d e r s t a n d i n g must remain p a r t i a l , he who has f a i t h i s r e a s s u r e d by the a s s e r t i o n t h a t at l e a s t i t s h a l l be e f f e c t e d i n time. Machiave11i's view of man as a p o l i t i c a l animal and Montaigne's view of man as merely p a r t of n a t u r e and i n no way s u p e r i o r to any o t h e r p a r t of i t merely r e v e a l two a t t i t u d e s with r e g a r d to the n a t u r e of man, depending of c o u r s e on how you read those seemingly s i m p l e s t a t e m e n t s . And as I w r i t e t h e s e words I hear, l i k e the d u l l and d i s t a n t rumblings of some awful c a t a s t r o p h e , those p a i n f u l l y s i m p l e words of the s e l f - r i g h t e o u s Hamlet, who d i e s the P r i n c e of Denmark and not the K i n g of Denmark, \"I know not seems\"; he l e a r n s t h a t the world i s l i t e r a l l y patched w i t h \"seams\", but, as i s always the case i n tragedy, he l e a r n s too l a t e . Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 23 The study o-f p o l i t i c s i s the study of man's government o-f man. Such a study, because i t must -focus on appearances i s not concerned with u n i v e r s a l v i r t u e s , and as Burke p o i n t s out i t i s d i a m e t r i c a l l y opposed to the stud y o-f g e n u i n e l y C h r i s t i a n v a l u e s , v a l u e s t h a t a r e b a s i c a l l y c o h e s i v e as opposed t o d i v i s i v e : i n s o f a r as a man was g e n u i n e l y imbued with C h r i s t i a n m otives, h i s E T i y a t e v i r t u e s would be t r a i t s of c h a r a c t e r w h i c h , i f c u l t i v a t e d i n the i n d i v i d u a l , would be mast b e n e f i c i a l t o mankind as a whgl_e. But M a c h i a v e l l i i s concerned with a d i f f e r e n t k i n d of u n i v e r s a l i t y . He s t a r t s from the p r i n c i p l e t h a t men a r e uniy_ersa.l_l_y_ at odds with one £H2i!l£r.' Fof' t h i s i s what h i s s t r e s s upon p r e d a t o r y or w a r l i k e m o t i v e s amounts t o . He i s concerned with m o t i v e s which w i l l p r o t e c t s p e c i a l , i n t e r e s t s . The Prince i s l e a d i n g towards the p e r i o d when the i n t e r e s t s of a f e u d a l r u l e r w i l l be n a t i o n a l i s t i c a l l y i d e n t i f i e d , thought to r e p r e s e n t one s t a t e as o r j j D g s e d t o other s t a t e s . 3 1 T h i s t r a n s v a l u a t i a n from u n i v e r s a l v a l u e s t o i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c v a l u e s , a t r a n s v a l u a t i a n t h a t dominates the r h e t o r i c a l c o n f l i c t between the r i v a l a d v o c a t e s of C a t h o l i c i s m and P u r i t a n i s m , has a profound e f f e c t on the realm of p o l i t i c s , and the d i v i s i o n extends a l l the way to s e x u a l p o l i t i c s . Thus, even the attempt to communicate may be regarded as an attempt t o a t t a i n power. S k e p t i c i s m l e a d s to c y n i c i s m , and c y n i c i s m l e a d s t o d i s t r u s t . And, as Burke says, i f we c a r r y the M a c h i a v e l l e a n p a t t e r n down from p o l i t i c a l to p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s , the i n d i v i d u a l may become r e l a t e d - to o t h e r i n d i v i d u a l s as r u l e r t o r u l e d (or a t l e a s t would-be r u l e r to would-not-be r u l e d ) - - f o r here a g a i n the d i v i s i v e m o t i v e s t r e a t e d by M a c h i a v e l l i a p p l y . 5 5 3 M a c h i a v e l l i encourages the u n i v e r s a l d i v i s i o n t h a t he sees at Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 29 work i n the world and reads i t i n the pages of h i s t o r y ; and he p r o p a g a t e s d i v i s i o n by p r e s c r i b i n g a c t i o n s t h a t a r e designed t o a t t a i n power by m a n i p u l a t i o n , which i n t u r n l e a d s t o the c o n s o l i d a t i o n of power by f o r c e . When the page i n the I n d u c t i o n to The Taming of the Shrew s t a t e s t h a t the p l a y t o be p r e s e n t e d by the p l a y e r s , who a r e of c o u r s e e x p e r t s at the a r t of \" a c t i n g \" , i s \"a k i n d of h i s t o r y \" , the audience i s reminded t h a t h i s t o r y i s made by i n d i v i d u a l s , by men and women whose o f f s p r i n g a r e the f r u i t Df t h e i r l o v e , by p e o p l e who must a c t on another s t a g e where the consequences a r e very r e a l . And as one would expect, the audience i s i n v a r i a b l y s p l i t between two opposing camps: those who would-be r u l e r s , and those who would-not-be r u l e d . Does the drama engender, r e f l e c t , or r e v e a l the c o n f l i c t ? That depends on the p e r s p e c t i v e of the p e r c e i v e r , but what i s c e r t a i n t i s t h a t a c o n f l i c t e x i s t s at the h e a r t of human na t u r e , and I would argue t h a t the drama p r e s e n t s the e v e r - p r e s e n t o p p o r t u n i t y f o r the r e c o g n i t i o n of g e n u i n e l y \" c o h e s i v e m o t i v e s \" a t the h e a r t of man. If M a c h i a v e 1 1 i * s view of man i s couched i n a c y n i c i s m t h a t p r o p a g a t e s d i v i s i o n , then the C h r i s t i a n view of man i s c o n f r o n t e d with the problem of d e f i n i n g and t e a c h i n g the \" c o h e s i v e motives\" f o r a c t i o n i n the p o l i t i c a l , p e r s o n a l , and p r i v a t e realms. The e s s e n t i a l problem i s t h a t t r u e obedience cannot be commanded. Commands may be \"obeyed\" i n the p u r e l y l i t e r a l sense, but the s p i r i t i n which an \" a c t \" i s performed i s not a p p a r e n t . Again, Montaigne's s k e p t i c i s m r a i s e s i t s u g l y head. K i n g Henry V, on Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 30 the eve of the B a t t l e of A g i n c o u r t , r e a l i z e s the inadequacy of the a u t h o r i t y i m p l i c i t i n a k i n g ' s word of command (and he s i m u l t a n e o u s l y t a l k s t o the audience t h a t i s made up of monarchs, to a c e r t a i n e x t e n t ) : Canst thou, when thou command'st the beggar's knee, Command the h e a l t h of i t ? No, thou proud dream, That p l a y ' s t so s u b t l y w i t h a k i n g ' s r e p o s e ; 3 3 The a u t h o r i t y of the Church i s c o n f r o n t e d with a s i m i l a r dilemma: the i n t e r p r e t e r s of the Ward of Gad, themselves \" f a l l e n \" c r e a t u r e s , must s t r i v e to teach the meaning of the p a r a d o x i c a l n ature of Gqd_[_5 forbi.ddi_ng command. The author of \"An Hamilie Against disobedience and Wilful I Rebel I ion\" s t a t e s t h a t \" n e i t h e r heaven nor p a r a d i s e c o u l d s u f f e r any r e b e l l i o n i n them, n e i t h e r be p l a c e s f o r any r e b e l s t o remain i n . \" 3 \" Perhaps i t i s because the t e a c h i n g s of the Church are based upon such a paradox t h a t i t s m i n i s t e r s r e s o r t t o e x h o r t a t i o n i n the i n t e r e s t s of the appearances of s o c i a l c o h e s i o n as opposed t o the emphasis upon \" c o h e s i v e m o t i v e s \" . As Burke says, t h i s tendency towards sermon and i n v e c t i v e Cis3 p a r t i c u l a r l y [ a p p a r e n t ! i n the t h i n k i n g of the Church, where men t r a i n e d i n p r a y e r a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y prone ... t o handle a l l untoward i s s u e s v e r b a l l y , by b e n e d i c t i o n or anathema: they would \" l e g i s l a t e \" a d i s o r d e r out of e x i s t e n c e . But the tendency i s not unknown even to s e c u l a r t h i n k e r s . 3 0 To e x h o r t a man to \"obedience\" i s a c o n t r a d i c t i o n i n terms and i s q u i t e d i f f e r e n t from imbuing him with C h r i s t i a n v i r t u e s . The sermons and h o m i l i e s t h a t were a p p o i n t e d t o be read i n Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 31 churches i n the r e i g n o-f E l i z a b e t h I p r o v i d e us w i t h h i s t o r i c a l documents t h a t r e v e a l how the Church c o n t r i b u t e d t o the s h a p i n g o-f the a t t i t u d e s o-f Shakespeare's c o n t e m p o r a r i e s . In the p r e f a c e t o the 1623 e d i t i o n , the author i n no u n c e r t a i n terms t e l l s us t h a t the sermons and h o m i l i e s a r e \"the pure d e c l a r i n g of God's Word, which i s the p r i c i p a l l g u i d e and l e a d e r unto a l l g o d l i n e s s and v e r t u e . , l ! : , s However, they were p u b l i s h e d to be read i n churches i n response to r e c e n t p o l i t i c a l e v e n t s ; i n o t h e r words, they were i n f a c t used as a p o l i t i c a l e x p e d i e n t . = ? The s c r i p t u r e s were i n t e r p r e t e d i n o r d e r t o a s s e r t the d i v i n e l y s a n c t i o n e d a u t h o r i t y of o f f i c e , and obedience t o one's r u l e r i n the- s e c u l a r realm became synonymous wit h one's obedience t o God i n the s p i r i t u a l . In the h o m i l i e e n t i t l e d \"An E x h o r t a t i o n C o n c e r n i n g Good Order and Obedience t o R u l e r s and M a g i s t r a t e s \" , the author i n t e r p r e t s the t r i a l of C h r i s t i n the f o l l o w i n g way: The wicked Judge P i l a t e , sayd to C h r i s t , \"Knowest thou not t h a t I have power t o c r u c i f y thee, and have power a l s o to l o o s e thee.\" Jesus answered, \"Thou c o u l d have no power a t a l l a g a i n s t me, except i t were g i v e n thee from above.\" Whereby C h r i s t taught us p l a i n e l y , t h a t even the wicked r u l e r s have t h e i r power and a u t h o r i t i e from God, and t h e r f o r e i t i s not l a w f u l 1 f o r t h e i r s u b j e c t s to w i t h s t a n d them, a l t h o u g h they abuse t h e i r p o w e r . = e And the author goes even f u r t h e r t o a s s e r t t h a t a s u b j e c t ' s f e a l t y to h i s k i n g i s of g r e a t e r importance than h i s C h r i s t i a n F a i t h ! when he sa y s , i n \"An H o m i l i e A g a i n s t D i s o b e d i e n c e and W i l f u l l R e b e l l i o n \" , t h a t r e b e l s by breach of t h e i r f a i t h g i v e n , and the oath made t o t h e i r Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 32 P r i n c e , bee g u i l t y o-f most damnable p e r j u r i e ... the worst and most damnable o-f a l l f a l s e w i t n e s s e b e a r i n g t h a t may be p o s s i b l e . = 1 P These two h o m i l i e s r e v e a l a s h i f t i n the v a l u e s supposedly propagated by the Church, as the emphasis s h i f t e d from u n i v e r s a l v a l u e s to b a s i c a l l y n a t i o n a l i s t i c ones. The use of the s c r i p t u r e s t o c o n s o l i d a t e the a u t h o r i t y of the s t a t e i n v o l v e d not o n l y r e i n t e r p e t a t i o n s of the s c r i p t u r e s but a l s o of h i s t o r y i t s e l f to a c c o r d with Tudor p o l i t i c s . In h i s d i s c u s s i o n of the importance of the h o m i l i e s as s o u r c e m a t e r i a l n e c e s s a r y to an u n d e r s t a n d i n g of Shakespeare's H i s t o r y P l a y s , A l f r e d Hart says t h a t These two h o m i l i e s put i n t o the form of sermons a s e r i e s of si.mp_.le l e s s o n s on the fundamental p r i n c i p l e s of Tudor p o l i c i e s , i n which were expounded the l o g i c a l and t h e o l o g i c a l bases of the c o n s t i t u t i o n of the Tudor Church and S t a t e . 3 5 0 B e a r i n g t h i s i n mind, we may be j u s t i f i e d i n our s k e p t i c i s m i n re g a r d to the Tudor view of the h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s . The p r o s c r i p t i v e t e a c h i n g of the Church may be seen as a r h e t o r i c t h a t i s d i r e c t e d down t o the s u b j e c t s of the r u l e r , whereas the p r e s c r i p t i v e a d v i c e of M a c h i a v e l l i may be regarded as d i r e c t e d up, t o the r u l e r , or would-be r u l e r . The h o m i l i e s emphasize the primacy of the s o c i a l o r d e r by t r y i n g t o l e g i s l a t e away the problem of d i v i s i o n and c o n f l i c t i n i t s s u b j e c t s ; M a c h i a v e l l i emphasizes the primacy of d i v i s i o n i n o r d e r t o prompt the \"good\" r u l e r t o a c t i n such a way as to a t t a i n and c o n s o l i d a t e power. Thus, i n Shakespeare's England a s h i f t from g e n u i n e l y C h r i s t i a n motives f o r a c t i o n was b e i n g e f f e c t e d i n both Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 33 the i n s t i t u t i o n a l thought o-f both the p o l i t i c s o-f the Church and the S t a t e . The language of r e l i g i o n was g r a d u a l l y b e i n g s e c u l a r i z e d — h e n c e the d o c t r i n e of the D i v i n e R i g h t of the monarch, w h i l e the language of the p o l i t i c i a n became i n v e s t e d w i t h s p i r i t u a l s i g n i f i c a n c e . Shakespeare c o u l d s u b t l y s a t i r i z e t h i s s h i f t by h a v ing the A r c h b i s h o p of C a n t e r b u r y p r a i s e the o r d e r of the s t a t e i n King Henry 1/ and the a r c h - M a c h i a v e l , U l y s s e s , p r a i s e the d i v i n e o r d e r of the u n i v e r s e i n Trailus and Cress ids. As the r h e t o r i c of M a c h i a v e l l i w i t h i t s \" d i v i s i v e motives\" f o r a c t i o n seem to dominate, I quote from h i s famous book on p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n , The Prince: Many have dreamed up r e p u b l i k s and p r i n c i p a l i -t i e s which have never i n t r u t h been known to e x i s t ; the g u l f between how one s h o u l d l i v e and how one does l i v e i s so wide t h a t a man who n e g l e c t s what i s a c t u a l l y done f o r what shou l d be done l e a r n s the way t o s e l f -d e s t r u c t i o n r a t h e r than t o s e l f -p r e s e r v a t i o n . 3 1 One might almost say t h a t M a c h i a v e l l i a r t i c u l a t e s the p r i n c i p l e s upon which the modern s e a r c h f o r the s e l f i s based. He looks at h i s t o r y and s e es c o r r o b o r a t i v e e v i d e n c e to s u p p o r t h i s f i c t i o n w i t h r e g a r d t o man i n an h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s , but h i s view i s merely one i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of h i s t o r y . As Burke says, Our minds, as l i n g u i s t i c p r o d u c t s , a r e composed of c o n c e p t s ( v e r b a l l y moulded) which s e l e c t c e r t a i n r e l a t i o n s h i p s as m e a n i n g f u l . These r e l a t i o n s h i p s are not .rea.l_i t.ie s, they ar e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of r e a l i t y — h e n c e d i f f e r e n t frameworks of i n t e r p r e t a t i o n w i l l lead t o d i f f e r e n t c o n c l u s i o n s as to what r e a l i t y i s . 3 2 Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 34 Because Mach ia v e 1 1 i ' s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o-f r e a l i t y i s based upon a d i v i s i v e view of man, h i s view of what he c a l l s the \"bond of l o v e \" i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y weak: The bond of love i s one which men, wretched c r e a t u r e s t h a t they a r e break when i t i s t o t h e i r advantage t o do so; but f e a r i s s t r e n g t h e n e d by a dread of punishment which i s always e f f e c t i v e . 3 3 Thus, as f a r as M a c h i a v e l l i i s concerned, human a c t i o n i s c o m p l e t e l y e x p l a i n e d i n terms of f e a r and punishment; the words \" f e a r \" and \" l o v e \" , which a r e equated i n the s p i r i t u a l realm, a r e s i m i l a r l y equated i n the p o l i t i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p between the s u b j e c t and h i s r u l e r . Thus, the motives f o r a c t i o n a r e e x p l i c a b l e out of hope f o r reward on the one hand and f e a r of punishment on the o t h e r . These are not the motives f o r t r u l y e t h i c a l a c t i o n , as they a r e \" s e l f - i n t e r e s t e d \" a c t i o n s . In h i s Language as Symbolic Action, Burke argues t h a t t r u l y e t h i c a l a c t i o n cannot in f a c t be taught because the attempt to \"educate\" through t e a c h i n g C h r i s t i a n v i r t u e s i s i t s e l f p a r a d o x i c a l . The \" c o h e s i v e m o t i v e s \" f o r a c t i o n t h a t l i e at the h e a r t of a t r u l y e t h i c a l view of the world a r e u l t i m a t e l y s i l e n t : a view t h a t encompasses d i v i s i o n and t r a n s c e n d s d i v i s i o n . Burke quotes Emmanuel Kant at l e n g t h t o r e v e a l the n a t u r e of t h i s paradox: Love God above every_th.i_ng_,_ and thy. nejj3h.bg.ur as thy_sel.f ... as a command i t r e q u i r e s r e s p e c t f o r a law which commands love and does not leave i t to our a r b i t r a r y c h o i c e t o make t h i s our p r i n c i p l e . Love to God, however, c o n s i d e r e d as an i n c l i n a t i o n ... i s i m p o s s i b l e , f o r He i s not an o b j e c t of the senses ... .To love God means ... to l i k e t o do h i s H i s commandments; to l o v e one's neighbour means to Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 35 l i k e t o p r a c t i c e a l l d u t i e s towards him. But the command t h a t makes t h i s a r u l e cannot command us to have t h i s d i s p o s i t i o n i n a c t i o n s con-formed t o duty, but o n l y t o endeavour a f t e r i t . For t o command to l i k e t o do a t h i n g i s in i t s e l f c o n t r a d i c t o r y . Because i f we a l r e a d y know of o u r s e l v e s what we a r e bound t o do, and i f f u r t h e r we a r e c o n s c i o u s of l i k i n g to do i t , a command would be q u i t e n e e d l e s s ; and i f we do i t not w i l l i n g l y , but o n l y out of r e s p e c t f o r a law, a command t h a t makes t h i s r e s p e c t the motive of our maxim would d i r e c t l y c o u n t e r a c t the d i s p o s i t i o n commanded.3'* M a c h i a v e l 1 i ' s o r d e r i s based upon f e a r , whereas the s o c i a l o r d e r t h a t the Church would endeavour t o teach i s one of \" c o o p e r a t i v e i n t e r a c t i o n \" based upon l o v e . T h i s i d e a was a r t i c u l a t e d by S i r John Cheke i n The True Subject and the Rebel, f o r as he says l o v e i s the u n i f y i n g motive amongst pe o p l e . Love i s not the knot o n l y of the Commonwealth, whereby d i v e r s e p a r t s be p e r f e c t l y j o i n e d t o g e t h e r i n one p o l i t i c body, but a l s o the s t r e n g t h and might of the same, g a t h e r i n g t o g e t h e r i n t o one s m a l l room with o r d e r , which, s c a t t e r e d , would e l s e breed c o n f u s i o n and d e b a t e . 3 0 The power of l o v e t o s t r e n g t h e n and u n i f y the commonwealth as a whole i s at the h e a r t of S i r Thomas Mare's Utopia and Shakespeare's The Tempest. D i v i s i o n i s fundamental, but love t r a n s c e n d s d i v i s i o n . However, d e s p i t e the n a i v e t y of t h i s v i s i o n , which sounds ve r y much l i k e the f a c i l e i d e a l i s m of Gonzalo who would r u l e h i s kingdom by \" c o n t r a r i e s \" , Burke r e v e a l s i n h i s book Dramatism and Development how the absence of j u s t such a n a i v e v i s i o n l e a d s to the n e c e s s i t y of tragedy as a c a t h a r t i c . As he says, When working out a \" c y c l e of terms i m p l i c i t i n the i d e a of o r d e r \" , I became more and more co n v i n c e d of the tremendous p r e s s u r e s toward a Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 36 s a c r i f i c i a l motive which the nature o-f human c o n g r e g a t i o n b u i l d s up. Hence the c o n s t a n t i n c e n t i v e to v i c t i m i z e . , the d i a l e c t i c of which adds up t o a d e s i g n t h a t c o u l d be c a l l e d \" c o n g r e g a t i o n by s e g r e g a t i o n . \" 3 * The t h e a t r e thus p r o v i d e s a s o c i e t y t h a t l a c k s u n i t y with the s a c r i f i c i a l v i c t i m s t h a t a r e n e c e s s a r y w i t h i n i t s e s t a b l i s h e d o r d e r . But the g r e a t d i f f e r e n c e between the t h e a t r e and the world i t s e l f i s the o b v i o u s f a c t t h a t the v i c t i m i z a t i o n i s mere make-be 1i eve. Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 37 THE TRAGIC PERSPECTIVE F o r c e s h o u l d be r i g h t ; or r a t h e r , r i g h t and w r o n g -Between whose e n d l e s s j a r j u s t i c e r e s i d e s — Should l o s e t h e i r names, and so s h o u l d j u s t i c e too. Troilus and Cressida I . i i i . 1 1 6 - 1 8 . Although I do not presume to d e f i n e \"tragedy\" as a l i t e r a r y form, I would l i k e to d e f i n e what I s h a l l r e f e r t o as the \" t r a g i c p e r s p e c t i v e \" . In the l i g h t of Kenneth Burke's w r i t i n g s , I would argue t h a t the t r a g i c p e r s p e c t i v e i s p a r t i c u l a r l y a p p r o p r i a t e f o r the study of the H i s t o r y P l a y s ; f o r , as he s a y s , drama u l t i m a t e l y a p p e a l s to the audience and i t s a t t i t u d e s : I developed a t h e o r y of l i t e r a r y form designed to d i s c u s s the work of a r t i n _ i t s e _ l f , as a s e t of i n t e r n a ] , r e l a t i o n s h i p s to be a n a l y z e d and a p p r e c i a t e d i n t h e i r own r i g h t . But i n the c o u r s e of c o n s i d e r i n g how such p r i n c i p l e s of form and s t y l e became \" i n d i v i d u a t e d \" i n terms of the d e t a i l s proper t o each p a r t i c u l a r case, t h i s l i n e of thought ended with the r e c o g n i t i o n t h a t the a r t i s t u l t i m a t e l y a p p e a l s to an a u d i e n c e ' s a t t i t u d e s , which a r e u l t i m a t e l y grounded i n n a t u r a l s u s c e p t i b i l i t i e s q u i t e o u t s i d e t h e i r r o l e i n any one s p e c i f i c a r t i s t i c t r a d i t i o n . 1 Aware of the i n a d e q u a c i e s of an a e s t h e t i c approach t o the drama, one must take i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n the p o s s i b i l i t y of a s o r t of communion at work between a r t i s t and a u d i e nce. S.C. Rowan, i n h i s Ph.D T h e s i s e n t i t l e d A Dancing of Attitudes, a r t i c u l a t e s t h i s when he s a y s t h a t A e s t h e t i c t h e o r i e s t h a t s u s p e c t d i d a c t i c i s m , i d e o l o g y , or paraphrase of any k i n d as n e c e s s a r i l y p a r t i s a n d i s t o r t i o n s of e x p e r i e n c e Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 38 •focus a t t e n t i o n on the s t r u c t u r e of a work i t s e l f as a \" r e c o n c i l i a t i o n of o p p o s i t e s \" ( C o l e r i d g e ) or a b a l a n c i n g of t e n s i o n s ( R i c h a r d ' s ) and not on the a r t i s t or the audience as communicating a n y t h i n g through the s t r u c t u r e . 3 2 The g u l f between the p e r c e i v e r and the t h i n g p e r c e i v e d i s b r i d g e d by e x p e r i e n c e , and the problem f o r the o b j e c t i v e c r i t i c i s t h a t e x p e r i e n c e i s f i l t e r e d through h i g h l y s u b j e c t i v e \" t e r m i n i s t i c s c r e e n s \" : the language of terms t h a t we use to e x p r e s s our e x p e r i e n c e of what we p e r c e i v e , but t h a t f a i l s t o encompass t h a t which i s observed. An o b j e c t i v e p e r s p e c t i v e seems t o recede a g a i n . U l t i m a t e l y , we a r e s e p a r a t e d from even our own e x p e r i e n c e through the ve r y a r t i c u l a t i o n of the e x p e r i e n c e . The v a l u e of t h i s approach t o drama i s t h a t we can be g i n t o see the s o r t of c o n f l i c t s t h a t perhaps cannot be r e s o l v e d but at l e a s t can be r e c o g n i z e d . And perhaps the o b j e c t i v e of the drama i s t o c r e a t e t h i s d i v i s i o n i n the c o l l e c t i v e a u d i e nce i n order t h a t i t may b e g i n t o see i t s e l f . The d i v i s i o n i s a r e f l e c t i o n of the d i v i s i o n i n h e r e n t i n man, who remains the c r e a t o r of the \" b a t t l e f i e l d \" and i s always s u b j e c t t o i t s ravages. The t r a g i c p e r s p e c t i v e c o n f r o n t s the audience wi t h t h i s momentary r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t r e g a r d l e s s of our p a r t i c u l a r views of the world, we see \"the s u r v i v a l of a l l a t t i t u d e s , h o n e s t l y r e c o g n i z i n g the t r u t h of each p e r s p e c t i v e . \" 3 T h i s i s an e s s e n t i a l l y \"emotive\" response, but f o r the p l a y w r i g h t who t a k e s d e l i g h t i n f a c t i o n i t i s merely the r e s u l t of a \" p a r l i a m e n t of a t t i t u d e s \" t h a t i s a f a c t of l i f e . And i t i s on the n e u t r a l and Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 39 a b s t r a c t s t a g e t h a t Shakespeare p r e s e n t s the audience with a glimpse of the t o r t u r e d s o u l o-f the deposed R i c h a r d at one moment and the s c a r r e d -face o-f England a t the B a t t l e o-f Bosworth at another. The t r a g i c p e r s p e c t i v e i s e s s e n t i a l l y the a t t a i n m e n t o-f an u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h a t i n v o l v e s the c o l l a p s e o-f one's \" u n d e r s t a n d i n g \" o-f the world. Rowan argues t h a t t h i s momentous p e r s p e c t i v e i s a c h i e v e d i n something so a p p a r e n t l y i n s i g n i f i c a n t as the pun: The pun shows i n l i t t l e what Shakespeare i s doing throughout a p l a y : combining \" p e r s p e c t i v e s by i n c o n g r u i t y \" , a r g u i n g o p p o s i t e s , and i n c l u d i n g a \" p a r l i a m e n t \" of a t t i t u d e s on the s u b j e c t he i s c o n t e m p l a t i n g . A pun ... i s the commonest and s m a l l e s t p r a c t i c a l m a n i f e s t a t i o n of the f r a g i l i t y of d e f i n i t i o n s . S i n c e a word i s a d e f i n e r - -e x i s t s to f i x q u a s i - p h y s i c a l l i m i t s to an i d e a - - t h e e x p e r i e n c e of p e r c e i v i n g a pun i s a r e a l , though a d m i t t e d l y p e t t y , e x p e r i e n c e of c o l l a p s i n g l i m i t s . 4 Not o n l y does tr a g e d y i n v o l v e a breakdown of the p o l i t i c a l o r d e r , i t a l s o i s i m p l i c i t l y i n v o l v e d w i t h the breakdown of• l a n g u a g e i t s e l f . And as we l i v e by \" l i n g u i s t i c c o n c e p t s \" t h a t a r e v e r b a l l y moulded, such a breakdown of language i t s e l f throws a l l o t h e r p a r t i a l p e r s p e c t i v e s beneath the r e l a t i v e i m p a r t i a l i t y of the t r a g i c p e r s p e c t i v e t h a t i s i n c l u s i v e as opposed t o e x c l u s i v e . As long as the s a c r i f i c i a l impulse i n man needs t o p r o j e c t i n t e r n a l c o n f l i c t s out i n t o the world, s a c r i f i c i a l v i c t i m s w i l l be n e c e s s a r y ; u n t i l t h i s need f o r s a c r i f i c e can be i n t e r n a l i z e d so t h a t we can d i e i n o r d e r to be reborn each day, then the e x t e r n a l m a n i f e s t a t i o n s of v i c t i m i z a t i o n w i l l be enacted i n r e a l i t y as opposed to on the s t a g e . In o t h e r words, the s t a g e Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 40 w i l l c o n t i n u e to re-Flect the r e a l i t y . Through the v i c a r i o u s i d e n t i f i c a t i o n with an a t t i t u d e and i t s subsequent death, our a t t i t u d e s are wrought to c r i s i s , and we bear w i t n e s s to our own subsequent death. As we a r e d e n i e d the t r a g i c p e r s p e c t i v e t h a t i s r e l e v a n t to our own l i v e s , because i t i s e s s e n t i a l l y a r e t r o s p e c t i v e wisdom, we a r e l e f t t o r e c o n s i d e r the p r i n c i p l e s upon which we base our views of the world. The i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the world i s i t s e l f an a c t , and as i t a f f e c t s subsequent a c t i o n , i t must be an e t h i c a l a c t . I would argue t h a t t r a g e d y c o n f r o n t s the audience with the t e r r i f y i n g p o s s i b i l i t y of t r u l y e t h i c a l a c t i o n . Burke s t a t e s t h i s much when he says, A c t i o n i s f u n d a m e n t a l l y e t h i c a l , s i n c e i t i n v o l v e s p r e f e r e n c e s . P o e t r y i s e t h i c a l . O c c u p a t i o n and p r e o c c u p a t i o n a r e e t h i c a l . The e t h i c a l shapes our s e l e c t i o n of means. I t shapes our s t r u c t u r e s of o r i e n t a t i o n , w h i l e these i n t u r n shape the p e r c e p t i o n s of the i n d i v i d u a l s born w i t h i n the o r i e n t a t i o n . Hence i t r a d i c a l l y a f f e c t s our c o o p e r a t i v e p r o c e s s e s . The e t h i c a l i s thus l i n k e d with the c ommunicative. 3 The t r a g i c p e r s p e c t i v e , t h e r e f o r e , with i t s emphasis on the m u l t i p l i c i t y of meanings t h a t encompasses any event, encourages the audience to adopt a a t t i t u d e t h a t i s e s s e n t i a l l y \" s u p e r i o r \" to those a t t i t u d e s l i t e r a l l y p r e s e n t e d on the s t a g e . In t h i s sense Shakespeare's H i s t o r y P l a y s may be regarded as r h e t o r i c a l . And Rowan argues t h a t Burke's r h e t o r i c has such an o b j e c t i v e i n mind when he says, C e n t r a l t o Burke's r h e t o r i c i s h i s d e f i n i t i o n of man as a symbol-using animal and h i s d e f i n i t i o n of r h e t o r i c as p e r s u a s i o n to change Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 41 through \" i d e n t i f i c a t i o n \" with a symbol of o r d e r . \" R h e t o r i c \" , he says, \" i s r o o t e d i n an e s s e n t i a l f u n c t i o n of language i t s e l f , a f u n c t i o n t h a t i s wh o l l y r e a l i s t i c , and i s c o n t i n u a l l y born anew; the use of language as a sy m b o l i c means of i n d u c i n g c o o p e r a t i o n i n be i n g s t h a t by nature respond to symbols.\"'* And the r h e t o r i c a l f u n c t i o n of the drama may be regarded as an attempt t o induce c o o p e r a t i o n through the o b j e c t i v e study of human na t u r e . And the h i s t o r i a n , as Walsh says , i s concerned with \" g e n e r a l judgments about human na t u r e t t h a t l have an important p a r t to p l a y i n h i s t o r i c a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n and e x p l a n a t i o n . \" 7 \" I m p l i c i t i n a l l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s and e x p l a n a t i o n s a r e c o r r e s p o n d i n g e t h i c a l frameworks, and at the r o o t s of the e t h i c a l t h e r e i s tra g e d y . Tragedy i s a complex k i n d of t r i a l by j u r y i n which the author s y m b o l i c a l l y c h a r g e s h i m s e l f or h i s c h a r a c t e r s with t r a n s g r e s s i o n s not n e c e s s a r i l y c o n s i d e r e d t r a n s g r e s s i o n s i n law, and metes out condemnation and penance by t e s t s f a r deeper than any t h a t c o u l d be c o d i f i e d by law.\" Tragedy l i t e r a l l y goes beyond the l e t t e r of the law t o examine the p r i n c i p l e s upon which a c t i o n i s based, and t h i s i s p o s s i b l e because the audience r e c o g n i z e s the a t t i t u d e s t h a t a r e s y m b o l i c a l l y p r e s e n t e d on the s t a g e . In the p r o c e s s the ground i s l i t e r a l l y taken from beneath our f e e t . The t r a g i c p e r s p e c t i v e encompasses two d i a m e t r i c a l l y apposed views of man i n the world: he i s e i t h e r a p o l i t i c a l animal t h a t i s doomed to c y c l i c a l r e p e t i t i o n s of h i s t o r y ; or he i s c a p a b l e of becoming p o l i t i c a l l y humane and c o n s e q u e n t l y a b l e t o shape the Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 42 e v o l u t i o n a r y p r o c e s s t h a t i s h i s t o r y . But as Burke says , \"the p r i n c i p l e o-f v i c t i m a g e p l a y s so e s s e n t i a l a r o l e , we Cmust3 ask o u r s e l v e s whether human s o c i e t i e s c o u l d p o s s i b l y cohere without symbolic v i c t i m s which the i n d i v i d u a l members of the group share i n common.\"5\" Perhaps by i n t e r n a l i z i n g the c o n f l i c t s , the members of a s o c i e t y may m a i n t a i n a s o c i a l h i e r a r c h y t h a t does not r e q u i r e v i c t i m i z a t i o n f o r i t s c o h e s i o n . The s t a g e p r o v i d e s the medium through which the audience may v i c a r i o u s l y f i n d e x t e r n a l s c a p e g o a t s t o i d e n t i f y with and s a c r i f i c e . The s e l f - r e f l e x i v e d e v i s e t h a t i s so s e l f - c o n s c i o u s l y used i n Hamlet to r e f l e c t the m u l t i p l e frameworks t h a t can be brought t o bear on i n t e r p r e t i n g r e a l i t y i s brought to the au d i e n c e ' s a t t e n t i o n throughout the p l a y . The r h e t o r i c a l purpose of the p 1 a y - w i t h i n - t h e - p l a y i s t o \"c a t c h the c o n s c i e n c e of the k i n g \" , and as each i s a r u l e r of some s o r t , and each i s u l t i m a t e l y monarch over h i s thoughts, perhaps the r h e t o r i c a l purpose of the H i s t o r y P l a y s i s l i k e w i s e to c a t c h the c o n s c i e n c e of the o b s e r v e r . So, the H i s t o r y P l a y s may be regarded as \" m i r r o r s f o r m a g i s t r a t e s \" i n g e n e r a l as opposed to \" m i r r o r s of E l i z a b e t h a n p o l i c y \" i n p a r t i c u l a r . 1 0 Although Campbell m a i n t a i n s a fundamental s p l i t between tragedy and h i s t o r y , s a y i n g t h a t Tragedy d e a l s with an e t h i c a l world; h i s t o r y with a p o l i t i c a l world. In tragedy God avenges p r i v a t e s i n s - - i n h i s t o r y the Ki n g of k i n g s avenges p u b l i c s i n s , those of k i n g and subj e c t a l i k e . 1 1 Shakespeare's H i s t o r y P l a y s narrow t h i s gap t o d e a l with the p o l i t i c a l world w i t h i n an e t h i c a l framework; the r e s u l t i s t h a t Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 43 h i s t o r y and t r a g e d y become one: t r a g i c a l - h i s t o r i c a l , or perhaps h i s t o r i c a ' l - t r a g i c a l . Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 44 King R i c h a r d I I ' s Loss o-f the Crown of England The times are always out o-f j o i n t : and the weak men, s t r o n g men, good men, and bad men who t r y to r e - a r t i c u l a t e them are a.1.1 f u mblers, or so compromised t h a t t h e i r v e r y s k i l l i s v a i n . A.P. R o s s i t e r P r i n c e H a l , a c u t e l y aware o-f the f a c t t h a t p e o p l e a r e prone to misjudge \" a c t i o n \" , s t a t e s the t e r r i f y i n g p h i l o s o p h y t h a t a man i s not o n l y d e s t i n e d to be judged i n the l i g h t of h i s l i f e as a whole but a l s o t h a t h i s own misjudgments are beyond h i s 'own comprehension, when he says, \"Let the end t r y the man.\" 1 Such a view seems to preempt a l l d i s c u s s i o n . But, i r o n i c a l l y , i t i s the r e a l i z a t i o n of the depth of our misjudgments t h a t i s encouraged by the s k i l l f u l d r a m a t i s t who p e r m i t s us t o i n d u l g e i n our \" p r e j u d i c e s \" i n order to r e v e a l them. T h i s p a t t e r n of e d u c a t i o n i s p a r t i c u l a r l y dominant i n the second t e t r a l o g y , and i s p o w e r f u l l y d r a m a t i z e d when Ki n g Henry IV denounces h i s son f o r i n t e n t i o n s t h a t he t h i n k s w i l l l e a d t o even more d r e a d f u l a c t s than the a c t of t a k i n g the crown; as he \" f o r e s e e s \" the imminent d i s s o l u t i o n of h i s kingdom, the audience sees the h o r r i b l e t r u t h of the s i t u a t i o n . The c o m p l e x i t y of the s i t u a t i o n , i n which Hal must s t r u g g l e with h i s r e l i g i o u s f a i t h , h i s f u t u r e f e a l t y to the kingdom and the p e o p l e of England, and h i s l o v e f o r h i s f a t h e r , c o n f r o n t s the audience with an i n t e n s e l y emotional drama i n which we sympathize with both of the c h a r a c t e r s ; and at the v e r y h e a r t Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 45 of the drama, j u s t as at the v e r y h e a r t o-f Shakespeare's H i s t o r y P l a y s , l i e s the Crown o-f England. I t i s t h a t s i l e n t and yet most el o q u e n t symbol o-f a u t h o r i t y t h a t Hal u p b r a i d s by s a y i n g , ... thou b e s t o-f g o l d a r t worst of g o l d . Other, l e s s f i n e i n c a r a t , i s more p r e c i o u s , P r e s e r v i n g l i f e i n med'cine p o t a b l e ; But thou, most f i n e , most honour'd, most renown'd Hast eat thy b e a r e r u p . = T h i s i s a theme t h a t runs through the e n t i r e e p i c sweep of the H i s t o r y P l a y s : the Crown consumes i t s b e a r e r s . The a u t h o r i t y t h a t i s bestowed upon i t s b e a r e r i s a burden too g r e a t f o r a s i n g l e man to assume and m a i n t a i n because h i s judgments, words, and deeds determine the f a t e of h i s kingdom, h i s s u b j e c t s , and h i s l i f e . The r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t h a t a k i n g i n h e r i t s i s enormous, and h i s thoughts and judgments must remain as i n s u b s t a n t i a l as the d i s c o r d a n t sounds on Rumor's p i p e : Blown by s u r m i s e s , j e a l o u s i e s , c o n j e c t u r e s , And of so easy and so p l a i n a stop That the b l u n t monster with uncovered heads, The s t i 1 1 - d i s c o r d a n t wav'ring m u l t i t u d e , Can p l a y upon i t . 3 The k i n g who i s s e t above the m u l t i t u d e i s s u b j e c t to the same misjudgments t h a t the audience sees a t p l a y i n the drama; however, the consequences of those misjudgments a r e much d i f f e r e n t as the k i n g ' s head i s u n e a s i l y \"covered\" with a crown, w h i l e the heads of h i s s u b j e c t s remain \"uncovered\" and y e t s u b j e c t t o the w i l l of t h e i r k i n g . The k i n g i s as s u b j e c t to the crown t h a t he wears as the p e o p l e a r e t o h i s w i l l . Because so much symbolic meaning i s i n v e s t e d i n the Crown of Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 46 England, the l o s s o-f what the \"worn crown\" means i s d e v a s t a t i n g . Thus, I have e n t i t l e d t h i s c h a p t e r \"King R i c h a r d I I ' s L o s s of the Crown of England\". Such an h i s t o r i c a l f a c t i s of concern to the c h r o n i c l e r , but whether the crown was i n f a c t l o s t , g i v e n , or taken i s the ambiguous s t u f f of drama t h a t the p l a y w r i g h t -h i s t o r i a n i s concerned w i t h . The worlds of h i s t o r y and drama a r e p u b l i c , and the o b s e r v e r of the r e c o r d e d speeches and a c t i o n s t h a t make up these worlds must always be confounded i n h i s s e a r c h f o r i n t e n t i o n s . The ob s e r v e r , l i k e the d i s t r a c t e d Hamlet, i s caught between the o b s e r v a b l e r e a l i t y , the s t a g e p r e s e n t a t i o n (the au d i e n c e ' s macrocosm), and the imagined r e a l i t y which i s c o n j u r e d up in the i m a g i n a t i o n of each i n d i v i d u a l (the microcosm). As Harry L e v i n says, When Hamlet c u d g e l s h i s b r a i n s by p u t t i n g h i s hands t o h i s head and s p e a k i n g of \" t h i s d i s t r a c t e d g lobe\", he i s p o s i t i n g a r e l a t i o n s h i p between the microcosm of man's i n t e l l i g e n c e and the macrocosm, the o u t e r world ( I . v . 9 7 ) . He may l i k e w i s e have been s u g g e s t i n g ... how t h a t d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e r e l a t i o n s h i p might f i n d a c o n n e c t i n g l i n k through the t h e a t r i c a l medium, and through a p a r t i c u l a r t h e a t r e known as the Globe.\" The audience, aware of the f a c t t h a t the world of the drama i s a r t i f i c i a l , i s c o n f r o n t e d with a drama t h a t p u r p o r t s t o be h i s t o r i c a l . The r e s u l t i s t h a t a r t i f i c e i s tran s f o r m e d i n t o r e a l i t y : h i s t o r y i s r e c r e a t e d w i t h \"A Kingdom f o r a s t a g e , p r i n c e s t o a c t And monarchs t o behold the s w e l l i n g s c e n e ! \" 3 At the b e g i n n i n g of Richard II, K i n g R i c h a r d i s seen as a Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 47 se 1 f -cause i ous p u b l i c a c t o r ; by the time we see him i n Pom-fret C a s t l e , R i c h a r d has become a p r i v a t e man whose thoughts a r e s e l f -c o n s c i o u s l y p o r t r a y e d by a p u b l i c a c t o r . F i n a l l y , he comes to the l o n e l y and \" s e l f - c o n s c i o u s \" p e r s p e c t i v e t h a t i s a s s o c i a t e d with the t r a g i c hero's r e a l i z a t i o n : he a t t a i n s an u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h a t i s p u r e l y r e t r o s p e c t i v e . The i m p l i c a t i o n of t h i s i s t h a t each \" a c t o r \" i s ul_t i.mate_l_y_ the judge of h i s a c t i o n s : i n a word, \" c o n s c i e n c e \" . The audience, however, tends t o succumb to the hybris i m p l i c i t i n j u d g i n g the a c t i o n of another. We must ask the q u e s t i o n whether or not Shakespeare i s d e l i c a t e l y j u d g i n g the p r a c t i c e of having a kingdom governed by a monarch. The k i n g h i m s e l f becomes the s a c r i f i c i a l v i c t i m , who i s l i t e r a l l y consumed by the kingdom he governs, f o r the sake of h i s c o u n t r y . \"He\", or r a t h e r the r o l e t h a t i s bestowed upon him, becomes the cause of c o n f l i c t and the l o s s of h i s l i f e \"redeems\" the c o n f l i c t , temporar i 1 y . The man who becomes a k i n g must l o s e h i s i d e n t i t y i n order to f u l f i l l the demanding r o l e of the k i n g . He must i n f a c t d i e as he c a s t s away the f l e s h , h i s g r o s s and i m p e r f e c t body, t o f i l l the robes of s t a t e . Thus, K i n g Henry V must c a s t away the f a t F a l s t a f f t o assume h i s new found a u t h o r i t y on h i s c o r o n a t i o n day. The supreme i r o n y i s t h a t the audience i n v a r i a b l y p i t i e s the ve r y human and - f a l l i b l e o l d man, w h i l e o b j e c t i n g t o the c a l l o u s treatment he r e c e i v e s from the young k i n g . The k i n g i s not a man; he i s the p a r t he p l a y s — t h e k i n g . The man who cannot p l a y t h i s p a r t e f f e c t i v e l y i s thus the s u b j e c t of t r a g e d y . The H i s t o r y P l a y s may i n a ve r y s u b t l e way be c r i t i c i z i n g the Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 48 inhumanity i m p l i c i t i n the i d e a o-f k i n g s h i p i t s e l - f . T r i a l K i ng R i c h a r d I I , as he appears i n the s o u r c e s and i n Shakespeare's Richard II, i s regarded as a man who - f a i l s t o d i s t i n g u i s h between \"ceremonial a c t i o n \" and \" a c t i o n \" , and the consequences a r e d e v a s t a t i n g . As the symbolic head o-f the E n g l i s h l e g i s l a t u r e , he i s asked t o j udge a c o n f l i c t between two of h i s n o b l e s who both swear on oath t h a t they a r e f a i t h f u l t o t h e i r k i n g and s i m u l t a n e o u s l y accuse each o t h e r of t r e a c h e r y . Thus, at the v e r y b e g i n n i n g of the whole e p i c drama t h a t spanned the y e a r s from 1399 t o 1485 as p r e s e n t e d by Raphael H o l i n s h e d and Edward H a l l i n t h e i r c h r o n i c l e s and s u b s e q u e n t l y r e - p r e s e n t e d by Shakespeare i n h i s H i s t o r y P l a y s from Richard II t o Richard III, the problem of \"judgment\" i s foremast. The r o l e of the k i n g i s determined by ceremony, and when the p e r s o n a l i t y of the man beneath the robes becomes the dominant determinant of a c t i o n , then the p e r f e c t i n t e g r i t y of h i s r o l e i s j e o p a r d i z e d and with i t , h i s kingdom. Thus, the p o e t i c c h a r a c t e r of K i n g R i c h a r d II i s seen t o be deposed by the \" c h a r a c t e r l e s s \" B o l i n g b r o k e and the M a c h i a v e l l i a n K i n g R i c h a r d I I I i s seen t o be deposed by the \" c h a r a c t e r l e s s \" Richmond. Leonard Dean s u g g e s t s t h a t we tend t o f e e l the presence of \" c h a r a c t e r \" o n l y when p e r s o n a l i t y exceeds drama t i c r o l e and t h a t B o l i n g b r o k e seems c h a r a c t e r l e s s i n comparison t o R i c h a r d because he i s p e r f e c t l y f u n c t i o n a l , i s o n l y what he has to do i n the p l a y and n o t h i n g more. 1 The problem i s t h a t the k i n g , b e i n g an \" i n c a r n a t e symbol\" whose Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 4? e v e r y a c t i o n i s a \"symbolic a c t i o n \" , i s d e s t i n e d t o - f a i l to be p e r f e c t as a k i n g ; t o be p e r f e c t he would have to f a i l as a man in the p u b l i c ' s r e g a r d . In the opening exchange between K i n g R i c h a r d and John of Gaunt, not o n l y a r e we i n t r o d u c e d t o the s u b j e c t s t h a t seek a r b i t r a t i o n from t h e i r k i n g but a l s o t o the d r a m a t i c s u b j e c t of the p l a y . B o l i n g b r o k e and Mowbray, a c c u s i n g each o t h e r of t r e a c h e r y w h i l e each m a i n t a i n i n g h i s u n f a i l i n g l o y a l t y t o h i s monarch by e x p o s i n g the heinous crime of h i s a d v e r s a r y , stand f o r a c o n f l i c t t h a t i s of paramount concern to any r u l e r : the p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t a man's word i s not i n f a c t h i s bond. These are the s u b j e c t s t h a t t h r e a t e n o r d e r ; i t i s the d i s p a r i t y between what i s s a i d and what i s done i n t h i s opening scene t h a t r e v e a l s the weakness of the k i n g , or r a t h e r the \" c h a r a c t e r \" of the k i n g , and foreshadows the consequent d i s o r d e r i n the s t a t e and the subsequent mental d i s o r d e r t h a t R i c h a r d e x p e r i e n c e s at Pomfret C a s t l e when he comes t o r e a l i z e the g r a v i t y of h i s s i t u a t i o n : i n r e t r o s p e c t , he understands what i t i s t o be a k i n g and, s i m u l t a n e o u s l y , a deposed k i n g . B e f o r e I approach the c h a r a c t e r of King R i c h a r d , a d i s c u s s i o n of the c h a r a c t e r of o l d John of Gaunt as p o r t r a y e d by Shakespeare i s of consequence. The h i g h l y c o n t e n t i o u s nobleman of the s o u r c e s i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y absent i n Shakespeare's gaunt o l d man. H o l i n s h e d reminds us t h a t King R i c h a r d aggravated many of the n o b l e s , e s p e c i a l l y h i s u n c l e s , by h i s i r r e s p o n s i b l e b e h a v i o u r : Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 50 t i n 13973 K i n g R i c h a r d , r e c e i v i n g sums o-f money -for the which the s t r o n g town o-f B r e s t was engaged to him,, by e v i l c o u n s e l (as many thought) d e l i v e r e d i t unto the Duke of B r i t t a n y , by reason whereof no s m a l l spark o-f d i s p l e a s u r e arose b e t w i x t the k i n g and the Duke o-f G l o u c e s t e r . 5 2 T h i s r e f e r s t o the p r e t e x t t h a t R o s s i t e r argues i s e s s e n t i a l f o r a comprehensive u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the opening of the p l a y and i s d r a m a t i c a l l y p r e s e n t e d i n Woodstock. Such an argument i s r e d u c t i v e because the opening scene of Richard II i s , I m a i n t a i n , s p e c i f i c a l l y d e s i g n e d to p r e v e n t the audience from \"knowing\" the t r u e n a t u r e of the c o n f l i c t between B o l i n g b r o k e and Mowbray. The f a c t t h a t t h e r e i s a c o n f l i c t and t h a t R i c h a r d doesn't d e a l w i t h i t e f f e c t i v e l y i s the p o i n t of the scene. Shakespeare's King R i c h a r d a c t u a l l y encourages c o n f l i c t . H a l l a l s o d e s c r i b e s how K i n g R i c h a r d ' s c h a r a c t e r was such t h a t he f o s t e r e d c o n f l i c t : Kyng R i c h a r d e ... l i t l e or nothyng regarded the counsai11 of h i s u n c l e s , nor of o t h e r grave and sadde persones, but d i d a l l thyng a t h i s p l e a s u r e , s e t t y n g h i s w i l l and a p p e t i t e i n s t e d e of lawe and r e a s o n . 3 John of Gaunt, b e i n g one of K i n g R i c h a r d ' s u n c l e s , d i d not approve of h i s conduct and was not i n f a c t as r e t i c e n t as the o l d man t h a t Shakespeare p r e s e n t s . Shakespeare's Gaunt r e p r e s e n t s an o l d o rder t h a t i s seen to be outmoded. He i s the p e r s o n i f i c a t i o n o-f a s e t of v a l u e s t h a t informs an e t h i c a l code of conduct i n which a s u b j e c t ' s word i s h i s band of a l l e g i a n c e . K i n g R i c h a r d ' s f o r m a l opening speech draws our a t t e n t i o n to t h i s tenuous bond between monarch and s u b j e c t . I t i s tenuous Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 51 because as we see i n the -following scene a s u b j e c t ' s word i s e a s i l y broken, i-f not s e r i o u s l y compromised, by what he does; t h i s i s c l e a r l y demonstrated i n the q u a r r e l between B o l i n g b r o k e and Mowbray i n which two sworn s u b j e c t s p u r p o r t t o be f a i t h - f u l t o t h e i r k i n g w h i l e each s i m u l t a n e o u s l y swears t h a t the o t h e r i s a t r a i t o r . The opening exchange, i n which o r d e r i s based upon n o t h i n g more s u b s t a n t i a l than a v e r b a l c o n t r a c t , i s a r e - f l e c t i o n of the f r a g i l i t y of a k i n g ' s power. The whole s o c i a l f a b r i c i s flawed when words ar e misused. Thus, Shakespeare opens the p l a y by having King R i c h a r d a d d r e s s one of h i s noblemen i n the fo11owi ng way: Richard'. Old John of Gaunt, time-honored L a n c a s t e r , Hast thou a c c o r d i n g to thy oath and band Brought h i t h e r Henry H e r e f o r d , thy b o l d son, Here to make good the b o i s t r a u s l a t e a p p e a l , Which then our l e i s u r e would not l e t us hear, A g a i n s t the Duke of N o r f o l k , Thomas Mowbray? Gaunt % I have, my l i e g e . \" A man's t i t l e and h i s word ar e i n e x t r i c a b l e . The c e r e m o n i a l use of language, c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the c h i v a l r i c code, i s however t h r e a t e n e d i n the e n s u i n g scene. And the q u a r r e l between the two a d v e r s a r i e s must not be r e s o l v e d by words, but by a c t i o n . Robert O r n s t e i n emphasizes t h i s importance i m p l i c i t i n the use of language: Words ar e of immense consequence i n a f e u d a l world, where so much depends on o a t h s , t i t 1 e s , and names, and where f o r the sake of a name, men w i l l take arms a g a i n s t a k i n g , as R i c h a r d l e a r n s when he t r i e s to e r a s e the name of L a n c a s t e r . 3 The i n t e g r i t y of the k i n g ' s word, and a s u b j e c t ' s oath i s in e f f e c t n o t h i n g more than h i s k i n g ' s word, i s t h r e a t e n e d by both Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 52 B o l i n g b r o k e and Mowbray; King R i c h a r d , unaware o-f the g r a v i t y o-f the s i t u a t i o n , does not r e a l i z e the -fact t h a t the q u a r r e l must be d e c i d e d i n the l i s t s : t r i a l by combat i s the o n l y s o l u t i o n when language \"breaks down\".* The onus thus p l a c e d on the k i n g ' s word i s o-f supreme import, as r e v e a l e d i n the p r o v e r b , \"The k i n g ' s word i s more than another man's oath.'\"\" The drama stems -from the -fact t h a t King R i c h a r d does not determine t h a t the c o n t e s t a n t s s h o u l d r e s o l v e the c o n f l i c t by r e s o r t i n g t o armed combat. Unable to a r b i t r a t e the q u a r r e l h i m s e l f , he must have r e c o u r s e to a d i v i n e l y s a n c t i o n e d , a l b e i t somewhat crude i n i t s e f f e c t , form of rough j u s t i c e . Thus, a f t e r much e q u i v o c a t i o n , King R i c h a r d r e f e r s the case of \" B o l i n g b r o k e v e r s u s Mowbray\" t o t r i a l by combat i n the l i s t s at Coventry: There s h a l l your swords and l a n c e s a r b i t r a t e The s w e l l i n g d i f f e r e n c e of your hate: S i n c e we cannot atone you, we s h a l l see J u s t i c e d e s i g n the v i c t o r ' s c h i v a l r y . Richard II I.i.200-3. Having passed t h i s judgment, he has committed h i m s e l f t o s i l e n c e ; to i n t e r r u p t the c o u r s e of events i s t o c o n t r a d i c t not o n l y h i m s e l f but a l s o a \" d i v i n e l y s a n c t i o n e d \" form of J u s t i c e . 9 Although Shakespeare compresses the t h r e e s t a g e development of the c o n f l i c t between B o l i n g b r o k e and Mowbray i n t o two scenes, the drama i s s t r i k i n g l y f a i t h f u l to the h i s t o r i c a l d e t a i l s as p r e s e n t e d i n H o l i n s h e d , H a l l , and F r o i s s a r t . The f i r s t s t a g e took p l a c e at the end of the p a r l i a m e n t a r y s e s s i o n a t Shrewsbury; Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 53 the second, at Windsor C a s t l e ; and the t h i r d , a t Coventry i n the l i s t s . The h i s t o r i c a l q u a r r e l i s g i v e n prime s i g n i f i c a n c e by Shakespeare i n h i s H i s t o r y P l a y , as i t i s by the c h r o n i c l e r s , by e q u a t i n g the d r a m a t i c r e - p r e s e n t a t i o n with the r e c o r d e d h i s t o r i c a l drama and p l a c i n g i t at the b e g i n n i n g o-f Richard II. In Shakespeare's English Kings, P e t e r S a c c i o r e c o r d s the s t a g e s of the drama i n r e l a t i o n t o the h i s t o r i c a l f a c t s . B o l i n g b r o k e charged N o r f o l k with t r e a s o n b e f o r e p a r l i a m e n t i n January 1398. P a r l i a m e n t then near the end of i t s s e s s i o n , s e t up a committee of l o r d s and k n i g h t s t o d e a l with the charge. The second meeting ... , i n A p r i l , p r o v i d e d Shakespeare wi t h the opening scene of Richard II.* The f i r s t meeting was not, as H o l i n s h e d c l e a r l y r e v e a l s , a s i t u a t i o n charged with drama because the q u a r r e l was not p e r m i t t e d to develop any f u r t h e r . A committee was formed--as we a l l know, a committee i s , on the one hand a b a r r i e r designed to prevent f u r t h e r c o n f l i c t w h i l e acknowledging t h a t a c o n f l i c t does in f a c t need \" a c t i n g upon\", and on the o t h e r an attempt to r e s o l v e the c o n f l i c t e i t h e r by time or a c t i o n . H o l i n s h e d d e s c r i b e s the f i r s t a c c u s a t i o n t h a t l e d to the f o r m a t i o n of such a committee as f o l l o w s : i n t h i s p a r l i a m e n t holder) a t Shrewsbury [January, 13983, Henry Duke of H e r e f o r d accused Thomas Mowbray Duke of N o r f o l k of c e r t a i n words which he s h o u l d u t t e r i n t a l k had b e t w i x t them, as they rode t o g e t h e r l a t e l y b e f o r e b e t w i x t London and B r e n t f o r d , sounding h i g h l y to the King's d i s h o n o r . And f o r f u r t h e r proof t h e r e o f , he p r e s e n t e d a s u p p l i c a t i o n to the K i n g wherein he appealed the Duke of N o r f o l k i n f i e l d of b a t t l e f o r a Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 54 enemy unto the realm. T h i s s u p p l i c a t i o n was read be-fore the Dukes, i n the presence o-f the K i n g . 1 0 I t was not u n t i l the subsequent p r o c e e d i n g s t h a t the drama began to emerge. And HDlinshed draws our a t t e n t i o n t o the t h e a t r i c a l i t y o-f them with a sense o-f f o r b o d i n g as he r e f e r s t o the s t a g e as a \" s c a f f o l d \" : 1 1 S i x weeks a f t e r [ t h e p a r l i a m e n t at Shrewsbury!, the King Ccame3 unto Windsor t o heare and t o take some or d e r b e t w i x t the two dukes, which had thus appealed each o t h e r . There was a g r e a t s c a f f o l d e r e c t e d w i t h i n the C a s t e l l of Windsor f o r the K i n g t o s i t w i t h the l o r d s and p r e l a t e s of h i s r e a l m e . 1 2 The opening scene of Shakespeare's H i s t o r y P l a y equates the h i s t o r i c a l f a c t s with h i s t h e a t r i c a l f i c t i o n as the s t a g e of the \"great s c a f f o l d \" at Windsor i s equated with the s t a g e of the \"great Globe i t s e l f \" . The s t a g e i s s e t ; the s e t i s both h i s t o r i c a l l y a f a c t and i m a g i n a t i v e l y a f i c t i o n - - i n s h o r t we a r e £2D.i.J22Hted with and encompassed by. h i s t o r y as we observe and p a r t i c i p a t e i n i t . The c h a r a c t e r s who e n t e r , B o l i n g b r o k e and Mowbray, ar e c o n s t r a i n e d by the f o r m a l i t y of the p r o c e e d i n g s which p r e v e n t s any u n b r i d l e d e x p r e s s i o n of p a s s i o n ^ They accuse and defend each o t h e r with g r e a t v e r b a l d e x t e r i t y and c o n t r o l ; the k i n g , due to the nature of t h e i r c o n f l i c t , i s unable to a r b i t r a t e the matter. The h i s t o r i c a l K ing R i c h a r d and Shakespeare's f i c t i o n a l c o u n t e r p a r t , however, attempt t o r e c o n c i l e the two c o n t e s t a n t s . But of c o u r s e no r e c o n c i l i a t i o n i s p o s s i b l e because i f they were to have agreed t o agree then they both would have i n e f f e c t broken t h e i r word to t h e i r k i n g : t o r e c a n t one's word i s to Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 55 b e t r a y o n e s e l f ; t o r e c a n t one's word b e f o r e one's k i n g i s t o , at the same time, openly b e t r a y one's a l l e g i a n c e . Whether King R i c h a r d was a c t u a l l y aware o-f the g r a v i t y of the s i t u a t i o n may not be known, but h i s a c t i o n r e v e a l s a f a t a l i g n o r a n c e i n r e g a r d to the s i t u a t i o n t h a t he had to d e a l w i t h . Hence, Ure s t a t e s t h a t h i s \" c h i e f a c t as p r i n c e i s ... one which makes p l a i n h i s u n f i t n e s s to h o l d the s c e p t r e which i n h e r i t a n c e has bestowed upon h i m . \" 1 3 H o l i n s h e d and H a l l a r e more or l e s s i n agreement i n t h e i r d e s c r i p t i o n s of the s i t u a t i o n . H o l i n s h e d says t h a t King R i c h a r d t r i e d t o persuade the two t o come t o some s o r t of agreement: the k i n g commanded the Dukes of Aumerle and S u r r e y ... t o go unto the two Dukes, a p p e l a n t and defendant, r e q u i r i n g them on h i s b e h a l f to grow t o some agreement; and, f o r h i s p a r t , he would be ready t o pardon a l l t h a t had been s a i d or done amiss b e t w i x t them t o u c h i n g any harm or d i s h o n o r to him or h i s realmC!3 -But they answered both a s s u r e d l y t h a t i t was not p o s s i b l e t o have any peace or agreement made be t w i x t them. 1\" [ E x c l a m a t i o n mine.} T h i s attempt t o r e c o n c i l e the two f a i l s , and H o l i n s h e d goes on t o d e s c r i b e K i n g R i c h a r d ' s second attempt: The k i n g ... caused them once again t o be asked i f they would agree and make peace t o g e t h e r , but they both f l a t l y answered t h a t they would not; and, w i t h a l , the Duke of H e r e f o r d c a s t down h i s gage and the Duke of N o r f o l k took i t up. 1 3 Because the k i n g c o n t i n u e s t o speak, the drama becomes more apparent. Not o n l y i s King R i c h a r d p l a c i n g h i s t r u s t i n two men who both swear t h a t the o t h e r i s a t r a i t o r by o f f e r i n g them a r e c o n c i l i a t i o n , but he i s a l s o p e r m i t t i n g them, i n p u b l i c , to Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 56 d i s o b e y t h e i r l i e g e to whom they have sworn - f e a l t y . I t seems t o have taken King R i c h a r d some time t o r e a l i z e t h a t the c o n f l i c t t h a t he was t r y i n g to a r b i t r a t e was i n -fact an i r r e c o n c i l a b l e one. H o l i n s h e d s u b s e q u e n t l y d e s c r i b e s K i n g R i c h a r d ' s d e c i s i o n : The k i n g , p e r c e i v i n g t h i s demeanour b e t w i x t them, swore by S a i n t John B a p t i s t t h a t he would never seek to make peace b e t w i x t them ag a i n . 1 A T h i s oath i s s i g n i f i c a n t i n the p a t t e r n of \"broken words\" t h a t emerges i n both the h i s t o r i c a l s o u r c e s and Shakespeare's H i s t o r y P l a y . K i n g R i c h a r d breaks t h i s oath. H a l l d e s c r i b e s the s i t u a t i o n i n a s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t way--the k i n g i s immediately d e c i s i v e . The kyng demaunded of them i f t h e i would agre betwene t h e m s e l f e s , whiche t h e i bath d e n i e d and threw doune t h e i r gages, by my t r u t h quoth the kyng, i f you of y o u r s e l f e s w i l l not agre I w i l l not study how t o agre you: and then he g r a n t e d them the b a t t a i l l and a s s i g n e d the p l a c e t o be at the c i t e e of Coventree i n the moneth of August next e n s u y i n g , where he caused a sumptuous t h e a t r e and l i s t e s r o y a l g o r g e o u s l y to be p r e p a r e d . 1 5 \" However, H a l l i n t e r p r e t s Mowbray's a c t i o n as w e l l . And h i s s p e c u l a t i o n i s based upon s u r m i s e s t h a t surround the \"murder\" of the Duke of G l o u c e s t e r . T h i s i s the h i s t o r i c a l p r e t e x t t h a t R o s s i t e r m a i n t a i n s i s n e c e s s a r y t o an u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the q u a r r e l and K i n g R i c h a r d ' s e q u i v o c a t i o n i n d e a l i n g with i t . That of c o u r s e assumes t h a t Shakespeare's i n t e n t i o n was t o h e l p h i s audience to understand the s i t u a t i o n i n such a p e d e s t r i a n way. 1 0 Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 57 Shakespeare's King R i c h a r d seems t o be as i n e p t as the K i n g R i c h a r d d e s c r i b e d i n the c h r o n i c l e s . He a g rees t o see and hear B o l i n g b r o k e and Mowbray i n h i s p r e s e n c e : c a l l them to our presence; -face t o -face, And f r o w n i n g brow t o brow, o u r s e l v e s w i l l , hear The a c c u s e r and the accused f r e e l y speak. Richard II I.i.15-17. Each one of the c o n t e s t a n t s i s both \"accuser and accused\"; i t i s t h e r e f o r e an i r r e c o n c i l a b l e s i t u a t i o n compounded by the f a c t t h a t \"High-stomach*d are they both and f u l l of i r e , In rage, deaf as the sea, h a s t y as f i r e \" ( I . i . 1 8 - 1 9 ) . Due to the e x t r e m e l y f o r m a l nature of the d i s c o u r s e , the audience t h a t i s not p r e j u d i c e d by i t s know 1 edge D f Woodstock i s l e f t unsure as to who i s g u i l t y and who i s innocent of a crime t h a t i s not d e f i n e d with any degree of c e r t a i n t y . I f , however, we see the scene as a t r i a l with King R i c h a r d as the judge, then any e v i d e n c e t h a t i s f o r t h c o m i n g i s l i k e l y to be s p u r i o u s because the two c o n t e s t a n t s are both a c c u s i n g each o t h e r of b e t r a y a l . The s u b j e c t of t h e i r d i s c o u r s e i s b e t r a y a l and the s u b j e c t s themselves are s i m u l t a n e o u s l y \" t r a i t o r s \" . T h i s s i t u a t i o n pre-empts a l l d i s c u s s i o n ; King R i c h a r d ' s d e c i s i o n to hear them i s n o t h i n g l e s s than l u d i c r o u s . What meaning can a man's language have i n t h i s s i t u a t i o n ? The r e s u l t i s t h a t each of the c o n t e s t a n t s , i n o r d e r to a s s e r t the i n t e g r i t y of h i s word, must r e s o r t t o \"symbolic a c t i o n \" when they throw down t h e i r g a u n t l e t s . K i n g R i c h a r d , with words t h a t i r o n i c a l l y s e t the \"Grand Mechanism\" i n motion, s a y s : Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 58 T h i s we p r e s c r i b e , though no p h y s i c i a n ; i Deep m a l i c e makes too deep i n c i s i o n . F o r g e t , -forgive, c o n c l u d e and be agreed: Our d o c t o r s say t h i s i s no month to b l e e d . ... l e t t h i s end where i t begun; Richard II I.i.154-59. The attempt t o r e c o n c i l e such adamantine -forces p r o v e s to be d e s t r u c t i v e . The v e r y i d e a of \"obedience\" t h a t i s f r e e l y g i v e n i s t h r e a t e n e d ; t h i s , Shakespeare's o l d Gaunt i s f u l l y aware Df when he says t o h i s son: Gaunt: Throw down, my son, the Duke Df N o r f o l k ' s gauge. Richard: And, N o r f o l k , throw down h i s . Gaunt: When, Harry, when? Obedience b i d s I s h o u l d not b i d a g a i n . Richard: N o r f o l k , throw down we b i d , t h e r e i s no boot. Richard II I.i.161-64. F i l i a l d i s o b e d i e n c e and f e a l t y t o one's k i n g a r e c l e a r l y j u x t a p o s e d i n t h i s exchange. I t i s o n l y a f t e r t r y i n g t o make h i s s u b j e c t s openly break t h e i r words b e f o r e t h e i r k i n g t h a t K i n g R i c h a r d f i n a l l y adopts the r o l e t h a t he s h o u l d have assumed at the b e g i n n i n g o f the c o n f l i c t , and thus the p a t t e r n of s e l f -r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t comes too i.ate i s e f f e c t e d i n the f i r s t scene of the p l a y and which extends throughout the H i s t o r y P l a y s . He says to h i s s u b j e c t s something t h a t as a k i n g he s h o u l d never have r e c o u r s e to say: \"We were not born to sue, but t o command\" ( I . i . 1 9 6 ) . A k i n g ' s word i s not merely h o r t a t o r y , i t i s the law. In t h i s sense, the k i n g i s the supreme head of the l e g i s l a t u r e , but, as Henry V r e a l i z e s on the eve of A g i n c o u r t , w i l l i n g c obedience may not be commanded of a s u b j e c t by a k i n g . In f a c t , i t may not be commanded of any human b e i n g by a n o t h e r . Having a b j u r e d h i s r o l e as judge, King R i c h a r d p l a c e s judgment i n the hands of God. God, b e i n g the u l t i m a t e r e f e r e n c e Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 59 -For a l l e t h i c a l a c t i o n , sees the i n t e n t i o n t h a t informs a l l a c t i o n . H i s p e r s p e c t i v e i s u l t i m a t e l y supreme and u l t i m a t e l y r e t r o s p e c t i v e , and of c o u r s e i s i n c o m p r e h e n s i b l e t o man. By a c c e p t i n g the f a c t t h a t he i s unable t o judge the c o n f l i c t between the two c o n t e s t a n t s , King R i c h a r d does not o v e r s t e p h i s a u t h o r i t y as a man and as a k i n g . Bound by h i s word, the u t t e r a n c e of which i s i t s e l f an a c t i o n , he must le a v e the combatants to f i g h t t o the death. By i n t e r r u p t i n g the \" t r i a l by combat\", K i n g R i c h a r d assumes an a u t h o r i t y t h a t he i s f r e e to adopt, the consequences of which he i s f r e e to e x p e r i e n c e . But by throwing, down the warder, he i n f a c t subj_ects h i m s e l f to the consequences of b r e a k i n g h i s word. I The h i s t o r i c a l K ing R i c h a r d broke h i s oath t h a t \"he would never seek to make peace b e t w i x t them ag a i n , \" 1 ' \" and Shakespeare's K i n g R i c h a r d breaks h i s vow of i m p a r t i a l i t y - - a redundant vow f o r a judge to make—which he makes when s p e a k i n g t o Mowbray i n the f i r s t scene of the p l a y : Mowbray, i m p a r t i a l a r e our eyes and e a r s . Were he my b r o t h e r , nay, my kingdom's h e i r , As he i s but my f a t h e r ' s b r o t h e r ' s son, Now by my s c e p t r e ' s awe I make t h i s vow, Such neighbour nearness t o our s a c r e d b l o o d Should n o t h i n g p r i v i l e g e him nor p a r t i a l i z e The u n s t o o p i n g f i r m n e s s of my u p r i g h t s o u l . He i s our s u b j e c t , Mowbray; so a r t thou: F r e e speech and f e a r l e s s I t o thee a l l o w . Richard II I.i.115-23. T h i s vow i s p l a i n l y broken when Ki n g R i c h a r d announces h i s d i s p a r a t e s e n t e n c e s on the two dukes. H i s t o r y and drama agree: Mowbray was, and i s , banished f o r Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 60 l i - f e ; B o l i n g b r o k e was banished -for ten y e a r s , which was l a t e r reduced by -four as the k i n g , at Eltham, took h i s l e a v e o-f him, whereas t h i s i n c r e m e n t a l d e c r e a s e i s e-f-fected i n one scene i n Richard II. The drama a l s o n e c e s s a r i l y reduces the time between Ki n g R i c h a r d ' s a c t o-f throwing down the warder and the announcement o-f the s e n t e n c e s : At Coventry, R i c h a r d stopped the p r o c e e d i n g s immediately be-fore b a t t l e was j o i n e d , c o n f e r r e d w i t h the p a r l i a m e n t a r y committee f o r two hours, and i s s u e d s e n t e n c e s of banishment: ten y e a r s f o r B o l i n g b r o k e , l i f e f o r N o r f o l k . 2 0 T h i s time l a g i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y reduced i n Richard II. King R i c h a r d , at the b e g i n n i n g of the p l a y , i s a k i n g i n word and deed; at the end of the p l a y he i s k i n g over h i s thoughts a l o n e , and c o n f r o n t e d w i t h the impotence of h i s p o s i t i o n as a deposed k i n g , he s u f f e r s . R i c h a r d ' s f i n a l s o l i l o q u y may be regarded as a lament f o r a language t h a t has been rendered u s e l e s s — t h e language of a man who was a k i n g . The man who c o u l d command, through word and deed, i s reduced to a man whose c o n t r o l over h i s own thoughts i s as weak i n j a i l as he was as the King of England. Having misused the language t h a t he i n h e r i t s as a k i n g , he becomes i t s v i c t i m as he r e t r o s p e c t i v e l y understands h i s \" a c t i o n \" . The impotence of language, the language of the f a l l e n world, i s of c e n t r a l t hematic concern i n Richard II. Mowbray, upon h e a r i n g the k i n g ' s sentence on h i s l i f e , laments how h i s own language i s suddenly rendered u s e l e s s . And with h i s language Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 61 rendered u s e l e s s , h i s l i - f e i s l i t e r a l l y out of tune. Mowbray's lament on the l o s s o-f h i s \" n a t i v e tongue's use\" -foreshadows R i c h a r d ' s lament at the end of the p l a y when he too f e e l s h i s l i f e to be out of tune: My language I have l e a r n t these f o r t y y e a r s , My n a t i v e E n g l i s h , now I must f o r e g o , And now my tongue's use i s t o me no more Than an u n s t r i n g e d v i o l or a harp, Or l i k e a c u n n i n g instrument cased up, Or b e i n g open, put i n t o h i s hands That knows no touch t o tune the harmony. Richard II I. i i i . 1 5 9 - 6 5 . Mowbray's language i s rendered u s e l e s s by K i n g R i c h a r d ' s sentence--\"Such i s the b r e a t h of K i n g s \" < I . i i i . 2 1 4 ) - - a n d R i c h a r d h i m s e l f , banished to the s o l i t a r y confinement of Pomfret C a s t l e i s f i n a l l y k i l l e d as the consequence of King Henry IV's s i g h e d s e n t e n c e . He must s u f f e r i n the knowledge t h a t he has i i t e r a i i y . bestowed h i s power onto another man. Why B o l i n g b r o k e and Mowbray accused each o t h e r of t r e a s o n , and why K i n g R i c h a r d i n t e r r u p t e d the i n e v i t a b l e combat between the two remains a mystery. Shakespeare's r e - p r e s e n t a t i o n of the drama, w h i l e b e i n g t r u e to the h i s t o r i c a l e v i d e n c e , r e c r e a t e s the mystery; an attempt t o r e c o n c i l e the d i f f e r e n c e s i s i n e f f e c t an attempt t o reduce the drama i m p l i c i t i n the s i t u a t i o n . The audience may seek to f i n d answers, but the e v i d e n c e t h a t Shakespeare p r o v i d e s i s not s u b s t a n t i a l enough t o make any v a l i d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of the m u l t i p l e motives i n v o l v e d : King R i c h a r d was i m p l i c a t e d i n the murder of the Duke of G l o u c e s t e r , who was B o l i n g b r o k e ' s u n c l e ; B o l i n g b r o k e had spoken a g a i n s t the k i n g ' s c h a r a c t e r and a c t i o n s ; and Mowbray was thought t o be r e s p o n s i b l e Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 62 e i t h e r d i r e c t l y or i n d i r e c t l y f o r the \"murder\" of the Duke o-f G l o u c e s t e r , who was p r o b a b l y murdered w h i l e under Mowbray's charge. Thus, judge, a p p e l l a n t , and defendant were a l l i n some way compromised. G l o u c e s t e r was almost c e r t a i n l y murdered, but by whom remains u n c e r t a i n . As S a c c i o s a y s : Whether he was murdered at R i c h a r d ' s o r d e r , and i-f so whether N o r f o l k was the agent, and i f so whether N o r f o l k obeyed the command w i l l i n g l y or complied w i t h i t o n l y a f t e r c o n s c i e n c e - s t r i k e n d e l a y , a r e q u e s t i o n s t h a t have never been s a t i s f a c t o r i l y s e t t l e d . = 1 Shakespeare p r o v i d e s the audience with no answers; he s i m p l y r e c r e a t e s the mystery. S a c c i o r e g a r d s the f a c t t h a t King R i c h a r d \"allowed the a f f a i r to drag on f o r nine months o n l y to a b o r t the duel at the l a s t moment l o o k s l i k e a fondness f o r t h e a t r i c a l g e s t u r e on h i s p a r t . T h e emphasis g i v e n to the t h e a t r i c a l i t y of the p r o c e e d i n g s i n both the c h r o n i c l e s and i n Richard II r e i n f o r c e s t h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the c h a r a c t e r of King R i c h a r d , and a l s o s u p p o r t s the c o n t e n t i o n t h a t \" c h a r a c t e r \" becomes apparent when one's \" a c t \" i s incommensurate wit h one's \" r o l e \" . And j u s t as an a c t o r cannot \" a c t \" the k i n g - - f o r those around him must a c t i n such a way as t o make him the k i n g — s o too, a t h e a t r i c a l k i n g - - a k i n g with c h a r a c t e i must be a bad a c t o r i n h i s a s s i g n e d r o l e . In f a c t , anyone who i s a s s i g n e d a r o l e t h a t demands p e r f e c t i o n must be a bad a c t o r , and the r o l e of k i n g demands a p e r f e c t i o n t h a t i s u n a t t a i n a b l e by man—and o n l y s y m b o l i c a l l y a t t a i n a b l e by the Son of God, the King of k i n g s , who, because h i s Kingdom i s of another world, must d i e as a man i n proof of the paradoxes Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 63 i m p l i c i t i n the r o l e o-f him who would wear an \" e a r t h l y crown.\" P a s s i o n T h i s r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t the r o l e t h a t has been bestowed upon him i s not o n l y one of g r e a t r e s p o n s i b i l i t y but a l s o one t h a t he i s i n e f f e c t f u l l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r must be pr e p a r e d f o r . The g r e a t n e s s t h a t i s t h r u s t upon him i s h i s , r e g a r d l e s s of h i s p e r s o n a l weakness, and he i s f u l l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r h i s a c t i o n s . By e q u a t i n g the k i n g ' s r o l e with t h a t of the Ki n g of k i n g s , the Tudor h i s t o r i a n s t h e r e b y a r t i c u l a t e d t h e i r attempt t o e s t a b l i s h a p o l i t i c a l o r d e r t h a t was i n e f f e c t d i v i n e l y s a n c t i o n e d ; but i m p l i c i t i n Shakespeare's view of k i n g s h i p i s the i d e a t h a t i f man i s to s a n c t i o n p o l i t i c a l power by drawing upon the p r i n c i p l e s of C h r i s t i a n i t y t o c o n s o l i d a t e t h a t power, then the monarch h i m s e l f must be regarded as a s a c r i f i c i a l v i c t i m t o t h a t o r d e r . I t i s h a r d l y s u r p r i s i n g t h a t the r e i g n i n g monarch, Queen E l i z a b e t h , s h o u l d see i n the m i r r o r of Shakespeare's Richard II a f r i g h t e n i n g r e f l e c t i o n of h e r s e l f . Although L.B. Campbell reads her much quoted l i n e (and I use the t h e a t r i c a l term d e l i b e r a t e l y ) , \"I am R i c h a r d I I , know ye not t h a t ? \" with r e g a r d to contemporary ev e n t s , I read i t with r e g a r d t o the r o l e t h a t she had to assume; and I t h i n k i t a l s o r e v e a l s the acut e s e l f -c o n s c i o u s n e s s of the woman who knew the r o l e she p l a y e d , and knew the consequences of not p l a y i n g i t e f f e c t i v e l y . 1 The t r i a l over which K i n g R i c h a r d p r e s i d e s at the b e g i n n i n g Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 64 of the p l a y d e v e l o p s i n t o a t r a g i c t r i a l o-f R i c h a r d h i m s e l f , which c u l m i n a t e s i n h i s s e l f - c r i t i c i s m i n p r i s o n a t Pomfret C a s t l e , when he r e t r o s p e c t i v e l y views h i s d e p o s i t i o n . The wisdom he a c h i e v e s i s through s u f f e r i n g , and as K i n g R i c h a r d becomes R i c h a r d of Bordeaux the p a s s i o n he undergoes i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of a p a s s i v e C h r i s t - l i k e f i g u r e . The h e l p l e s s n e s s of K i n g R i c h a r d i s foreshadowed by the scene with Old John of Gaunt, who on h i s deathbed a r t i c u l a t e s the p a r a d o x i c a l s i t u a t i o n i n which K i n g R i c h a r d f i n d s h i m s e l f as K i n g of England. In the f i r s t scene, Gaunt st a n d s f o r o r d e r and obedience, r e g a r d l e s s of f a m i l i a l t i e s , and even i n the scene with the Duchess of G l o u c e s t e r , who argues t h a t the \" b u t c h e r s \" of the Duke of G l o u c e s t e r s h o u l d be punished and t h a t \"to s a f e g u a r d t h i s ! own l i f e , The b est way i s to venge ... G l o u c e s t e r ' s death\" < I . i i . 3 5 - 3 6 ) , he m a i n t a i n s h i s s t a n c e and p a t i e n c e , s a y i n g t h a t God's i s the q u a r r e l — f o r God's s u b s t i t u t e , H i s deputy a n o i n t e d i n H i s s i g h t , Hath caus'd [ G l o u c e s t e r ' s ] death; the which i f w r o n g f u l l y , Let heaven revenge, f o r I may never l i f t An angry arm a g a i n s t H i s m i n i s t e r . Richard II I . i i . 3 6 - 4 1 . Here, Gaunt i s e x p r e s s i n g an i d e a t h a t i s c l e a r l y a r t i c u l a t e d i n the h o m i l i e s . He who r e b e l s a g a i n s t h i s s o v e r e i g n r e b e l s a g a i n s t h i s God. The e q u a t i o n i s q u i t e c l e a r l y a t r a n s v a l u a t i o n of r e l i g i o u s p r i n c i p l e s i n s upport of e a r t h l y power. Let no man t h i n k e t h a t hee can escape unpunished, t h a t committeth t r e a s o n , c o n s p i r a c y , or r e b e l l i o n a g a i n s t h i s s o v e r e i g n Lord the King, though hee commit the same never so s e c r e t l y , e i t h e r i n thought, word, or deede, never so p r i v i l y , i n h i s p r i v i e chamber Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 65 by himsel-fe, or openly communicating, and c o n s u l t i n g with o t h e r s . For t r e a s o n w i l l not bee h i d , t r e a s o n w i l l out at l e n g t h . 3 H i s p a t i e n c e , however, cannot p r e v e n t h i s k i n g ' s - f o l l y . And even a d v i c e , t o a headstrong r u l e r , may seem l i k e c r i t i c i s m and, by i m p l i c a t i o n , r e b e l l i o n . C o n t r a d i c t i o n o-f a k i n g may be viewed as r e b e l l i o n w i t h i n a h i g h l y ceremonious system of government, but c o n t r a d i c t i o n i s e s s e n t i a l t o communication; and a k i n g ' s power i s u l t i m a t e l y dependent upon h i s c o u n s e l l o r s f o r t h e i r honest a d v i c e and h i s s u b j e c t s f o r t h e i r honest obedience. Gaunt does t r y t o a d v i s e h i s k i n g , but h i s words a r e m i s i n t e r p r e t e d by Ki n g R i c h a r d . I t i s the prophet Gaunt, or the \"gaunt prophet\", who equates England's \" r o y a l k i n g s \" with \"the King of k i n g s \" when he e u l o g i z e s on h i s n a t i v e l a n d : T h i s b l e s s e d p l o t , t h i s e a r t h , t h i s r e a l m , t h i s England, T h i s nurse, t h i s teeming womb of r o y a l k i n g s , F e a r ' d by t h e i r breed, and famous by t h e i r b i r t h , Renowned f o r t h e i r deeds as f a r from home, For C h r i s t i a n s e r v i c e and t r u e c h i v a l r y , As i_s the sep.ul.chre i_r_ stubborn Jewry. Of. the wor_l_dJ_5 ransomj. bl_es.sed Mar__^.s son; Richard II I I . i . 5 0 - 5 6 . The k i n g s of England are as renowned f o r t h e i r deeds as i s C h r i s t f o r h i s . Thus, when Gaunt says t o King R i c h a r d t h a t he i s the one who i s r e a l l y s i c k , we a r e v i s u a l l y a l e r t e d t o p a r a d o x i c a l s i t u a t i o n s t h a t a r e p r e s e n t e d i n v i s u a l metaphors on the s t a g e . He warns King R i c h a r d t h a t h i s kingdom i s h i s \"death-bed\", and t h a t he i s merely the L a n d l o r d of England. Although King R i c h a r d i s p h y s i c a l l y h e a l t h y and Gaunt i s p h y s i c a l l y l e a n , Gaunt, l y i n g on h i s death-bed, i s i n f a c t the v i s u a l metaphor f o r Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 66 King R i c h a r d ' s u n h e a l t h y p o s i t i o n as the k i n g o-f England. As he s a y s : Thy death-bed i s no l e s s e r than thy land, Wherein thou l i e s t i n r e p u t a t i o n s i c k , And thou, too c a r e l e s s p_ati_ent as though a r t , Commit'st thy a n o i n t e d body to the c u r e O-f those p h y s i c i a n s t h a t - f i r s t wounded thee: A thousand f l a t t e r e r s s i t w i t h i n thy crown, Whose compass i s no b i g g e r than thy head, And y e t , incaged i n so s m a l l a verge, The waste i s no l e s s e r than thy l a n d . fiicfiard II I I . i . 9 5 - 1 0 3 . Much commentary has been made with r e g a r d to the punning i n t h i s scene, but the paradoxes i m p l i c i t i n t h i s punning r e v e a l a r e a l l y t e r r i f y i n g view of h i s t o r y : a view i n which each speaker, each a c t o r , l i v e s i n a \" s t a t e of t o t a l and t e r r i b l e u n c e r t a i n t y . \" 3 K i n g R i c h a r d , t h i n k i n g he i s immune t o danger, mocks an aged noble who attempts to l i t e r a l l y g i v e h i s l a s t words of a d v i c e -words from which he cannot hope to g a i n any p e r s o n a l p r o f i t — b u t h i s k i n g i s deaf t o h i s words and b l i n d to h i s s u f f e r i n g . And by so doing he f a i l s t o see what he w i l l i n time become; f o r h i s f a t e i s t h a t he too w i l l become as h e l p l e s s and impotent b e f o r e h i s k i n g as h i s aged c o u n s e l l o r i s b e f o r e h i m s e l f . T h i s i s the p a t t e r n of the H i s t o r y P l a y s : words c a r e l e s s l y misused lead t o wounds t h a t c a n ' t be h e a l e d . Hence K i n g R i c h a r d i s the r e a l \" p a t i e n t \" , and he i s i n f a c t c a l l e d upon to be h i s own p h y s i c i a n ; l i k e the p h y s i c i a n , a l t h o u g h c a p a b l e of s a v i n g o t h e r s , when c a l l e d upon t o c u r e h i m s e l f , i s u l t i m a t e l y h e l p l e s s . He may save o t h e r s , but cannot save h i m s e l f . K i n g R i c h a r d ' s l i f e i s thereby equated with the l i f e of C h r i s t ; h i s land i s equated with \"the s e p u l c h r e i n stubborn Jewry\"; and h i s s u b j e c t s w i t h a l l the p e o p l e of h i s land, people t h a t w i l l become i t s \"waste\" i n the Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 67 wars to ensue, and people t h a t a r e o-f cou r s e C h r i s t i a n s i n a C h r i s t i a n l a n d ! : Shakespeare's Gaunt, so v e r y di-f-ferent from the h i s t o r i c a l •figure, i s not o n l y a p e r s o n i f i c a t i o n of a system of v a l u e s t h a t i s a s s o c i a t e d with a p a r a d i s a l England, \" T h i s o t h e r Eden\", but i s a l s o , f i g u r a t i v e l y s p e a k i n g , the symbol of \"a d y i n g breed\". He i s , as he l i e s on h i s bed, a p i c t u r e of a s i c k l y England. Robert Law s t a t e s as much when he says t h a t John of Gaunt s y m b o l i z e s i n a l a r g e way the ; l o v e of England which he so e l o q u e n t l y i p o r t r a y s ... Candl i s not the Gaunt of H o l i n s h e d and o t h e r c h r o n i c l e r s , but more near p i c t u r e s drawn of h i s b r o t h e r , the Duke of G l o u c e s t e r . However t h a t be, Gaunt i s Eng l a n d . \" And the immediate c o n f i s c a t i o n of h i s lands p r e f i g u r e s the impending l o s s of h i s King R i c h a r d ' s l a n d . The i d e a l i s m t h a t the Duke of L a n c a s t e r s t a n d s f o r i s l o s t when he d i e s , and with h i s l i f e i s l o s t h i s t i t l e , house, and l a n d s . The world i n which a man's name and t i t l e a re i n s e p a r a b l e from h i s land s and i n h e r i t a n c e , the world i n which a man's word i s h i s bond, and the world i n which a man's i n t e g r i t y i s r e f l e c t e d by the very language t h a t i_s h i s h e r i t a g e are a l l l o s t with the death of Old Gaunt. Are we t o b e l i e v e any such world e x i s t e d , or c o u l d e x i s t ? Shakespeare's view of the p a s t i s perhaps d e l i b e r a t e l y n a i v e to encourage the audience to i d e n t i f y with a world t h a t i s i d e a l , a world v e r y d i f f e r e n t from the world without the w a l l s of the Globe T h e a t r e , t o pr e p a r e f o r the tragedy of Ki n g R i c h a r d . I f Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 63 o n l y the world without the w a l l s were i d e a l , then K i n g R i c h a r d ' s m i s t a k e s might be -forgiven i n t h i s world, our mi s t a k e s might be f o r g i v e n i n t h i s world, and the Golden Age would i n r e a l i t y r e t u r n a g a i n . But the r e a l i t y i s what Jan K o t t c a l l s t he \"Grand Mechanism\" of h i s t o r y i n which \"every s u c c e s s i v e c h a p t e r , every s u c c e s s i v e a c t i s merely a r e p e t i t i o n : \" The f l a t t e r i n g index of a d i r e f u l pageant; One heav'd a-high, to be h u r l ' d down below. 3 These words a r e spoken by Margaret, t h e supreme advocate of an i n s i d i o u s d e s i r e f o r r e t r i b u t i o n , of what A.P. R o s s i t e r c a l l s \" r e t r i b u t i v e r e a c t i o n \" , a p a t t e r n t h a t seems t o dominate the H i s t o r y P l a y s of Shakespeare and the Grand Mechanism t h a t i s h i s t o r y . * K o t t argues t h a t Shakespeare's H i s t o r y P l a y s amount to a t e r r i f y i n g r e f l e c t i o n of man's absurd quest f o r power on the one hand and on the other the h e l p l e s s n e s s of those upon whom the va s t s t a i r c a s e of h i s t o r y and i t s crowning t h r o n e r e s t . K o t t says t h a t i n Shakespeare's h i s t o r i e s \" t h e r e are o n l y k i n g s , every one of whom i s e x e c u t i o n e r , and a v i c t i m , i n t u r n . There a r e a l s o l i v i n g , f r i g h t e n e d p eople. They can o n l y gaze upon the grand s t a i r c a s e of h i s t o r y ... Perhaps the g r e a t n e s s of Shakespeare's r e a l i s m c o n s i s t s i n h i s awareness of the e x t e n t t o which people are i n v o l v e d i n h i s t o r y . \" ^ Having determined the s e n t e n c e s upon B o l i n g b r o k e and Mowbray, and ha v i n g c o n f i s c a t e d the Duke of L a n c a s t e r ' s l a n d s - -and i n u s i n g the t i t l e , the \"Duke of L a n c a s t e r \" , we run i n t o the problem of who i n f a c t i s the Duke of L a n c a s t e r ' s h e i r i n both word and deed, or r a t h e r , \" t i t l e and deed\"--the language t h a t i s Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 69 p r e s e r v e d i n t a c t by ceremony, a t l e a s t s y m b o l i c a l l y , i s •f r a c t u r e d . T h i s i s the world as we know i t , where words ar e broken, where a c t i o n s are d e c e p t i v e , and where t h a t which i s apparent does not r e f l e c t t h a t which i s not. We a r e i n the world t h a t P i r a n d e l l o would c a l m l y say i s \" r e a l i t y \" . T h i s i s the world t h a t King R i c h a r d comes to terms wi_th as he g r a d u a l l y r e a l i z e s the i m p l i c a t i o n s o-f the p r o v e r b i a l wisdom t h a t Hamlet - f i n a l l y a c c e p t s . That t h e r e i s harmony i n the -fragmentary d i s c o r d t h a t appears to be the s t u f f of l i f e . Words become d i v o r c e d from a c t i o n s , t i t l e s become d i v o r c e d from t h e i r r i g h t f u l owners, and k i n g s l o s e t h e i r crowns t o u s u r p e r s . A l l i s mere c o n t r a d i c t i o n . And as R o s s i t e r s a y s , the \" c u r s e of u s u r p a t i o n i s t h a t i t c o n f u s e s R i g h t , endangers a l l O r d e r . \" 0 T h i s i s the s o r t of world t h a t the o p p o r t u n i s t can l i t e r a l l y cash i n on and where men l i k e U l y s s e s can p r o f i t from the v e r y f a c t t h a t \"Degree b e i n g v i z a r d e d , The u n w o r t h i e s t shows as f a i r l y i n the mask.'\"' By t h r o w i n g down the warder and i n t e r r u p t i n g the t r i a l by combat, King R i c h a r d a c t e d . The consequences of t h a t a c t i o n l e a d him to respond i n a p a s s i v e r o l e . J u s t as he p r o v e s unable to - r e c o n c i l e the c o n f l i c t s of h i s s u b j e c t s i n the o r i g i n a l t r i a l , he a l s o p roves unable t o c o n t r a d i c t h i s banished s u b j e c t , Henry B o l i n g b r o k e , when he r e t u r n s to c l a i m h i s l a n d s . Again, an i r r e c o n c i l a b l e c o n f l i c t ensues: K i n g R i c h a r d c l a i m s t h a t the l a n d s a r e h i s by r i g h t as he i s the K i n g of England, B o l i n g b r o k e c l a i m s t h a t they are h i s by b i r t h r i g h t . One i r r e c o n c i l a b l e c o n f l i c t l e a d s t o another, and because each adamantly m a i n t a i n s the a b s o l u t i s m of h i s c l a i m no s o l u t i o n i s p o s s i b l e . R e g a r d l e s s Fact F ict ion and Faction Page 70 of Bol i ngbroke's supposed i n t e n t upon r e t u r n i n g t o England, h i s v e r y presence i s a c o n t r a d i c t i o n o-f h i s K i n g . Thus, upon h i s r e t u r n to Wales a f t e r the I r i s h wars, King R i c h a r d s t a n d s c o n t r a d i c t e d not by a s u b j e c t but by a banished s u b j e c t ! Both are r i g h t , and y e t both cannot be r i g h t i n f a c t . One must dominate; one must s u f f e r the e n s u i n g s u b j e c t i o n . K i n g R i c h a r d , almost from the moment of h i s r e t u r n , chooses t o p l a y the s u b j e c t to B o l i n g b r o k e ' s a u t h o r i t y . T h i s emphasis upon K i n g R i c h a r d ' s p a s s i v i t y i n response t o B o l i n g b r o k e ' s presence i s a l l u d e d t o i n the c h r o n i c l e s , but i s made e x p l i c i t i n Shakespeare's Richard II. King R i c h a r d must s u f f e r b e f o r e he i s deposed and f i n a l l y k i l l e d . The d r a m a t i c i r o n y i n K i n g R i c h a r d ' s response to Mowbray's lament over h i s banishment and the l o s s of h i s n a t i v e tongue i s much l i k e t h a t which i s found i n Richard III , where the c h a r a c t e r s a r e l i t e r a l l y s t r u c k dawn as they speak. He says to h i s b a n i s h e d s u b j e c t two l i n e s the f u l l meaning of which he has yet t o e x p e r i e n c e : I t b o ots thee not to be compassionate; A f t e r our sentence p l a i n i n g comes too l a t e . Richard II I . i i i . 1 7 4 - 5 . Having spoken, having a c t e d , the complaint comes too i.ate. The t r a g i c c r y of the h e l p l e s s v i c t i m , of the e x e c u t i o n e r who i s i n f a c t the p r i s o n e r of h i s p r o f e s s i o n , of the r u l e r who i s i n f a c t s u b j e c t to h i s s u b j e c t s , of C h r i s t upon the c r o s s - - s u b j e c t to the w i l l of man and y e t the K i n g of k i n g s , a w a i t s . The t r a g i c r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t comes with r e t r o s p e c t i v e wisdom, a wisdom born of impotence, i s foreshadowed i n t h i s l i t t l e c o u p l e t . The Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 71 p r o v e r b , \"A word spoken i s an arrow l e t - f l y , \" 1 0 r i n g s t r u e , but i n tragedy, he who p u l l s the b o w s t r i n g i s i n -fact the v e r y t a r g e t he aims a t . When Shakespeare has King R i c h a r d a d d r e s s h i s kingdom's s o i 1 , s a y i n g T h i s e a r t h s h a l l have a f e e l i n g , and t h e s e s t o n e s Prove armed s o l d i e r s 'ere her n a t i v e k i n g S h a l l f a l t e r under f o u l r e b e l l i o n ' s arms. Richard II I I I . i i . 24-26. we hear a f r i g h t e n i n g p r o g n o s t i c a t i o n of not o n l y the f a t e of K i n g R i c h a r d b e f o r e he f i n a l l y f a l t e r s beneath the pole-axe of K i n g Henry's henchman, but a l s o of the f a t e of England h e r s e l f . The c i v i l d i s s e n s i o n t h a t t e a r s the c o u n t r y a p a r t i n the Wars of the Roses may be seen as an e x t e n s i o n of the \" b a t t l e w i t h i n \" t h a t King R i c h a r d undergoes as he i s reduced to h i s former t i t l e of R i c h a r d of Bordeaux. C o n f i d e n t t h a t h i s power as the King of England i s immutable, King R i c h a r d u n r e a l i s t i c a l l y m a i n t a i n s h i s p a s s i v i t y i n the f a c e of B o l i n g b r a k e ' s t h r e a t . As he s a y s , Not a l l the water i n the rough rude s e a Can wash the balm o f f from an a n o i n t e d k i n g ; The b r e a t h of w o r l d l y men cannot depose The deputy e l e c t e d by the Lord; Richard II I I I . i i.54-56. The r e a l i t y i s t h a t he too i s but a man. \"What mould be Kings made of , but c a r a y n c l a y ? \" 1 1 And the role of k i n g i s supposed to be p l a y e d by a man, and can t h e r e f o r e be assumed by another. The m e t a p h y s i c a l r h e t o r i c of the K i n g ' s D i v i n e R i g h t i s o n l y e f f e c t i v e when the k i n g has the power and the w i l l t o m a i n t a i n h i s pos i t i on. Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 72 King R i c h a r d , however, on h e a r i n g of Bo 1ingbroke*s p r e s e n c e in the kingdom, b e g i n s to t h i n k i n terms of an impotent r h e t o r i c t h a t i s d e s i g n e d to exhort obedience i n a k i n g ' s s u b j e c t s . 1 2 H i s r e c o u r s e t o e x p r e s s i n g h i s p e r s o n a l grie-F l e a d s t o what amounts to a p a s s i v e r e a c t i o n to the t h r e a t o-F B o l i n g b r o k e . But a k i n g i s not p e r m i t t e d the l u x u r y o-f p a s s i v i t y . I r o n i c a l l y , K i n g R i c h a r d seems t o r e a l i z e the immense r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t h a t r e s t s upon h i s s h o u l d e r s , even seems t o e x p r e s s h i s acknowledgement of the c o n c e i t s t h a t k i n g s h i p somehow i n f u s e s i n t o a mere man, but he does not a c t the r o l e of k i n g . He would p r e f e r to s i t upon the ground And t e l l sad s t o r i e s of the death of k i n g s : ... f o r w i t h i n the h o l l o w crown That rounds the m o r t a l temples of a k i n g Keeps Death h i s c o u r t , and t h e r e the a n t i c s i t s , S c o f f i n g h i s s t a t e and g r i n n i n g at h i s pomp, A l l o w i n g him a b r e a t h , a l i t t l e scene, To monarchize, be f e a r ' d , and k i l l w ith l o o k s ; I n f u s i n g him with s e l f and v a i n c o n c e i t , As i f t h i s f l e s h which w a l l s about our l i f e Were b r a s s impregnable; Richard II I I I . i i . 1 5 5 - 1 6 8 . And i t i s immediately f o l l o w i n g t h i s acknowledgement of h i s m o r t a l i t y t h a t he a r t i c u l a t e s the c e n t r a l paradox t h a t i s the dilemma i m p l i c i t i n the r o l e of k i n g s h i p . He says t o h i s subj e c t s : Cover your heads, and mock not f l e s h and blood With solemn r e v e r e n c e ; throw away r e s p e c t , T r a d i t i o n , form, and ceremonious duty; For you have but mistook me a l l t h i s w h i l e . I l i v e with bread l i k e you, f e e l want, T a s t e g r i e f , need f r i e n d s - - s u b j e c t e d thus, How can you say t o me, I am a k i n g ? Richard II I I I . i i . 1 7 1 - 7 7 . He i s c o n t i n u a l l y prompted by h i s s u b j e c t s to remember the r o l e t h a t he i s a s s i g n e d , and l i k e a f o r g e t f u l a c t o r who i s prompted on the s t a g e i s too p r e o c c u p i e d with h i s own i n a d e q u a c i e s to a c t Fact F i c t ion and Faction Paje 73 h i s p a r t . Aumerle says to him, \"Corn-fort, my l i e g e , remember who you a r e \" , t o which he r e p l i e s , \"I had -forgot m y s e l f , am I not k i n g ? \" < I I I . i i . 8 2 - 8 3 ) . The Bishop o-f C a r l i s l e c l e a r l y a r t i c u l a t e s the a b s o l u t e r e a l i t y of K i n g R i c h a r d ' s p o s i t i o n as the k i n g : My l o r d , wise men ne'er s i t and w a i l t h e i r woes, But p r e s e n t l y p r e v e n t the ways t o w a i l . To f e a r the f o e , s i n c e f e a r o p p r e s s e t h s t r e n g t h , G i v e s i n your weakness s t r e n g t h unto your f o e , And so your f o l l i e s f i g h t a g a i n s t y o u r s e l f . Fear and be s l a i n — n o worse can come t o f i g h t ; And f i g h t and d i e i s death d e s t r o y i n g death, Where f e a r i n g d y i n g pays death s e r v i l e b r e a t h . Richard II I I I . i i . 1 7 8 - 8 5 . The i r r e c o n c i l a b l e s i t u a t i o n t h a t K i n g R i c h a r d was c a l l e d upon to a d j u d i c a t e i s now re p e a t e d with h i m s e l f as one of the c o n t e s t a n t s , and he proves l e s s committed to h i s r o l e than h i s s u b j e c t s . The r o l e t h a t he must enact i s , however, a s a c r i f i c i a l one; t h i s i s the r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t he must come t o b e f o r e he i s a f i t t r a g i c hero. And t h a t i s what he comes t o terms wi t h when he i s a l o n e i n p r i s o n at Pomfret C a s t l e . S t r i p p e d of a l l the empty ceremony t h a t goes with k i n g s h i p , he i s l e f t t o e x p r e s s i n words what comes from the h e a r t , words t h a t even then cannot l i t e r a l l y e x p r e s s the f e e l i n g t h a t i s the \" i n n e r r e a l i t y \" , and i n the most a r t i f i c i a l d e v i c e t h a t the t h e a t r e can p r o v i d e , the s o l i l o q u y . It i s i n p r i s o n t h a t R i c h a r d ' s h e l p l e s s n e s s i s most complete, and where h i s p a s s i o n i s most a r t i c u l a t e ; i r o n i c a l l y , i t i s most a r t i c u l a t e because he r e v e a l s the inadequacy of language to r e v e a l t h a t which i s w i t h i n the h e a r t . I t i s when he Fact F ic t ion and Faction Page 74 has i n t e r n a l i z e d the c o n f l i c t s t h a t prove so d e s t r u c t i v e i n the world o u t s i d e h i s l i t t l e p r i s o n , l i k e the world o u t s i d e the the l i t t l e t h e a t r e i n which the a c t o r speaks, t h a t the world w i t h i n t a k e s on a r e a l i t y o-f i t s own i n which a l l t h i n g s a r e i n c o n f l i c t , and y e t i n which a l l t h i n g s are harmoniously i n tune. My b r a i n I ' l l prove the female to my s o u l , My s o u l the f a t h e r , and these two beget A g e n e r a t i o n of s t i 1 1 - b r e e d i n g thoughts, And t h e s e same thoughts people t h i s l i t t l e world, In humours l i k e the p e o p l e of t h i s world; For no thought i s c o n t e n t e d . The b e t t e r s o r t , As thoughts of t h i n g s d i v i n e , are i n t e r m i x ' d With s c r u p l e s , and do s e t the word i t s e l f A g a i n s t the word. Richard II V.v.6-14. The deposed k i n g ' s b r a i n becomes the b a t t l e g r o u n d f o r w a r r i n g f a c t i o n s t h a t he i s u l t i m a t e l y p o w erless to c o n t r o l . H i s a r t i c u l a t e d thoughts are s e t i n o p p o s i t i o n to each o t h e r l i k e c h a r a c t e r s i n a p l a y , and the audience t h a t s i t s by and watches are s i m u l t a n e o u s l y i m p l i c a t e d i n the l i t t l e drama as each one i n t e r p r e t s the a c t i o n a c c o r d i n g t o h i s p r e d i s p o s i t i o n . Thus, observed and o b s e r v e r are i m p l i c a t e d i n the drama t h a t the audience \"bears w i t n e s s \" t o . Thoughts t e n d i n g to a m b i t i o n , they do p l o t U n l i k e l y wonders: how these v a i n weak n a i l s May t e a r a Passage thorough the f l i n t y r i b s Of t h i s hard world, my ragged p r i s o n w a l l s ; And f o r they cannot, d i e i n t h e i r own p r i d e . Richard II V.v.18-22. Those who would l i k e to see the i m p o s s i b l e a r e c o n f r o n t e d with the impotence of t h e i r dreams i n the f a c e of r e a l i t y . Whereas, those who would be c o n t e n t t o merely observe the drama from a s a f e d i s t a n c e s i t i n the s t o c k s f l a t t e r i n g themselves t h a t i t i s a l l \"the way of the world\". Fact F i c t ion and Faction Page 75 Thoughts t e n d i n g to c o n t e n t - f l a t t e r themselves That they a r e not the - f i r s t o-f -fortune's s l a v e s , Nor s h a l l not be the l a s t - - l i k e s i l l y beggars Who, s i t t i n g i n the s t o c k s , r e f u g e t h e i r shame, That many have and o t h e r s must s i t t h e r e ; And i n t h i s thought they -find a k i n d o-f ease, B e a r i n g t h e i r own mis-fortunes on the back Of such as have b e f o r e i n d u r ' d the l i k e . Richard II V.v.23-30. The c h o i c e i s t e r r i f y i n g . We e i t h e r look at the world and say, \"Well, t h a t ' s j u s t the way i t i s \" , or we hope f o r the i m p a s s i b l e o n l y to d i e unrewarded. The audience, l i k e the deposed k i n g , i s i.i.tera_l_ly. t o r n a p a r t . The i d e a l i s m t h a t Gaunt s t a n d s f o r i s dead, and the world i s out of tune, and yet somewhere i n the h e a r t of man t h e r e i s hope t h a t a l l w i l l be w e l l . However, R i c h a r d r e s o l v e s the c o n f l i c t momentarily when he says to the a u d i e n c e — r e g a r d l e s s of what he t h i n k s h i m s e l f to be and r e g a r d l e s s of what the h i s t o r i c a l f i g u r e thought h i m s e l f to b e — t h a t whate'er I be, Nor I, nor any man t h a t but man i s , With n o t h i n g s h a l l be p l e a s ' d , t i l l he be eas'd With b e i n g n o t h i n g . IThe music plays. 3 Music do I hear? Richard II V.v.38-41. The music t h a t s y m b o l i c a l l y r e p r e s e n t s the i n n e r harmony t h a t R i c h a r d has a t t a i n e d momentarily p l a y s . And as he checks the m u s i c i a n f o r not keeping time, he r e a l i z e s \"how sour sweet music i s When time i s broke and no p r o p o r t i o n kept!\"