Act II scene 2 - The Palace
Enter QUEEN, BUSHY, and BAGOT
BUSHY
Madam, your Majesty is too much sad;
You promised, when you parted with the King,
To lay aside self-harming heaviness,
And entertain a cheerful disposition.
QUEEN
To please the King, I did: to please myself 5
I cannot do it: yet I know no cause
Why I should welcome such a guest as grief,
Save bidding farewell to so sweet a guest
As my sweet Richard; yet again methinks,
Some unborn sorrow, ripe in fortune's womb, 10
Is coming towards me, and my inward soul
With nothing trembles; at something it grieves,
More than with parting from my Lord the King.
BUSHY
Each substance of a grief hath twenty shadows
Which shows like grief itself, but is not so: 15
For sorrow's eye, glazed with blinding tears,
Divides one thing entire, to many objects,
Like perspectives, which rightly gazed upon
Show nothing but confusion, eyed awry,
Distinguish form: so your sweet Majesty 20
Looking awry upon your Lord's departure,
Find shapes of grief, more than himself to wail,
Which look'd on as it is, is naught but shadows
Of what it is not: then thrice-gracious Queen,
More than your Lord's departure weep not, more's not seen; 25
Or if it be, 'tis with false sorrow's eye,
Which for things true, weeps things imaginary.
QUEEN
It may be so: but yet my inward soul
Persuades me it is otherwise: howe'er it be,
I cannot but be sad. 30
BUSHY
'Tis nothing but conceit, my gracious Lady.
QUEEN
'Tis nothing less: conceit is still derived
From some forefather grief, mine is not so,
For nothing hath begot my something grief,
Or something, hath the nothing that I grieve: 35
'Tis in reversion that I do possess,
But what it is, that is not yet known, what
I cannot name, 'tis nameless woe I wot.
Enter GREEN
GREEN
God save your majesty, and well met Gentlemen:
I hope the King is not yet shipp'd for Ireland. 40
QUEEN
Why hopest thou so? 'Tis better hope he is:
For his designs crave haste, his haste good hope,
Then wherefore dost thou hope he is not shipp'd?
GREEN
That he our hope, might have retired his power,
And driven into despair an enemy's hope, 45
Who strongly hath set footing in this Land.
The banish'd Bolingbroke repeals himself,
And with uplifted Arms is safe arrived
At Ravenspurgh.
QUEEN
Now God in heaven forbid!
GREEN
Oh Madam 'tis too true: and that is worse, 50
The Lord Northumberland, his young son Henry Percy,
The Lords of Ross, Beaumond, and Fitzwater,
With all their powerful friends are fled to him.
BUSHY
Why have you not proclaim'd Northumberland
And all the rest revolted faction, Traitors? 55
GREEN
We have: whereupon the Earl of Worcester
Hath broke his staff, resign'd his Stewardship,
And all the household servants fled with him
To Bolingbroke.
QUEEN
So Green, thou art the midwife of my woe, 60
And Bolingbroke my sorrow's dismal heir:
Now hath my soul brought forth her prodigy,
And I, a gasping new-deliver'd mother,
Have woe to woe, sorrow to sorrow join'd.
BUSHY
Despair not, Madam.
QUEEN
Who shall hinder me? 65
I will despair, and be at enmity
With cozening hope; he is a Flatterer,
A Parasite, a keeper back of death,
Who gently would dissolve the bands of life,
Which false hopes linger in extremity.
Enter DUKE OF YORK
GREEN
Here comes the Duke of York.
QUEEN
Uncle, for God's sake speak comfortable words.
DUKE OF YORK
Should I do so, I should belie my thoughts:
Comfort's in heaven, and we are on the earth,
Where nothing lives but crosses, cares and grief: 75
Your husband, he is gone to save far off,
Whilst others come to make him lose at home:
Here am I left to underprop his Land,
Who weak with age, cannot support myself:
Now comes the sick hour that his surfeit made; 80
Now shall he try his friends that flattered him.
Enter Queen's Lady
Queen's Lady
My lord, your son was gone before I came.
DUKE OF YORK
He was: Why so: go all which way it will:
The Nobles they are fled, the Commons they are cold,
And will I fear revolt on Hereford's side. 85
Lady, get thee to Plashy to my sister Gloucester,
Bid her send me presently a thousand pound,
Hold, take my Ring.
Queen's Lady
My Lord, I had forgot
To tell your Lordship, today I came by and called there,
But I shall grieve you to report the rest. 90
DUKE OF YORK
What is't, knave?
Queen's Lady
An hour before I came, the Duchess died.
DUKE OF YORK
God for his mercy, what a tide of woes
Comes rushing on this woeful Land at once?
I know not what to do: I would to God, 95
So my untruth had not provoked him to it,
The King had cut off my head with my brother's.
What, are there no posts dispatch'd for Ireland?
How shall we do for money for these wars?
Come sister,--Cousin, I would say--pray pardon me. 100
Go fellow, get thee home, provide some Carts
And bring away the Armor that is there.
Exit Servant
Gentlemen, will you muster men?
If I know how, or which way to order these affairs
Thus disorderly thrust into my hands, 105
Never believe me. Both are my kinsmen:
The one is my Sovereign, whom both my oath
And duty bids defend: the other again
Is my kinsman, whom the King hath wrong'd,
Whom conscience, and my kindred bids to right: 110
Well, somewhat we must do: Come, Cousin,
I’ll dispose of you. Gentlemen, go muster up your men,
And meet me presently at Berkeley Castle:
I should to Plashy too: but time will not permit,
All is uneven, and every thing is left at six and seven. 115
Exeunt DUKE OF YORK and QUEEN
BUSHY
The wind sits fair for news to go to Ireland,
But none returns: For us to levy power
Proportionable to the enemy, is all unpossible.
GREEN
Besides our nearness to the King in love,
Is near the hate of those love not the King. 120
BAGOT
And that's the wavering Commons, for their love
Lies in their purses, and whoso empties them
By so much fills their hearts with deadly hate.
BUSHY
Wherein the king stands generally condemn'd.
BAGOT
If judgement lie in them, then so do we, 125
Because we have been ever near the King.
GREEN
Well: I will for refuge straight to Bristol Castle,
The Earl of Wiltshire is already there.
BUSHY
Thither will I with you, for little office
Will the hateful commons perform for us, 130
Except like Curs, to tear us all to pieces:
Will you go along with us?
BAGOT
No, I will to Ireland to his Majesty:
Farewell, if heart's presages be not vain,
We three here part that ne'er shall meet again. 135
GREEN
Farewell at once, for once, for all, and ever.
BUSHY
Well, we may meet again.
BAGOT
I fear me, never.
Exeunt
The Queen entered with one of her ladies, with Bushy and Bagot following, from the arches beneath the tall platform. She pulled CS in exasperation, trying to get away from Bushy as he continues to try to cheer her up. He really doesn't understand everything going on through her mind...
In this speech, Bushy unwittingly reveals the heart of the play - the idea of perspectives. From Richard's perspective he is God's anointed ruler and therefore, his actions are always correct. From Bolingbroke's perspective, Richard's divine rule is only allowed so long as Richard acts with the best interests of the country at heart. Richard has broken that covenant by putting his own interests first.
Similarly, Bolingbroke's claim to the throne works only when you turn your head to the left and squint. It's there, but you have to work to see it.
Green walks into a much tenser situation than he anticipated. This scene became a fine balance between the Queen scathingly attacking Bushy and Green for being (essentially) nincompoops, and the two gentlemen trying to figure out what to do about Richard and Bolingbroke.
Richard's appointment of York as regent while he went to Ireland was a well-calculated move. York is effectively frozen - he cannot act to help Bolingbroke without disrupting the entire law of succession. He must only be seen to be acting in the interest of the country, which includes upholding Richard's rule.
Jessica Piekarski and Clarissa Consoli played the Queen's Ladies, and y'all, I am so sad they didn't get to perform. They created the most epic backstory for these ladies - employees of the Queen who have become her friends, who care enormously for her and her image, but who also have their own distinct personalities. They also decided the two ladies were in love and probably married, but it was a super low-key marriage that didn't require any kind of public announcement.
This is the heart of York's conflict, caught between his two nephews. Shakespeare never lets us forget that this is a family drama at its heart. This speech perfectly encapsulates how York is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The actor returned to this speech repeatedly through the rehearsal process, letting it remind him why he cannot simply cave to one or the other.
"Unpossible" is my favorite word in this scene. Possibly in the whole act.
Bagot is already three steps ahead. He knows action is necessary but is already preparing for the worst. He plans on coming out on the right side, meaning the winning side. In rehearsals, we found inspiration for him in The Hound from Game of Thrones: calculating, intelligent, plays it close to the chest, and very not impressed with all this foppery. But deep within, he has a heart, and will eventually come to regret his actions.
This transition starts to demonstrate the rise of Bolingbroke and his followers, even though we haven't really met them all yet. Bolingbroke's gang (Ross, Fitzwater, Harry Percy, and Herald) face off against Richard's men (Bushy, Bagot, Green, and Scroop). John Legend's "Penthouse Floor" epitomizes the rise of those who have been denied access for so long. Kelly Brown performs as Scroop in an isolated version of the original.