Richard II - Act III

I can't imagine what I'm missing here, as the garden scene ends Act III, and the abdication scene closes Act IV.

I can't understand how we can be discussing Act III, when we've discussed what's in Act IV.

I am now hopelessly confused. :(

Before we move on (or backwards), I just want to say something more about "divine right."

I do think Shakespeare believed wholeheartedly in it. One of the common threads that runs through all the history plays is: Is the King (or Queen) of England divinely anointed/appointed. Shakespeare seems to think yes, as he highlights the fact that the consequences of overthrowing or conspiring to overthrow a king or queen is subject to the most dire of consequences.

The reign of Henry IV was marked by lifelong problems, problem that could only be set right by Henry V. Even Richard II is haunted by the murder of the Duke of Gloucester. In some of the plays, like "Hamlet" and "Julius Caesar," for example, literal ghosts make their appearance.

I think Shakespeare was a firm believer that English kings and queens were divinely anointed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MissScarlett

I am now hopelessly confused. :(

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I tend to do that to people.

Let me try again at this, though. If you follow this link it will take you to the
"Shakespeare Discussion Group":

http://www.online-literature.com/for...lay.php?f=5895

There you should see a bunch of threads devoted to Henry IV, and then below that should be those holding the Richard II discussion. Scroll down and you'll see a thread that says "Richard II - Act IV". Click on that and it will bring you to this Act IV discussion. We're still in the Act III discussion thread at the moment, but we'll move to that other thread soon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MissScarlett

I can't imagine what I'm missing here, as the abdication scene closes Act IV.

I can't understand how we can be discussing Act III, when we've discussed what's in Act IV.

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Oh, we can still talk about the other Acts. The admins aren't going to move posts about other Acts out of this thread. I can say something like "Act IV is really cool" without actually being in the Act IV thread. But, just because we talk about Act IV in this thread, doesn't mean that this is the Act IV thread. It still says "Richard II - Act III" above us.

Thanks, Quark. Now, I see how I got confused. I started talking about Act IV in the Act III thread, then, being unfamiliar with how this works, started thinking we had formally moved on to Act IV and should be moving on to Act V.

Well, I'm straightened out now, thank goodness. LOL Yes, we're formally moving on to Act IV.

Thank you! :)

Glad you all sorted that out. MissScarlett, I can easily see how you would be confused, not knowing the discussion had been broken up into various thread acts.

So, I see the Easter group is reassembled; we may be the lonely-hearts club here;)...just kidding. I got back from dinner at my aunt's not long ago; it was very nice actually and now I plan to rest up and relax tonight, indulge myself in a movie or two, as someone has wisely adviced me.;) I'm sort of tired after all the good food; carrot cake was the best. Oddest thing, I had some interesting discussions with two young men (about 18-22) and then an old geezer friend of aunt's...see age means nothing. My two cousins were there and it's always good to see them and their teenage daughters. The whole affair was 'short and sweet', which suited my mood for the day; so I am thankful for that.

Thanks, Quark, for providing the link and how to get to the actual discussion thread. I can always locate the text link, but then I can't find the next actual 'discussion thread'....I have no idea why these plays is broken up into Acts for the discussion, but it seems to work ok, I guess. Remember though, Quark, how we both jumped into the Richard II Act V thread already, quite by accident...silly us:lol:. I just seriously, thought I had missed the boat and that you were all up to that point in the play, so I posted in there....silly me:lol: Well, now that I know where we all are headed next I am ready to progress to Act IV.