'This our life' As You Like It, Act 2 Scene 1
Deposition: Gift or Curse?
DUKE SENIOR
Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile,
Hath not old custom made this life more sweet
Than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods
More free from peril than the envious court?
Here feel we but the penalty of Adam,
The seasons' difference, as the icy fang
And churlish chiding of the winter's wind,
Which, when it bites and blows upon my body,
Even till I shrink with cold, I smile and say
'This is no flattery: these are counsellors
That feelingly persuade me what I am.'
Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;
And this our life exempt from public haunt
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones and good in every thing.
I would not change it.
KING RICHARD II
What must the king do now? must he submit?
The king shall do it: must he be deposed?
The king shall be contented: must he lose
The name of king? o' God's name, let it go:
I'll give my jewels for a set of beads,
My gorgeous palace for a hermitage,
My gay apparel for an almsman's gown,
My figured goblets for a dish of wood,
My sceptre for a palmer's walking staff,
My subjects for a pair of carved saints
And my large kingdom for a little grave,
A little little grave, an obscure grave;
Or I'll be buried in the king's highway,
Some way of common trade, where subjects' feet
May hourly trample on their sovereign's head;
For on my heart they tread now whilst I live;
And buried once, why not upon my head?
For this month's 'Shakespeare Sunday', I'll be comparing and contrasting the two above passages: the first, spoken by the exiled Duke in As You Like It (Act 2, Scene 1); the second spoken by King Richard as he faces the prospect of deposition by Bolingbroke (Richard II, Act 3, Scene 3). These extracts form a neat parallel, as both feature a man of noble or formerly noble status, who through rhetorical questioning, figurative language, and listing, evaluate the new life they face. For both, this new life sees a shift from the urban setting of a royal court to a more rural setting - one of humility, religion, and study. Yet, while the Duke sees this new life as 'sweet' and 'free', King Richard conflates the change in social status with misery and death.
The main difference between the Duke's position and Richard's is that, while the Duke is already living his new life in the Forest of Arden, King Richard is only just coming to terms with the prospect of his deposition. In the passage from As You Like It, the Duke's monologue is a reflection, an act of reconciliation with his exile and his new life. He begins by questioning his 'brothers in exile', companions who have followed him from the court to the forest, how they feel about 'this life more sweet'. His formulation of these questions, beginning with 'hath not' and 'are not', reveal his own assent with the statements he offers. He even sees the 'winter's wind' as being a source of joy; another affirmation of his place within this new life. He ends his monologue by emphatically stating 'I would not change it' - more than a reconciliation, this is a wholehearted declaration of acceptance for this new way of living.
By contrast, King Richard is still clinging onto his life of pomp and majesty, his title as King. His monologue is a statement of apprehension, as he envisions a life without the power, wealth, and security on which he has hitherto relied upon, and built his identity upon. He too asks questions, but rather than addressing some companion or subject, he appears to be asking himself 'what must the king do now?' These questions are not strictly rhetorical, as he answers them, too: 'the king shall do it', 'the king must be contented'. As Richard is quick to make up his mind, he is also quick to imagine what life awaits him after his deposition. In a linguistic pattern frequently employed by Richard, he lists what factors of his life will change, substitution each current possession ('gay apparel') for an imagined alternative ('an almsman's gown'). The dexterity of his language and the fullness of realisation, betrays a preparedness which suggests Richard has contemplated the matter of deposition or usurpation before. So, like the Duke, he has dwelt on the subject for some time; yet, to live in prolonged fear of possible deposition, rather than to experience a sudden exile without warning, adds to Richard's insecurity and explains his aversion to different life.
Further on the matter of rhetorical questioning: the Duke and Richard also differ in the intent behind their questions. For the Duke, it is declarative; he believes in his statements and by asking his companions, encourages them to align their views with his. For Richard, the questions are less sure, more searching. His questions are spurred by fear and confusion, and in answering them, he hopes to find resolution and hope. Yet whether speaking to a group or to themselves, the Duke and Richard are alike in that they both already hold the answers they seek, and are quick to come by them, if they haven't already. For the Duke and King Richard, their own internal leanings are more important to them then the inclinations of others.
It is also interesting to consider how the Duke and King Richard differ in how they perceive their change in circumstances. In his monologue, the Duke predominantly focuses on the shift in environment, from the 'envious court' to the 'wood'. For him, it is more of a social change: though less luxurious, the forest is safer than the court, where jealousies and vengeance are rife; instead of flatterers, the Duke is counselled by the wind, who physically, rather than verbally, assures him of his own strength. The forest has been substituted for the court, but it also offers more: 'tongues', 'sermons', and a wealth of good can be found in this new environment, making it not only an alteration, but an improvement.
For Richard, the focus is on the material losses, and how his deposition will not only lose him his title but all his wealthy possessions (what the Duke would call his 'painted pomp'). In his new poor, humble life, Richard imagines himself substituting his 'jewels' for 'beads', his 'figured goblets' for a 'dish of wood', and his 'subjects' for 'carved saints'. These new possessions are wooden, cheap and handmade, suggesting a move away from a life of provision and dependence, to a hand-to-mouth way of living, where one must create the very utensils needed to eat and pray. Richard views his new life to be a deeply religious one, living as a hermit or almsman. He speaks of transitioning from a life from luxury and lavishness to one of poverty and piety; despite seeming stoic, Richard's preoccupation with material objects, and his grief over trading his kingdom for 'a little, little grave, an obscure grave', shows how much of his identity he has built upon physical wealth. To lose this wealth is to lose his identity: this is further insinuated by his move away from the third-person 'the king', to a use of first-person pronouns ('I', 'my'), showing a loss of belief in himself as authoritative ruler.
The final, and most telling difference, is that what the Duke sees as a new life, Richard sees as a death sentence. The Duke's monologue is framed by a focus on 'this our life', a celebration of renewal, endurance and hope. Richard's monologue is dogged by notions of death - a preoccupation on the act of burial, and a certainty in being disrespected, lost, and forgotten. For Richard, deposition means a loss of power and wealth in life, but more importantly, a loss of dignity and reverence in death.
For Richard II, to be king is all he has known, so a life (and death) after deposition is unfathomable. Perhaps, had he been free to try a new life, he too might have found hope and rejuvenation, as the Duke did in the Forest of Arden.
Photo credit:
Cast of As You Like It, RSC 2013 production, by Keith Pattison, copyright of RSC, found here.
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