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A Summary and Analysis of John of Gaunt’s ‘This Sceptred Isle’ Speech. By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle’: so begins probably the most famous speech from Richard II, William Shakespeare’s 1590s history play about the fall of the Plantagenet king. These words are spoken by ...
What comfort, man? how is't with aged Gaunt? John of Gaunt. O how that name befits my composition! Old Gaunt indeed, and gaunt in being old: Within me grief hath kept a tedious fast; And who abstains from meat that is not gaunt? 760 For sleeping England long time have I watch'd; Watching breeds leanness, leanness is all gaunt:
Notes. 1] John of Gaunt's death-bed speech in Act 2, scene 1 prophesizes the downfall of an idealized England under the rule of Richard II. Back to Line. 2] seat of Mars: home to the Roman god of war. Back to Line. 3] demi-paradise: a place Edenic in quality, diminished only in size. Back to Line.
- Context
- Original Text
- Unfamiliar Language
- Modern Translation
- Notes on Performance
- Conclusion
We begin our story in King Richard the Second’s court, as Henry Bolingbroke, son of our good friend John of Gaunt and the subject of this monologue, challenges Thomas Mowbray, the Duke of Norfolk. Henry accuses Mowbray of being involved in the recent death of the King’s uncle (who is also Henry’s uncle; Henry and the King are cousins). Richard give...
This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection and the hand of war, This happy breed of men, this little world, This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall, Or as a moat defens...
Sceptered: 1 : invested with a scepter or sovereign authority. 2 : of or relating to a sovereign or to royalty. Mars: The Latin of the God Ares, God of War Office of a wall: Serves as a wall to the outside world Christian service/ sepulchre in stubborn Jewry: Referring to the Crusades in Jerusalem Tenement/ Pelting farm: leased out land Neptune: La...
This royal Kingdom, this royal island, this majestic land, this fortress and garden of Eden built by Nature herself for protection from disease and war, this lucky people, this little world, this island set like a gemstone in the sea which acts as a wall or a house, protecting us against the jealousy of other nations, this blessed land, this earth,...
The fame of John Gaunt’s words in this speech come from it’s patriotism and acclaim of Britain, (England, specifically). A speech famously quoted by prominent English figures like Winston Churchill, these words are a proud and beautiful eulogy for a country in a time of strife. For the actor playing Gaunt, this pride and patriotism is essential to ...
Reverence for the beauty of language has no play in acting. John Gaunt is not speaking these words to sound beautiful or to say something pretty about England, he is a dying man whose son has just been banished by an ineffective King who will lead his beloved country to ruin. Tap into the ‘as if’ of the scene – the desperate truth of the situation,...
John of Gaunt’s speech early in the scene is among the most famous in all of Richard II, and it has often been quoted as a stirring invocation of English patriotism. Certain phrases from this speech—such as “this sceptered isle”—have become cliches (2.1.45).
JOHN OF GAUNT No, no, men living flatter those that die. KING RICHARD II Thou, now a-dying, say'st thou flatterest me. JOHN OF GAUNT O, no! thou diest, though I the sicker be. KING RICHARD II I am in health, I breathe, and see thee ill. JOHN OF GAUNT Now He that made me knows I see thee ill; Ill in myself to see, and in thee seeing ill.
Jul 31, 2015 · Bolingbroke’s father, John of Gaunt, privately blames the king for Gloucester’s death. At Richard’s command, Bolingbroke and Mowbray prepare for a trial by combat. The king halts the fight at the last minute, banishing both men from England.When John of Gaunt dies, Richard seizes his possessions to help finance a war in Ireland, thus ...
