‘This royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle’ is part of one of the best-known speeches in William Shakespeare’s plays. It is delivered by John of Gaunt as he is dying. The speech alludes to the excesses of King Richard II. Gaunt loves his country and uses his dying words to mourn “her” fate in the hands of Richard II. This, along with the other phrases included in his monologue are about the fate of England as a country. He uses a string of epithets to describe the nation’s strength and what it has come to today. He believes that England is being “leased out” by the current King Richard in a way that goes against the country’s nature and legacy.
As he’s lying there, he feels as if God is letting him see the future of King Richard II. He believes that the King has been living a degenerate lifestyle unbecoming of a king, something that cannot go on. His rule will die out like a raging fire. Shakespeare uses a metaphor to compare him to a “fierce blaze of riot” as well as a “small shower” and “sudden storm.” John of Gaunt says that big thunderstorms rage themselves out quite quickly while smaller storms “last long.” Looking back to the quote above, he adds that “He tires betimes that spurs too fast betimes; /With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder; /Light vanity, insatiate cormorant, /Consuming means, soon preys upon itself.” While Gaunt does not mention Richard by name in these lines, it is implied that his various metaphors are meant to describe the current king.
He then refers to England and the monarchy as “this seat of Mars/This other Eden, a demi-paradise,/ his fortress built by Nature for herself/ Against infection and the hand of war.” Another well-known quote follows: This happy breed of men, this little world… Gaunt is speaking as though the end of England, or at least the England he loves, is around the corner. The country has many advantages, namely being set apart from the rest of mainland Europe, “a precious stone set in the silver sea.”
Throughout his reign, King Richard II demonstrated his immaturity and enjoyment of the wealth and power that comes with the monarchy. He does not display an adequate interest in the lives of his people and the fate of the country, something that leads to his being overthrown by Henry Bolingbroke, his cousin, and then assassinated.
Finally, I include a clip from a parlimentary repsonse by Jacob Rees-Mogg, who quotes from the first part of this speech and in doing so makes a complete mockery of Shakespeare’s meaning. He implies that the Conservatives have guaranteed the greatness of England/UK by their policies. Yet I believe Shakespeare would no doubt have equated them with the actions of Richard II whose enjoyment of wealth and power and lack of care for ordinary people, have brought this country to edge of ruin.
