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The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 12.2614  Friday, 16 November 2001

From:           Bonnie Melchior <BonnieM@mail.uca.edu>
Date:           Thursday, 15 Nov 2001 11:27:42 -0600
Subject: 12.2608 Re: Richard II
Comment:        Re: SHK 12.2608 Re: Richard II

Dan Smith writes that he finds intriguing "the difference between
someone playing a role and someone who fills it."  I, too, find that
difference intriguing, and I think it is the root of the rabbit/duck
criticism concerning *Henry V*:  Is Henry filling the role of king or
just playing it very well?  That ambiguity seems built into the fabric
of the play.  Richard, on the other hand, is obviously "playing" the
role, rather than filling it, and yet Richard is the one born to that
role, "divinely appointed" to it-- a thought-provoking irony.

Bonnie Melchior

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