Beginning of Essay
The problem with Richard is that he is not really a man of action; he confronts and deals with difficulties by internalising and talking about them. Richard is not at all a man of his action. Whenever a problem arises, he internalises and talks to himself or the s ....

Middle of Essay
.... 199), the reader could mistake this act of 'showmanship' as the act of a leader who was ready to stand up and take action when a problem arose. However, as we see later, in Act 1 scene 3, Richard's order for Mowbray and Bolingbroke's lives to answer their accusations was only to fuel Richard's own desire to be the centre of attention; it was his 'showman' quality that lead him to do this, not his ability to take action when a situation that required good leadership skills arose. In Act 3, scene 2, Richard, on his return to England, finds that his 'favourites' (Bushy, Bagot and Greene) have all been killed by Bolingbroke. Richard is struck down with im ....