Time, place, and agency in "Richard II"

In Richard II, Shakespeare left lessons for us on the effects of speech acts by leaders on the public stage. The "I" in Richard's speeches is always new: "Thus play I in one person many people" (5.5.31). Recent theories of pardons and promises made in the public sphere call attention to the layers of voices, heretofore hidden, in the first-person utterances of Richard as he attempts to interrupt the rush of history toward vengeance. Employing speech-act theory, we discover today that Shakespeare lets each utterance create a new voice and history for England. Shakespeare gives Richard time to begin to speak and study the world that each "I" utterance produces. The play, known for its rich language, reveals even more voices behind the public face of a king about to die: a confessor, a subject, a prisoner, a Christian, a husband, and a soldier. In every syllable spoken as first-person speaker, Richard moves the audience in images of mirrors and music through a drama of attempts to study a life.