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Question
Explain the following line with reference to the context in about 5 to 8 line:
All murdered – for within the hollow crown
That rounds the mortal temples of a king Keeps Death his court, …”
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Solution
- Reference: These lines are from the poem “The Hollow Crown” by William Shakespeare. The poem is an excerpt from the play “Richard II”.
- Context: The defeated king thinks about death which is looming large. He remembers how other kings had met with their death. He says these words while sharing his understanding of the power of death who rules men who wear the crowns.
- Explanation: A king wears a crown as a symbol of his power over the country he rules. But the empty space within the crown houses death. In the empty space, death conducts his court and gives his verdict when it is time.
- Comment: The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.
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The historical background:
The poem is an extract from William Shakespeare’s play King Richard the Second. The play is based on true events that occurred towards the end of the 14th century.
Richard II was crowned the King of England in the year 1367. He continued to be the British Monarch until 1399, when he was deposed by his cousin, Henry of Bolingbroke, who crowned himself King Henry the Fourth in the same year. Shakespeare’s play is a dramatic rendition of the last two years of King Richard II’s life. In this brief span of time, he was ousted from his royal position and sent to prison, where he died in captivity.
The following extract is set in the Coast of Wales. King Richard and some of his followers awaited the arrival of the Welsh army [after facing defeat at the hands of his cousin, Bolingbroke], of about 10000 warriors. But to their shock and surprise, they received the message that the army was not coming to their rescue. His followers tried to boost their King’s courage against the news, only in vain. When Richard came face to face with the reality of his terrible fate, he spoke the following verse, famously known as the “Hollow Crown” speech in theatrical circles. In it, King Richard is reminded of the power of Death that overshadows everything else, including the power of rulers, and renders them as powerless as any commoner at a moment’s notice.
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Explain the following line with reference to the context in about 5 to 8 line:
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Read the poem once again carefully and identify the figure of speech that has been used in each of the following line from the poem:
“Scoffing his state and grinning at his pomp,…”
Read the poem once again carefully and identify the figure of speech that has been used in each of the following line from the poem:
“Bores through his castle wall, and farewell king!”
