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Question
Explain the following line with reference to the context in about 5 to 8 line:
“How can you say to me, I am a king?”
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Solution
- Reference: This line is from the poem “The Hollow Crown” by William Shakespeare. The poem is an excerpt from the play “Richard II”.
- Context: King Richard says these words to his loyal nobles when he talks about the power of death over monarchs.
- Explanation: British subjects usually believe that a king is born with a divine right to rule. People respect his crown as a symbol of great power. After he is deposed from power, Henry II realizes the bitter truth that he is in no way different from ordinary subjects. He also has wanted, a need for friends, and the compulsion to taste grief. Nobody can escape death.
- Comment: Death – the only thing inevitable in life.
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