The Hollow Crown (Poem)

Unit 6 – Poem

The Hollow Crown

(from Richard II)
William Shakespeare

Warm-up

a. Work with a partner and take this short quiz to find out how well-informed you are about history.
- Name a few wars and battles you have read about.
- What is the difference between a war and a battle?
- Why do rulers wage wars and battles?
- Is the outcome of a war always fair?
- Do you think rulers understand the true meaning of life in defeat or in victory?
- Can you name a few kings and leaders who have fallen from glory to disgrace?

b. 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 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 the life of King Richard II. 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 II and some of his followers awaited the arrival of the Welsh army (after facing defeat at the hands of his cousin, Bolingbroke), of about 10,000 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 II 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 II 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.

The Poem

First, listen to a reading of the complete poem. Then, read silently and try to answer the questions briefly, based on your understanding. You may refer to the glossary given at the end of the monologue to help you.

Let’s talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs,
Make dust our paper, and with rainy eyes
Write sorrow on the bosom of the earth.
Let’s choose executors and talk of wills.
And yet not so – for what can we bequeath
Save our deposed bodies to the ground?
Our lands, our lives, and all, are Bolingbroke’s,
And nothing can we call our own but death;
And that small model of the barren earth
Which serves as paste and cover to our bones.

For God’s sake let us sit upon the ground
And tell sad stories of the death of kings:
How some have been depos’d, some slain in war,
Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed,
Some poisoned by their wives, some sleeping kill’d,
All murdered – for within the hollow crown
That rounds the mortal temples of a king
Keeps Death his court, and there the antic sits,
Scoffing his state and grinning at his pomp,
Allowing him a breath, a little scene,
To monarchize, be fear’d, and kill with looks;
Infusing him with self and vain conceit,
As if this flesh which walls about our life
Were brass impregnable; and, humour’d thus,
Comes at the last, and with a little pin
Bores through his castle wall, and farewell king!

Cover your heads, and mock not flesh and blood
With solemn reverence; throw away respect,
Tradition, form, and ceremonious duty;
For you have but mistook me all this while.
I live with bread like you, feel want,
Taste grief, need friends – subjected thus,
How can you say to me, I am a king?

About the Author

William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616), an English poet and playwright, is widely regarded as the greatest writer in English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. He was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. He wrote about 37 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses. He was often called England’s National Poet and nicknamed the Bard of Avon. The first publishing of Shakespeare’s works is the ‘The First Folio’. Playwright Ben Jonson wrote a preface to this book including the quote “(Shakespeare) is not of an age, but for all time.” His plays have been translated into every major living language and are constantly studied and performed throughout the world.

Glossary

Term	Meaning
epitaphs	short pieces of writing inscribed on tombstones in memory of the dead
executors	persons who put someone’s terms of will into effect
bequeath	pass on something to the next generation by means of a will
deposed	removed from office or power
slain	killed
antic	someone who draws attention through silly or funny acts (here a court jester)
scoffing	expressing mockery
grinning	smiling wildly
monarchize	rule, carry out the duties and functions of a ruler
impregnable	impossible to pass through
ceremonious	being very formal

Explanation:
- Lines 1-3: When King Richard abdicates his throne and surrenders the political control of England to the rebellious Henry Bolingbroke, he desperately realises the mortality of kings. ‘Dust’ is compared to paper and ‘Rainy eyes’ to writing instruments.
- Line 9: ‘small model of the barren earth’ – the body’s flesh stands for all perishable things – here a “model” of the “barren earth”.
- Line 16: hollow crown – the crown is empty in the middle and this connotes that power is not solid or strong or permanent.
- Line 18: ‘there the antic sits… farewell king’ – here Death is portrayed as a court jester who grants the mortal kings the temporary licence to ‘monarchise’.

A. Fill in the blanks using the words given in the box to complete the summary of the poem

Box:
barren-earth, friends, graves, slain, rebellious, poisoned, worms, grief, impregnable, epitaphs, death, farewell, reverence, king, pin

King Richard the Second had surrendered to his (a) rebellious cousin, Bolingbroke. He experienced deep distress at the horror of his circumstances. In that desperate situation, he speaks of (b) graves, (c) worms, (d) epitaphs and other things connected with death. He spoke of how people leave nothing behind and can call nothing their own, except for the small patch of (e) barren-earth, where they will be buried. King Richard yielded to dejection and talked of all the different ways in which defeated kings suffer – how some had been deposed, (f) slain in war, (g) poisoned by their wives and so forth. He attributed this loss of lives to (h) death, whom he personified as the jester who watches over the shoulder of every ruler, who mocks kings by allowing them to think their human flesh was like (i) impregnable brass. However, Death penetrates through the castle walls, silently and unnoticed, like a sharp (j) pin, thus bidding (k) farewell to him and all his pride forever. Finally, Richard appealed to his soldiers not to mock his mere flesh and blood by showing (l) reverence and respect to him. He added that he too needed bread to live, felt want, tasted (m) grief and needed (n) friends. He concluded thus, urging his men not to call him a (o) king as he was only human, just like the rest of them.

B. The words used by Shakespeare find a place in present-day conversations also.

a. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words from the box and complete the statements suitably:

Box: bequeath, antics, monarchise, impregnable, hollow

1. Shravan never keeps his promises. His friends know that his words are hollow.
2. The spectators died laughing at the antics of the clown.
3. The businesswoman wished to bequeath all her riches to an orphanage, after her death.
4. The fortress was impregnable and could not be conquered by the enemies.
5. Alexander the Great wished to conquer many lands and monarchise the entire world.

b. Complete the passage given below with suitable words from the box:

Box: farewell, ceremonious, deposed, reverence, vain, pomp, conceited, sorrow, scoffing

Lima, a conceited and vain woman, kept scoffing at her colleagues and went on taxing them with hard labour. Though they were ceremonious to her, she being their head, they were offended and filled with sorrow. It so happened that Lima was deposed from her high position due to a serious blunder she had committed. Lima, having lost all her pomp and glory, realized how arrogant she had been. She gave up her pride and with reverence sought an apology from everyone. She thus turned over a new leaf and bid farewell to them.

C. From your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions briefly in a sentence or two:

1. What do the three words, ‘graves, worms and epitaphs’, refer to?
   They refer to the inevitable facts of human mortality and the rituals of death.

2. What does the executor mentioned in the poem do?
   The executor carries out the terms of a will after a person’s death.

3. Who is Bolingbroke? Is he a friend or foe?
   Bolingbroke is Richard’s cousin and political rival; he is a foe.

4. Are all deposed kings slain by the deposer?
   No, some are slain in war, poisoned, or killed by other means.

5. What does the crown of rulers stand for?
   It symbolizes power and authority, which are ultimately temporary and hollow.

6. What hides within the crown and laughs at the king’s grandeur?
   Death, personified as a jester, hides within and mocks the king.

7. What does ‘flesh’ mean here?
   It refers to the mortal human body, vulnerable despite royal status.

8. What are the various functions and objects given up by a defeated king?
   He loses lands, lives, authority, respect, and all material possessions.

9. How does the king establish that he and his subjects are equal in the end?
   He says he eats, feels grief, needs friends – just like any other man.

10. Bring out King Richard’s feelings when he was defeated.
    He feels despair, humility, and a painful awareness of human mortality.

D. Explain the following lines with reference to the context in about 5 to 8 lines:

i. “Our lands, our lives, and all, are Bolingbroke’s, / And nothing can we call our own but death;”
Richard laments that everything – territory, possessions, life itself – has been seized by his rival; only death remains as an inescapable, personal possession.

ii. “All murdered – for within the hollow crown / That rounds the mortal temples of a king / Keeps Death his court, …”
The crown, though glittering, is empty at the centre; Death resides there, mocking every king’s illusion of permanence.

iii. “Comes at the last, and with a little pin / Bores through his castle wall, and farewell king!”
Death finally pierces the king’s seemingly impregnable body with a mere pin, ending his reign and pride.

iv. “How can you say to me, I am a king?”
Stripped of power, Richard questions the label “king,” asserting his common humanity.

E. Speaking Activity

Working with your partner, discuss the following adages and share your views with the class.

a. War begets war
b. Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown

F. Poetic Devices

Personification

When human traits are given to non-human or inanimate objects.

Interrogation

When a question is asked not for the sake of getting an answer, but to express a point more emphatically.

Metaphor

When two unlike objects or things having some common qualities are compared.

Rhetorical Question

When a question is formed to make a point rather than to elicit an answer.

Internal Rhyme

When rhyming words are used within a single line.

a. Identify the figure of speech in each line:

i. “Let’s talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs; / Make dust our paper, and with rainy eyes / Write sorrow on the bosom of the earth.” – Metaphor
ii. “And yet not so – for what can we bequeath / Save our deposed bodies to the ground?” – Rhetorical Question
iii. “Keeps Death his court, and there the antic sits,…” – Personification
iv. “How can you say to me, I am a king?” – Interrogation / Rhetorical Question
v. “Scoffing his state and grinning at his pomp,…” – Personification
vi. “Bores through his castle wall, and farewell king!” – Metaphor / Personification

b. Pick out the alliteration from the following lines:

i. “Our lands, our lives, and all, are Bolingbroke’s,…” – lands, lives
ii. “And tell sad stories of the death of kings:” – sad stories
iii. “Comes at the last, and with a little pin…” – little pin

G. Based on your reading of King Richard’s speech, answer the following questions in about 100–150 words each:

1. What are the causes for King Richard’s grief?
2. How are eternal truths and wisdom brought to the reader here?
3. Death has been cited in many ways in this monologue. Identify the poetic devices used in those references.
4. Who do future generations remember easily – the victor or the vanquished? Give reasons. Also, cite relevant references from King Richard’s speech.

H. Parallel Poem

High Flight
John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air...

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I’ve topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle – flew.
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

(Also read the poem Ozymandias by P. B. Shelley.)

Quotable Quote
Never be weak, you must be strong: you have infinite strength within you. Strength is life; Weakness is death.
– Swami Vivekananda