The Hollow Crown

(from Richard II)

William Shakespeare

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 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 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.
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?

Pick out the phrase that

suggests that King Richard
was sorrowful.
Why does the king suggest
that it is now time for his will
to be executed?
What is the only thing we
bequeath to our descendants?
What are the vanquished men
left with?
What does the ‘small model’
refer to here?
What does a monarch’s crown
symbolize?
What mocks the ruler’s power
and pomp?

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

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’.

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?
2. What does the executor mentioned in
the poem do?
3. Who is Bolingbroke? Is he a friend or
foe?
4. Are all deposed kings slain by the
deposer?
5. What does the crown of rulers stand
for?
6. What hides within the crown and
laughs at the king’s grandeur?
7. What does ‘flesh’ mean here?
8. What are the various functions and
objects given up by a defeated king?
9. How does the king establish that he
and his subjects are equal in the end?
10.Bring out King Richard’s feelings when
he was defeated.
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;”
ii. “All murdered – for within the hollow
crown
That rounds the mortal temples of
a king
Keeps Death his court, …”
iii. “Comes at the last, and with a little pin
Bores through his castle wall, and
farewell king!”
iv.“How can you say to me, I am a king?”