49 pages 1 hour read

William Shakespeare

Richard II

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1597

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Act IV

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Act IV, Scene 1 Summary

Bolingbroke and many nobles assemble for Parliament at Westminster Hall in London. Bolingbroke calls Bagot as a witness and asks him what he knows about the murder of Gloucester. Bolingbroke implies that Richard and others were responsible. Bagot accuses Aumerle of being involved in the plot against Gloucester. Aumerle denies it and says Bagot is lying. He challenges Bagot to combat, but Bolingbroke forbids Bagot to respond to the challenge.

Fitzwater then testifies that he heard Aumerle say that he was the cause of Gloucester’s death. Aumerle is defiant, saying that Fitzwater is damned for his false accusation, but Percy accuses Aumerle of lying about Fitzwater and challenges him. Another lord accuses Aumerle and challenges him. Surrey intervenes and says Fitzwater is lying and challenges him. Fitzwater, in his turn, insists that Aumerle is guilty of Gloucester’s murder; he says he himself heard Mowbray say that Aumerle sent two of his men to murder the duke at Calais. Aumerle says that Mowbray lied, and he wants to challenge him. Bolingbroke rules that the challenge must be put off until Mowbray returns, since Bolingbroke intends to repeal his banishment and restore his confiscated lands. However, Carlisle says that Mowbray has died in exile in Venice.

Related Titles

By William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

All's Well That Ends Well

William Shakespeare

All's Well That Ends Well

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

A Midsummer Night's Dream

William Shakespeare

A Midsummer Night's Dream

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Antony and Cleopatra

William Shakespeare

Antony and Cleopatra

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

As You Like It

William Shakespeare

As You Like It

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Coriolanus

William Shakespeare

Coriolanus

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

Cymbeline

William Shakespeare

Cymbeline

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Hamlet

William Shakespeare

Hamlet

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Henry IV, Part 1

William Shakespeare

Henry IV, Part 1

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

Henry IV, Part 2

William Shakespeare

Henry IV, Part 2

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Henry V

William Shakespeare

Henry V

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

Henry VIII

William Shakespeare

Henry VIII

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

Henry VI, Part 1

William Shakespeare

Henry VI, Part 1

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

Henry VI, Part 3

William Shakespeare

Henry VI, Part 3

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Julius Caesar

William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

King John

William Shakespeare

King John

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

King Lear

William Shakespeare

King Lear

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Love's Labour's Lost

William Shakespeare

Love's Labour's Lost

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Macbeth

William Shakespeare

Macbeth

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Measure For Measure

William Shakespeare

Measure For Measure

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Much Ado About Nothing

William Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing

William Shakespeare