UNIT VI THE HOLLOW CROWN

POEM William Shakespeare

INTRODUCTION: 'The Hollow Crown ' which is an excerpt from

‘Richard II ' by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in
1595. The play is based on true events that occurred towards the end of
the 14th century. This poem is a monologue of King Richard II. King
Richard II is a regal and stately figure but he was wasteful in his
spending habits. Hence he was disliked by the commoners. Later, he
was deposed by his cousin Bolingbroke.

This poem speaks of the vanity of life and how death is the ultimate
conqueror rendering everything powerless and meek when one
succumbs to defeat.

LIFE IS TEMPORARY: King Richard II had surrendered to his rebellious

cousin, Bolingbroke. He and his men were at Pomfret prison.

“Our lands, our lives, and all, are Bolingbroke’s,

And nothing can we call our own but death;”

He says that after their defeat he and his men can declare nothing as
their own, since their lands, wealth and lives now belong to
Bolingbroke. So he says that they have nothing to leave behind except
their rotting bodies to the ground. He experiences deep distress at the
horror of his circumstances.

WORDS OF DEJECTION: In that desperate situation, he speaks of worms

graves, 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 barren land where they will be buried.
“And tell sad stories of the death of kings:

How some have been depos’d,some slain in war’

King Richard yielded to dejection and talked of all the different ways in
which defeated kings suffer, how some had been deposed, slain in war,
poisoned by their wives and so forth.

DEATH IS A CRUEL JESTER: He attributed the loss of lives to death, who

he personified as he jester who watches over the shoulder of every
ruler, who mocks kings by allowing them to their human flesh, was like
impregnable brass.

“Keeps Death his court, and there the antic sits,

Scoffing his state and grinning at his pomp”

However, Death penetrates through the castle walls, silently and

unnoticed like a sharp pin, thus bidding farewell to him and all his pride
forever.

FATALITY OF KINGS: Finally, Richard appealed to his soldiers not to

mock his mere flesh and blood by showing reverence and respect to
him. He added that he too needed bread to live, felt want, tasted grief
and needed friends.

“Make dust our paper, and with rainy eyes

Write sorrow on the bosom of the earth”

When King Richard abdicates his throne and surrenders the political
control of England to the rebellious Henry Bolingbroke, he desperately
realizes the mortality of kings. He wants to use dust as a paper and
write his sorrow in tears.
CONCLUSION: He concluded thus with a despairing statement, urging
his men not to call him a king as he was only human, just like the rest of
them. The poet brilliantly captures the futility and temporal power of
kings. The poem strikes responsive chord in our age where people seek
pleasure and power and how it turns sour on every one, rich or poor,
good or evil meets the same end.

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UNIT VI THE NEVER- NEVER NEST

SUPPLEMENTARY READER Cedric Mount

INTRODUCTON: ‘The Never- Never Nest ‘written by the playwright

‘Cedric Mount’ is an amusing a one- act play. It centers round the

popular modern practice of living through hire- purchase system, which
enables the low-income group to have things, which they cannot at
once buy with their money. This system makes people extravagant. It
encourages lavishness and taking the loan. This lesson reflects the
greed of young couple Jack and Jill to own more and more luxurious
articles on loans, paying huge instalments and spending their entire life
time repaying the loans incurred.

CONCLUSION: At the end of the play, their aunt Jane, a practical lady, is
displeased at their lifestyle and tries to make them realize their
stupidity. Jill was very happy and grateful to her aunt Jane for her
present of a cheque for ten pounds. Jill sends the cheque to Dr.Martin
and tells Jim that they had to pay one more instalment to clear up the
medical bill of their child’s birth and the baby would be really theirs .The
end of the play is highly humorous and also ironical .The older
generation has been telling us all the time: ‘Don’t live beyond your
means. Take a loan that you can easily pay’.

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