King Richard II

Celebrated and frequently studied for its portrayal of the rise of a Machiavellian king, Shakespeare's King Richard II is believed to have been written around 1595. Interestingly, while the play was classified as a history in the First Folio of Shakespeare's works in 1623, the earlier quarto edition (from 1597) displays the full title of the drama as The Tragedie of King Richard the Second. Based on the life of the English King Richard II, the history takes place during his reign, somewhere between 1377 and 1399. Critics believe that Richard II was not meant to be a stand-alone play. Scholars frequently pair the play with three of Shakespeare's other histories—Henry IV, Part I; Henry IV, Part II and Henry V—as they follow the successions of King Richard in chronological order. This set of four plays (or tetralogy) is commonly referred to as the Henriad.