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Richard II Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Richard II Quizzes, Trivia

Richard II Trivia

Richard II Trivia Quizzes

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This is the first of the four plays referred to as Shakespeare's tetralogy, or the Henriad, which continues with "Henry IV Parts 1 & 2" and "Henry V". It deals with the last two years of his reign, and shows the rising tension between Richard and his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, who becomes Henry IV at the end of the play.
4 Richard II quizzes and 65 Richard II trivia questions.
1.
  "Richard II" - How well do you know the action?   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 25 Qns
It is both a history play and a tragedy. All these questions on "Richard II" are factual ones based entirely on the text.
Average, 25 Qns, Philian, Apr 30 03
Average
Philian
568 plays
2.
  Why Did They Do That?   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The shifting allegiances and political intrigue of "Richard II" raise many interesting points of motive - why do the characters do the following things in the play?
Average, 10 Qns, merylfederman, Dec 28 12
Average
merylfederman gold member
233 plays
3.
  Richard The Second #2    
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
Here is the second quiz on Shakespeare's Richard the Second. Have fun.
Difficult, 15 Qns, JCSon, Feb 14 06
Difficult
JCSon gold member
480 plays
4.
  Richard The Second #1    
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
For those who've read Shakespeare's Richard the Second...enjoy. The 2nd Quiz on the subject will follow shortly.
Difficult, 15 Qns, JCSon, Feb 14 06
Difficult
JCSon gold member
468 plays
trivia question Quick Question
Who was banished from England by King Richard and was never allowed to return?

From Quiz "Richard The Second #2"




Related Topics
  Richard II [People] (2 quizzes)


Richard II Trivia Questions
1. Act I Scene I: Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford, challenges Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, to a duel. Why does he do this?

From Quiz Why Did They Do That?

Answer: Mowbray killed the Duke of Gloucester

Henry Bolingbroke challenges the Duke of Mowbray because of Mowbray's probable involvement in the backstory murder of the Duke of Gloucester.

2. In the opening scene, which man is bringing accusations against Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk?

From Quiz "Richard II" - How well do you know the action?

Answer: Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford

It is Henry Bolingbroke (some editions it is spelled "Bullingbrook") who initiates the opening action in the play. However, when the accusations begin you realise that there are a series of disputes, some involving Richard himself, that stretch back into the past.

3. At what castle was Richard imprisoned until he died?

From Quiz Richard The Second #2

Answer: Pomfret Castle

Act V, Scene V, Lines 99-112. King Richard beats a servant after he refuses to taste of it first. Sir Pierce of Exton strikes and kills the king after he kills the servant and another.

4. Who was King Richard's Lord Treasurer?

From Quiz Richard The Second #1

Answer: Earl of Wiltshire

The Earl of Wiltshire is not mentioned in the names of actors, but is referred to a few times in the play.

5. Who decided to rid King Henry of his greatest foe, Richard?

From Quiz Richard The Second #2

Answer: Sir Pierce of Exton

King Henry had said or seemed to say to Exton, 'I would thou wert the man that would divorce this (meaning Richard) from my heart'. Exton thought he would do Henry a favor, but he was banished because of his deed. In King Henry's words, 'Though I did wish him , I the er, love him ed'.

6. Who was the son and heir of the Earl of Arundel?

From Quiz Richard The Second #1

Answer: Rainold Lord Cobham

Northumberland makes mention of him in the play. The line formerly was deleted for political reasons since Elizabeth had imprisoned the son of the then Earl of Arundel.

7. Act I Scene IV: Richard hears that John Gaunt is dying and is quite pleased! Why does he want his uncle to die quickly?

From Quiz Why Did They Do That?

Answer: Confiscating the dead Gaunt's property will pay for the war

Richard is going broke, and since Gaunt's heir, Bolingbroke, is in exile, Richard thinks that Gaunt's estate will be fair game to confiscate. The wealth from the estate will bankroll the war in Ireland.

8. Where and when does King Richard decide to arrange the trial by combat that is to settle the dispute between the two men?

From Quiz "Richard II" - How well do you know the action?

Answer: at Coventry upon St. Lambert's day

Settling a dispute by trial by single combat is an idea that no longer finds much favour. "Might is right" is not a concept that appeals to many people. Quite often, however, you will see this presented as normal in films that purport to represent medieval life. There are several real recorded cases.

9. What was the name of King Richard's horse?

From Quiz Richard The Second #2

Answer: Barbary & barbary

At the coronation of Henry, it is Barbary he rides. The Groom tells the imprisoned Richard that Barbary was proud that Bolingbroke was on his back.

10. Where did the Earl of Northumberland ask the others to away with him?

From Quiz Richard The Second #1

Answer: Ravenspurgh

Northumberland received intelligence that the banished Duke of Hereford furnished with eight tall ships and 3000 men of war were marching on England. He asked Lord Ross and Lord Willoughby to go with him to join their force at Ravenspurgh.

11. Act II Scene I: John Gaunt, dying, wishes to try to give advice to the king before expiring. His brother, the Duke of York, tells him not to bother with worrying about that. Why is York so down on the idea of his brother advising the king?

From Quiz Why Did They Do That?

Answer: The king will never listen to advice from his uncle

York believes that Richard is so beholden to flattering fools that the proper advice from his uncle will never be received - and when Richard arrives, York is proven all too correct. Gaunt spends his last breaths arguing with an increasingly agitated King Richard.

12. To what does the Duchess of Gloucester compare the seven sons of King Edward III?

From Quiz "Richard II" - How well do you know the action?

Answer: branches of one tree and vials (containers) of sacred blood

Both the blood image and the branches image are very important. For the Duchess, with the murder of her husband, the blood has been spilled and one of the branches hacked off. Gradually, each of the sons of Edward III is to disappear from the scene. After the death of Gloucester, only Gaunt (Lancaster) and Edmund Langley (York) remain.

13. Who said, 'Sweet love I see, changing his property, Turns to the sourest and most...'?

From Quiz Richard The Second #2

Answer: Sir Stephen Scroop

(...two words not excepted by this page.) Scroop told King Richard that the Earl of Wiltshire, Bushy, and Green had made peace with Bolingbroke, meaning with their heads, not with their hands. King Richard cursed their souls mistaking Scroop's meaning. It is here that the aforementioned quote is spoken and followin, '...Again uncurse their souls....'

14. Who was the son of the Earl of Northumberland?

From Quiz Richard The Second #1

Answer: Henry Percy

15. For how long is Mowbray, the Duke of Norfolk, banished from the country?

From Quiz "Richard II" - How well do you know the action?

Answer: the rest of his life

Richard tells Mowbray never to return. However, he only banishes Bolingbroke for 10 years and then reduces the sentence to six years. Scholars have argued endlessly about his reasons for the different sentences. Remember that this is history as well as being Shakespeare's play.

16. How many servants died by Richard's sword before he was struck?

From Quiz Richard The Second #2

Answer: 2

Sir Pierce of Exton with his servants came into the prison to Richard. Richard took a servant's sword from him and struck him. After striking the second, he was struck down by Exton and died.

17. Who said, 'On pain of death, no person be so bold Or daring-hardy as to touch the lists...'?

From Quiz Richard The Second #1

Answer: Lord Marshal

'...Except the Marshal and such officers Appointed to these fair designs.' Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, and Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford, were defending themselves against each other on accusations of treason against King Richard.

18. What reason does Richard offer for cutting Bolingbroke's sentence by four years?

From Quiz "Richard II" - How well do you know the action?

Answer: He has seen how upset Gaunt (Bolingbroke's father) has become

It is an apparent sign of sympathy with his old uncle. Not every student of the play has accepted this as his real reason for the difference in sentences but this is what he says: "thy sad aspect Hath from the number of his banish'd years...Pluck'd four away."

19. Who was banished from England by King Richard and was never allowed to return?

From Quiz Richard The Second #2

Answer: Thomas Mowbray

The Duke of Norfolk received the heavier sentence. The hopeless word of 'never to return' was breathed against him. Bolingbroke had accused him of being a traitor to God of heaven, King Richard, and himself.

20. Who informed the Queen of Bolingbroke's advance?

From Quiz Richard The Second #1

Answer: Green

He informed the Queen of Bolingboke's arrival at Ravenspurgh.

21. Name the four close friends of the King who discuss Bolingbroke and Gaunt with him when they are alone in private.

From Quiz "Richard II" - How well do you know the action?

Answer: Bushy, Bagot, Green, Aumerle

Aumerle is the King's cousin and therefore the most important of these men. The others are little more than servants. It is interesting to trace the fate of the four men as the play unfolds. There is a big contrast between this private scene and the big public display at Coventry for the interrupted trial by combat.

22. Act IV Scene I: Richard is finally deposed and replaced as king by Henry Bolingbroke. At one point, Richard calls for a mirror during this intense political procedure. Why on earth does he ask for a mirror?

From Quiz Why Did They Do That?

Answer: To see his face that is now bankrupt of majesty

Richard asks for a mirror to see what he looks like now that he has formally given up his title and his rights as king. When the mirror comes, he sees no change in his face, and is whipped into a frenzy, exclaiming that the mirror is lying to him.

23. What does Richard wish for when he learns that John of Gaunt is dying?

From Quiz "Richard II" - How well do you know the action?

Answer: He hopes God will hint to the physicians that they should speed his end

Richard says that he wants his uncle to die quickly, not to spare him any pain but so that he can use his money to finance his wars in Ireland. Gaunt's death would be very convenient for him. He sets off to see him hoping that he will arrive too late.

24. What was Henry Percy's surname?

From Quiz Richard The Second #2

Answer: Hotspur & hotspur

Note: "Surname" is alternately defined as, "A nickname or epithet added to a person's name". This is how it is used here.

25. Where was the birthplace of King Richard?

From Quiz Richard The Second #1

Answer: Bordeaux

King Richard is referred to as Richard of Bordeaux in the play.

26. Which person protests in public when Richard seizes all the lands, money, and possessions that had belonged to John of Gaunt?

From Quiz "Richard II" - How well do you know the action?

Answer: York

The Duke of York is the one that tells Richard to his face that what he is doing is both wrong and dangerous. He points out that he is breaking the natural chain of inheritance from father to son, thus risking his own throne for that which he inherited via his father from his grandfather, Edward III. Yorks sees it as both wicked and foolish.

27. At what Castle did King Richard lay his head when he heard that the Duke of York had joined Bolingbroke?

From Quiz Richard The Second #1

Answer: Flint Castle

With him were the Lord Aumerle, Lord Salisbury, Sir Stephen Scroop, and the Bishop of Carlisle. Henry Percy informed Bolingbroke that the castle was royally manned.

28. Which man is put in charge of the country whilst Richard goes to Ireland?

From Quiz "Richard II" - How well do you know the action?

Answer: York

York regards himself as too old to be the Regent. The Earl of Wiltshire is in charge of Richard's controversial means of raising taxes. Northumberland is soon to become a rebel. Choosing York often seems to be a strange decision, as he has just made a public protest about the decision to seize Bolingbroke's inheritance.

29. Where did Bushy, Green, and the Earl of Wiltshire die?

From Quiz Richard The Second #2

Answer: Bristol

They had fled to Bristol Castle upon hearing of Bolingbroke's advance.

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