Richard 2 Rhetorical Devices

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The play ‘Richard II’ was written by William Shakespeare in a form of a tragic poem in approximately 1595. The fragment of the John of Gaunt’ speech who is the uncle of the king Richard II was taken from the act 2 scene 1. This speech is very patriotic, and n fact, this is one of the most significant and breathtaking speeches of the play. John of Gaunt praises England and gives a clear understanding for the audience that he is trying to warn Richard about his current actions and to give the idea that England is safe from harm from outside world, but it still can be ruined by internal disagreement and corruption. He gives his speech right before he dies, which is addressed not to his nephew King Richard, who arrives too late to hear hoping that his uncle is already dead, but instead to his brother York and to the audience, which knows that he is doing that because he can see what is coming and what might happen to England if things do not change. The audience unconsciously believes John of Gaunt due to the fact that he is deathbed and this is the last moment to advise Richard II.…show more content…
The subject of this speech is glorious ‘mother’ England and her natural attributes. Gaunt uses symbolic language with a dizzying string of metaphors and epithets, which also include anaphors, considering that each clause begins with “this” and then shows another image of how glorious John of Gaunt considers England to be. He describes his beloved homeland as a “demi-paradise” of earth that is protected by God, a “precious stone” that is surrounded by the sea, a “blessed plot.” These metaphors prove the true love of John of Gant for England showing that it is the sacred island to him, which was created to keep all its citizens away from outside
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