THE UNFOLDING OF TRUTH AND SELF-REPRESENTATION WITHIN THE CRACKED MIRROR IN SHAKESPEARE’S RICHARD II
THE UNFOLDING OF TRUTH AND SELF-REPRESENTATION WITHIN THE CRACKED MIRROR IN SHAKESPEARE’S RICHARD II

Summary/Abstract: Shakespeare’s Richard II deals with the controversy between the divine and the mortal aspects of the King. According to Kantorowicz’s The King’s Two Bodies, the King had two bodies: a Body Natural and a Body Politic. In the deposition scene of the play, Richard exploits the divine authority by undoing himself as if in a sacramental ceremony and asks for a mirror in order to see whether the change in his kingly nature has affected his face. My paper will deal with the unfolding of unendurable truth and the self-representation of Richard II in the duality of his image within the cracked mirror.

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