RICHARD O God, O God, that e’er this tongue of mine,
That laid the sentence of dread banishment
On yon proud man, should take it off again
With words of sooth! O that I were as great
As is my grief or lesser than my name
Or that I could forget what I have been
Or not remember what I must be now!
Swell’st thou, proud heart? I’ll give thee scope to beat
Since foes have scope to beat both thee and me.
AUMERLE Northumberland comes back from Bolingbroke. (3.3.132-141)
This little exchange is probably mostly there to cover the action, allowing Northumberland to return to Bolingbroke and then come back with his answer, as Aumerle describes. It allows a moment for Richard to reproach and berate himself for his capitulation, not only for his acquiescence to Bolingbroke but his emollient courtesy too: O God, that e’er this tongue of mine, that laid the sentence of dread banishment on yon proud man, Bolingbroke, should take it off again, revoke that sentence, with words of sooth, of flattery! And then a twisty little formulation, characteristic of Richard in its balance and playfulness, its chiastic, antithetical structures, and anticipating the great speech into which he is about to launch. I wish that I were as great as my grief—which is enormous, excessive—or, failing that, lesser than my name, the title of king; given the magnitude of my sorrow, I wish that I were no longer a king, since it is to that status, and its apparent impending loss, that my grief is tied. Or else, I wish that I could forget what I have been, that is, a king, or else, not remember what I must be now, that is, a king no longer. He thinks it’s all over. He thinks that he is about to be deposed. Swell’st thou, proud heart? He probably shouldn’t clutch his chest, but hand to heart would be appropriate, as he feels his heart pound, his chest tighten: yes, I’ll give thee scope, permission, room to beat, since foes have scope to beat both thee and me, since our enemies are able to do violence to the both of us. Richard is nervous, afraid, bracing himself for what will happen next, and about to launch into an anxious torrent of anticipation and protestation: What must the King do now?
