The conscience of a king... why is this important and who is best to explain it? The second question is easy enough to answer: Shakespeare does exceptionally well in exposing the conscientiousness of the three kings and the effects of their rule in Richard II, Henry IV parts one and two, and Henry V. In them he shows the correlation of a society whose inhabitants believed a monarch ruled by divine right; that the society flourished or waned depending on the king. In effect, the prosperity or decay of a country was the direct reflection of the moral health or sickness of the king. No one illustrates this better than Shakespeare in his aforementioned historical plays. Take, for example, King Richard.
King Richard's court is characterized by luxury and refinement. He surrounds himself with greedy counselors and is willing to take what is not rightfully his. Moreover, to hide his part in an assassination, he wrongfully banishes a young noble denying him from being present at......
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