ABSTRACT
Richard II is only the play in which abdication plays a central role; King Lear and The Tempest will follow. As a psychological study of a very complex personality, Richard II is a masterpiece. The chapter describes the play as one in which the psychologist won over the dramatist. Richard was the son of Edward of Woodstock; know as the Black Prince. He was born in Bordeaux on 6 January 1367; an older brother died when he was four and his father died when he was nine. Upon abdication Richard will give up his crown but retain his grief. The Duke of York discovers that his son, Aumerle, is plotting to restore the deposed Richard II to the throne. In 1968 Martin Wangh published a psychoanalytic interpretation of Richard II. He studied the actual historical records about the real Richard II.
