He exposes with ruthless frankness the ugly realities of her
present degradation.
England, bound in with the triumphant sea,
Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege
Of wat'ry Neptune, is now bound in with shame,
With inky blots, and rotten parchment bonds,--
That England, that was wont to conquer others,
Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.
(_Richard II._, II., i., 61-6.)
At the moment the speaker's warning is scorned, but ultimately it
takes effect. At the end of the play of _Richard II._, England casts
off the ruler and his allies, who by their self-indulgence and moral
weakness play false with the traditions of the country.
In _Henry V._, the only one of Shakespeare's historical plays in which
an English king quits the stage in the full enjoyment of prosperity,
his good fortune is more than once explained as the reward of his
endeavour to abide by the highest ideals of his race, and of his
resolve to exhibit in his own conduct its noblest mettle. His
strongest appeals to his fellow-countrymen are:--
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call'd fathers did beget you;
* * * * *
Let us swear
That you are worth your breeding.
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