This essay plan compares Shakespeare’s history play, Richard ii, with Edward Marlowe’s play, Edward ii, in the context of Elizabethan/Jacobean England. It answers the question: Examine any work(s) by Shakespeare in dialogue with any other suitable work(s) of the Elizabethan or Jacobean period. The plan primarily dissects monarchic power and instability, religion, and deposition, comparing the similarities between both plays. Written by a second-year undergraduate at Durham University.

An essay plan on Shakespeare’s history play, Richard ii, written by a second-year undergraduate at Durham University. It answers the question: ‘The history play of the 1590s was not a totalitarian, hegemonic genre … but a new and experimental form within which individual playwrights might articulate a range of ideas, radical as well as conservative, about men and women and their place in public life.’ (Martha Kurtz) Discuss with regard to any of Shakespeare’s English history plays. The plan discusses the genre of the history play, analysing the language, symbolism and metaphors within Richard ii. The context of Elizabethan/Jacobean England, Protestantism and Roman Catholicism, is embedded into the plan. Can be used for university or A-level.

This essay deals with Shakespeare’s tragedy plays, Richard ii, Macbeth, The Tempest, and Hamlet and the theme of improvisation within these. It answers the question: ‘Those who improvise are the characters who most excite Shakespeare’ (Jonathan Bate). Discuss with reference to AT LEAST TWO works. Dramatic techniques such as meta-theatricality, Shakespeare’s personification of characters as himself, and the fourth wall are discussed. Also discusses historical constructs of the Great Chain of Being and Divine Right of Kings. The essay is fully referenced with a MHRA bibliography. Also includes feedback from a professor throughout the essay (in red) - useful for identifying strengths and weaknesses. Useful for university, A-level, and GCSE students. Includes quotes, analysis, wider historical context, alternative interpretations, and discussion of critics’ quotations. Written by a second-year undergraduate at Durham University.

This essay plan on Shakespeare’s history play, Richard ii, answers the question: ’So shaken as we are, so wan with care’ (Henry IV, in I Henry IV). How does Shakespeare depict the difficulties which beset a ruler in his history plays? It deals with the character of Richard ii and his compassion, his difficulty in distinguishing between personal and political boundaries, and the difficulty he faces in accepting monarchic responsibility. Written by a second-year undergraduate at Durham University.

Essay plan on John Webster’s drama The Duchess of Malfi on the theme of Catholicism. It answers the question: Write an essay on the treatment of ONE OR MORE of the following in Renaissance literature: the Roman Catholic Church; Grace; Free Will; Predestination; the Word of God. This plan looks at the Roman Catholic Church in the context of Jacobean England and its depiction in the play as outdated, corrupt, and inescapable for the play’s characters. Analyses language: allusions, symbolism, parallelisms, etc. Looks at wider historical context of various Bibles, Rome, Renaissance rhetoric, the Protestant Reformation, etc. Written by a finalist at Durham University. Excellent resource for A-level and university students.