THE UNFOLDING OF TRUTH AND SELF-REPRESENTATION WITHIN THE CRACKED MIRROR IN SHAKESPEARE’S RICHARD II

Shakespeare’s Richard II deals with the controversy between the divine and the mortal aspects of the King. According to Kantorowicz’s The King’s Two Bodies, the King had two bodies: a Body Natural and a Body Politic. In the deposition scene of the play, Richard exploits the divine authority by undoing himself as if in a sacramental ceremony and asks for a mirror in order to see whether the change in his kingly nature has affected his face. My paper will deal with the unfolding of unendurable truth and the self-representation of Richard II in the duality of his image within the cracked mirror.