King Richard II Act 3

In which the noble Bolingbroke returns to England and asserts his claim against King Richard, whose regal dignity is tested by desertion and despair amidst rebellion’s shadow; whilst the Queen’s heart is heavy with foreboding, and the gardener’s metaphor lays bare the withering state of the realm. Thus the stage is set for somber reckonings, where crowns and subjects alike are measured by the stern hand of fate and the frailty of human power.