"King Richard II" by William Shakespeare is a history play written in 1595. It dramatizes the downfall of England's King Richard II, who ruled from 1377 to 1399. When Richard banishes his cousin Henry Bolingbroke and seizes his inheritance, he sets in motion a conspiracy among the nobility. As Richard wages war in Ireland, Bolingbroke returns with an army to reclaim his lands—and perhaps something more. The play traces Richard's tragic descent from monarch to captive, exploring themes of power, legitimacy, and the costs of ambition. (This is an automatically generated summary.)