Act 3 scene 3 Flint Castle scene

Table of Contents

1. The breath of parley
2. Be he the fire, I'll be the yielding water
3. We are amazed
4. Fair cousin, you debase your princely knee
5. They well deserve to have

The breath of parley

Bolingbroke still

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Be he the fire, I'll be the yielding water

Fire and air as the rising elements are higher in the Great Chair of Being, and water as a descending element is lower, so though Bolingbroke is politically the rising element here, he claims to still be willing to be subservient.  Shakespeare shows that Bolingbroke knows how to speak Richard's language, but Richard cannot understand Bolingbroke's.

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We are amazed

There is irony here because although Richard is much higher on the stage than Bolingbroke, Bolingbroke has the power here. 

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Fair cousin, you debase your princely knee

For the first time, Richard seems to see the difference between the outward shows of respect and the reality of this show of Bolingbroke's loyalty.  Again, the high/low imagery is used ironically here, where it is obvious to us that the roles are reversed from what they seem to be on the stage.  But also for the first time Richard can speak truth, to point out what a hypocrite Bolingbroke is.

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They well deserve to have

This is a Machiavellian statement; for the first time, Richard is able to talk in Bolingbroke's language, to see things as Bolingbroke does.

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