SOURCE: “The Phaëton Allusion in Richard II: The Search for Identity,” in English Literary Renaissance 17, No. 3, Autumn, 1987, pp. 277-87.

In the following essay, Merrix investigates the implications of Richard's reference to the Phaëton myth, arguing that this allusion incorporates various themes appropriate to the characterization of Richard, including the search for self, pride and its fall, and the chaotic results of “ambivalent leadership.”

When confronted by Bullingbrook at Flint Castle, Richard II cries: “Down, down I come, Like glist’ring Phaëton, / Wanting the manage of unruly jades” (3.3.178-79).¹ Discussion of the allusion to Phaëton in relation to Richard runs from a mere reference by Maurice Evans² to an elaborate analysis of its relation to art and poetics in English poetry by Parker Tyler.³ The allusion is used by Shakespeare in three other plays: The Two Gentlemen of Verona (3.1.153-58) where Silvia's father, the Duke...