“Or I’ll be Buried in the King’s High Way”: Abdication and the Interment of Suicides in Richard II

This article discusses the line “Or I’ll be buried in the king’s high way” in Shakespeare’s play “Richard II”. The line specifically refers to the method of burial for those who died by suicide. The implications for the characterization of Richard & his defeat are illuminated through an examination of the laws & customs pertaining to suicide in the early modern period. References throughout the play to this burial practice evoke Richard’s sense of shame & defeat, & his separation in death from the nation he ruled. (10 notes, 21 refs)