Explanation
Correct answer: B.
Choice B is the best answer because it most effectively presents a quotation that illustrates the claim that Richard intimates he is not entirely ready to show subservience to Bolingbroke. The quotation conveys that Richard has not yet shaken off “the regal thoughts / Wherewith [he] reign’d”—that is, he still feels like a king—and that he has “hardly yet have learn’d / To insinuate, flatter, bow, and bend [his] knee,” directly listing acts of subservience he is not prepared to perform. By stating his unreadiness to behave subserviently while still inhabiting a regal mindset, Richard intimates exactly what the claim describes.
Why the other choices are wrong
Choice A
Choice A is incorrect because this quotation centers on Richard’s anguish over the loss of his name and title; it expresses confusion about his identity rather than illustrating that he is not yet prepared to show subservience to Bolingbroke.
Choice C
Choice C is incorrect because in this quotation Richard claims that his griefs remain his own even after his “glories” and “state” have been deposed; it concerns ownership of his suffering and identity rather than any unreadiness to behave subserviently toward Bolingbroke.
Choice D
Choice D is incorrect because the quotation depicts Richard as willing to go along with the assertion of others that Bolingbroke is the rightful king, although God, who in this case serves as an objective arbiter, may have a different opinion on who the rightful king is (“if heaven do think him me”). So the quotation suggests that Richard is willing to behave subserviently even if he thinks he has been wronged; it does not suggest that he is at present unwilling to show subservience.
Student discussion
marcosat 0 likes
I hate Shakespeare.