Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

Henry Bolingbroke

Bolingbroke turns the whole kingdom against Richard, makes him give up his crown in front of witnesses, separates him from his wife, imprisons him, and arranges for his murder. Sounds pretty antagonistic to us. But... he's not necessarily the "bad guy" in this play, because he takes down a really terrible king who's been running England into the ground. Plus, he even feels guilty about bumping Richard off the throne (and having him murdered). Henry's not perfect, but he's very sympathetic in his own way.