Thomas of Woodstock (play) - Title and Subject Matter

Title and Subject Matter

The play covers the events leading up to the murder of Richard II's uncle, Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester in 1397. The manuscript has no title. Most scholars and theatre companies who have worked on the play call it Thomas of Woodstock or Woodstock, but some entitle it Richard II, Part One, either as the main title or as a sub-title. Those who elect to call it Richard II, Part One or similar do so because the play describes events immediately prior to Shakespeare's Richard II and provides context for the behaviour of many of Shakespeare's characters. However, this title has been criticized as "going too far", because it makes the play's relationship with Shakespeare's play seem definitive, when it is only speculative. In addition, A.P. Rossiter preferred to call it Woodstock on the grounds that Woodstock is the hero of the play, not Richard.