Doubly divorced! Bad men, you violate A twofold marriage, 'twixt my crown and me, And then betwixt me and my married wife. Let me unkiss the oath 'twixt thee and me; And yet not so, for with a kiss 'twas made. Part us, Northumberland; I toward the north, Where shivering cold and sickness pines the clime;
Divorced twice! Bad men, you break A twofold bond, between my crown and me, And between me and my wife. Let me take back the oath I swore to you; But not exactly, since it was made with a kiss. Separate us, Northumberland; I'll head to the north, Where the cold and sickness plague the land;
Queen Isabel · Act 5, Scene 1
Richard and the Queen are being separated forever, and Richard speaks of being torn from both his crown and his wife in the same breath. The metaphor of marriage—to both crown and woman—shows that for Richard these loves are of equal weight, and losing both at once is a kind of spiritual death. The line reveals how completely Richard's identity has been bound up in objects and relationships outside himself.
