Richard II Annotated

King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's successors Henry IV, part 1, Henry IV, part 2, and Henry V. It may not have been written as a stand-alone work.