Why is the garden scene included in Shakespeare's Richard II? What contributes to the overall flow and development of the show? The garden scene (Act III, scene IV) is an important and crucial moment, providing plot update, allegory, exposition, and character contrasts. The garden scene is important for several reasons, first, it takes place between two scenes in which Richard, Bolingbroke, and others are present, but between which time has passed. This involves a costume change and this little scene offers just that opportunity. But this is far from the full value of the scene. Beyond its practical necessity, it also provides a much-needed respite from the ever-increasing tension of the game; we can linger for a moment in the royal gardens before being thrown back into action. We observe, for most of the scene, two humble gardeners, welcome companions after three acts in which there are nothing but kings and queens, lords and ladies, dukes and duchesses; particularly for Earthlings watching the show in 1597, this was a pause in which to reflect and relate. The gardeners in the scene provide not only menial services like tying royal "apricots," but are actually far more valuable to the audience in their roles, so to speak, as allegorical troubadours, thus far offering a colorful and effective update to the plot. This is made even more delightful by the fact that such high-sounding metaphorical speech is unexpected; the queen has already announced to her ladies-in-waiting that the two men will surely "talk state, as all do so / against a change," (27-28) but our expectation, if we are unfamiliar with the play, is to hear some low, prosaic talk of politics... middle of paper... Nature was much more an aspect of the lives of English men and women 400 years ago, it had a sense of integrity and order. Shakespeare often linked the violation of order within the realm of kings and kingdoms with a congruent dissolution of order in nature. In the garden scene, while no horses turn and eat each other, no hurricane blows, yet the basic concept of an interconnection between man and nature is used skillfully and effectively. The garden scene is Shakespeare at his metaphorical best, a deceptively simple little scene that offers much more than just an opportunity for a costume change. It provides a perspective on the cyclical nature of man's machinations. Works Cited: Shakespeare, William. The tragedy of King Richard II. William Shakespeare: The Complete Works. Ed. Alfred Harbage. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1969.