Figure 1 – Cloe the aristocat watching Shakespeare’s Richard II. (c) DE Wolf 2019.

Today I thought that I would share a family photograph. My cat Cloe and I were watching Shakespeare’s Richard the II the other night. She is quite the aristocat and Shakespeare aficionado! There is this famous scene, when Sir John of Gaunt portends the folly of Richard’s actions and the terrible effects they will have on his blessed England. This was delivered with great emotion by Graham Crowden, and Cloe stood up mesmerized by face and voice. Hence the photograph of Figure 1.

This royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,–
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.

William Shakespeare, “King Richard II”, Act 2 scene 1